Published: October 27, 2026
MONROVIA — Prosecutions will rest on evidence, not on the politics, wealth or connections of the accused, Justice Minister-designate Cllr. Betty Lamin Blamo told the Senate on Monday. She promised she would not go after the government’s opponents while shielding its friends.
By Lennart Dodoo
“I will not be the minister who prosecutes adversaries with zeal and friends with reluctance,” Blamo told the Senate Judiciary Committee at her confirmation hearing.
She said she knew of concerns “expressed in the press, at the bar,” that the state’s power to prosecute could be turned against opponents and used to protect allies. “I take this concern seriously,” she said.
“The decision to prosecute will rest on the facts, the laws, and the standard of proof, and never on political affiliation, county of origin, wealth, or status,” she said.
Cllr. Blamo said cases will be brought only when the evidence supports them and not when it doesn’t, no matter how loud the public demand. She said she will step aside from any matter in which she has a conflict of interest and will say so openly.
A senator later asked whether she would have the courage to refuse if told to prosecute someone for political reasons. Blamo said the decision would be “evidence-based.”
She told senators that many cases fail long before they reach a courtroom. “One of the weakest links in our criminal justice chain lies between the police investigator and the prosecutor,” she said. She said too many cases collapse because investigations are incomplete and evidence is not properly preserved, not because the accused is innocent. When that happens, she said, “the victims lose faith, the guilty go free.”
Blamo, who said she served as solicitor general for a little over four years, said strong coordination between the police and prosecutors during her tenure produced an 85% conviction rate. She said she will continue assessing the prosecution department’s capacity and set out a plan to make it more effective. Cases, she said, “must be evidence-based and professionally prepared,” protecting the rights of the accused while assuring victims that serious crimes will be prosecuted.
She said the plan depends on keeping prosecutors. Many experienced prosecutors left the ministry after the government’s salary harmonization, which, she said, later cut their pay by almost 20%. She asked the Legislature for money to hire more prosecutors and raise the pay of those still serving to match the risk and weight of their work.
The justice minister-designate also laid out a plan to clear Liberia’s jails of people who have never been tried. She said 2,848 of the 4,125 people held in prisons nationwide as of September 2026 had not been tried. At the Monrovia Central Prison, she said, 1,312 of 1,888 inmates are pretrial detainees. The ministry has begun reviewing their files and will extend the review nationwide, she said, adding: “The state will either prosecute or release in accordance with law.”
She said the backlog is built into the court calendar. Criminal Court “D,” which hears armed robbery cases, sits four 42-day terms a year while about 200 people charged with armed robbery wait at the Monrovia prison, she said. She urged the Senate to pass a bill lengthening court terms. She said she will also work with the judiciary to expand magistrate sittings, and with public defenders, the Liberia National Bar Association and legal aid providers, so that no one stays in jail for lack of a lawyer.
On corruption, Blamo said the ministry will work with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the General Auditing Commission, and the Financial Intelligence Agency to investigate cases, bring charges, and see them through to judgment. She said the ministry has drafted an agreement with the anti-corruption commission and the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force so that cases do not fall between the agencies.
She said illicit drug trafficking is “destroying a generation of young Liberians before our eyes.” She pledged to pursue importers, traders and those who protect them, and to support rehabilitation for those struggling with addiction. She said success will be “measured not by the number of arrests,” but by convictions. She told senators the government intends to begin trial in one of the recent cocaine cases when the court’s November term opens Nov. 9.
She said she will also prioritize sexual and gender-based violence and human trafficking cases. She plans a case management system that tracks every case so a lost file doesn’t mean a lost case.
Cllr. Blamo said she will support building a new correctional facility and order a nationwide assessment of prison capacity, security, and infrastructure.
The Judiciary Committee did not vote Monday. It will make a recommendation to the full Senate.
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