Published: October 26, 2026
MONROVIA — About seven in 10 people held in Liberia’s prisons have never been tried, Justice Minister-designate Cllr. Betty Lamin Blamo told senators Monday. She pledged to review every pretrial detainee’s file nationwide and said the state will either take each case to trial or let the person go.
By Lennart Dodoo
“The state will either prosecute or release in accordance with law,” Blamo told the Senate Judiciary Committee at her confirmation hearing.
Cllr. Blamo said that 2,848 of the 4,125 people held in prisons nationwide as of September 2026 had not been tried. At the Monrovia Central Prison alone, she said, 1,312 of the 1,888 inmates, more than 69%, are pretrial detainees. She said the ministry has already begun reviewing the files of pretrial detainees at the Monrovia prison and will extend the review nationwide if she is confirmed.
She told senators that most of those held without trial face charges that are not eligible for bail, including armed robbery, statutory rape, murder and drug crimes. She said the problem is built into the court calendar and releasing people charged with serious crimes won’t solve it.
Using armed robbery cases in Montserrado County as an example, Cllr. Blamo said about 200 people charged with armed robbery are held at Monrovia Central Prison, and all their cases go to a single court, Criminal Court ‘D’. That court sits four terms a year, 42 days each, she said. At five trials a term, a pace she called “most often impossible,” it would clear 20 cases a year. More than 300 people charged with statutory rape are held at the same prison, she said, with their cases before Criminal Court ‘E’.
She urged the Senate to pass a bill that would lengthen court terms so judges can hear more cases. 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 because they cannot afford a lawyer.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General-designate also told the committee that the government intends to begin trial in one of the recent cocaine trafficking cases when the court’s November term opens on Nov. 9. She said indictments have been returned in two of the cases.
Asked about an ECOWAS Community Court of Justice judgment in favor of former Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, Blamo said Liberia should comply. “So I would say the decision of the Ebois court should be honored. It’s a decision of the court,” she said, in a passage where the transcript garbles “ECOWAS court.” Pressed on whether she would make that case inside government, she said Liberia, as a party to the treaty establishing the court, has treaty obligations it should honor.
Cllr. Blamo used her opening statement to answer concerns that the Justice Ministry’s prosecutorial power can be used against government opponents and to protect friends.
“I will not be the minister who prosecutes adversaries with zeal and friends with reluctance,” 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 she will step aside from any matter in which she has a conflict of interest. In response to a senator’s questions, she said she owns no shares or partnership in any business and has divested from the law firm she ran before her nomination. She agreed to give the committee documents showing the divestment.
Cllr. Blamo declined to say why her predecessor was removed. She told senators that ministers serve at the president’s pleasure, that she was not part of the decision, and that she could not say whether the removal stemmed from problems with prosecutions.
She told senators that experienced prosecutors have left the ministry since the government’s salary harmonization, which she said cut their pay by almost 20%. She asked the Legislature for money to hire more prosecutors and raise the pay of those still serving.
She said she previously served as solicitor general for a little over four years. During that time, she said, the ministry hired 29 additional prosecutors, deployed nine outside Montserrado County, and achieved an 85% conviction rate.
Cllr. Blamo said the ministry has drafted a memorandum of understanding with the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force. She said the agreement is meant to stop cases from falling between the agencies. Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh told the committee that his oversight committee’s records show about US$414 million and L$118 million tied up in active corruption cases.
He also asked her to commit to a status report within 90 days on a series of unexplained deaths over the past six years, including those of public auditors and revenue officials. He also asked her to bar authorities from declaring deaths suicides or accidents at news conferences before forensic investigations are complete. Cllr. Blamo said the ministry is reviewing the suspicious death cases. She said it is considering contracts that would keep experienced foreign pathologists on standby.
The committee also heard from the solicitor general-designate, Cllr. Abraham B. Sillah. He told senators that the ministry has reviewed pending cases before Criminal Courts ‘A’ through ‘E’ to separate trial-ready cases from stalled ones. He proposed expanding Criminal Court ‘C’, which hears drug and corruption cases, by adding judges. He also told senators that a law setting deadlines for how quickly the Supreme Court must decide cases would raise a constitutional question.
The committee did not vote Monday. It will make a recommendation to the full Senate.
Discussion about this post