Published: September 2, 2026
MONROVIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai on Wednesday removed both officials directing the state’s prosecution of former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, replacing his attorney general and solicitor general in the middle of the largest narcotics case in Liberia’s history.
By Lennart Dodoo
Cllr. Betty M. Lamin-Blamo has been appointed Minister of Justice, and Cllr. Abrahim Boimah Sillah Sr. has been appointed solicitor general, according to a release from the Executive Mansion. Outgoing Justice Minister Oswald N. Tweh and outgoing Solicitor General Augustine Fayiah “are to be reassigned to other levels of government,” the release said, without specifying where or when.
The release described the changes as part of the president’s continuing effort to strengthen government institutions and improve public service delivery. It offered no explanation for removing the two officials who have been the public face of the government’s anti-narcotics prosecutions since July.
The timing places the change at the center of an ongoing case. Howard-Taylor was arrested on Aug. 19 at Roberts International Airport and charged with drug trafficking, money laundering, unlicensed importation and transportation of controlled substances, criminal solicitation, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy. The charges stem from the July 21 seizure of roughly 3,971 kilograms of cocaine at Duazon, along the highway to Roberts International Airport. The government values the cocaine at about US$317 million and calls it the largest narcotics seizure ever recorded in the country. The Monrovia City Court magistrate granted her request for a preliminary examination on Aug. 25 and rejected a defense application to keep her hospitalized. She is at the Monrovia Central Prison and denies the allegations. The state has said it will take the matter to a grand jury for indictment.
Tweh, appointed in February 2024 and commissioned on March 5 of that year, personally defended the decision to prevent Howard-Taylor from leaving the country and to take her into custody. He had also become the administration’s principal spokesman on the drug cases, telling reporters in August that no one would be arrested based on radio allegations and that no suspect would be shielded by wealth, influence or political connection.
Fayiah leaves under a heavier shadow. He led the prosecution in the US$6.2 million economic sabotage trial of former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr., which ended in acquittal on May 8. Three jurors later swore affidavits alleging the panel had been compromised, and Criminal Court “C” opened a tampering inquiry. During the inquiry, a juror testified that the forelady had repeatedly described Fayiah as her boyfriend. Fayiah testified that the claim was untrue, saying, “There is no truth to that allegation.” In July, Tweah publicly accused him of engineering the release of three detained jurors, an allegation Fayiah has not addressed on the record.
Sillah arrives from the other side of the courtroom. He is the managing partner of Heritage Partners and Associates and was elected vice president of the Liberia National Bar Association in March, defeating Cllr. Lawrence Tomah 213 votes to 64. He has spent his career in defense work, including representing defendants in the Central Bank of Liberia currency case and in the 2018 GT Bank matter. Whether he will vacate the bar association post is not addressed in the release. Lamin-Blamo served as solicitor general from 2014 under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and argued the government’s position in the Code of Conduct litigation before the Supreme Court.
The release also moves Grand Gedeh County Superintendent Alex Chersia Grant to the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission as a commissioner. Grant, a former representative for Grand Gedeh District 1, was confirmed and inducted in 2024 despite petitions from citizens at home and in the diaspora who alleged forged academic credentials. In November, the Global Alliance of Grand Gedeans demanded that he and County Attorney Winkins Nah be prosecuted over the lease of 500 acres of customary land to a Burkinabé national, a transaction the Liberia Land Authority declared null and void. He is now headed to the agency that oversees public contracting. Christopher Ben Bailey replaces him as superintendent.
At the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Angel M. Morris has been appointed deputy minister for public affairs and Harrison K. Sorsor assistant minister for research, policy and planning. Benedict Yeke Harleysion Sr. has been reappointed chairman of the board of the National Transit Authority.
The appointments are subject to Senate confirmation where applicable.
Discussion about this post