LNP Dismisses Police Academy Commandant Saymor Mulbah Over Alleged Extortion

MONROVIA – The Liberia National Police has dismissed the commandant of its own training academy over allegations that he extorted money from a businessman under the pretense of helping him win a contract to supply the academy, according to a dismissal letter obtained by The Liberian Investigator.

Comm. Saymor K. Mulbah, commissioner of police for training and manpower development and head of the Liberia National Police Academy and Training School in Paynesville, was dismissed effective July 20, the letter states.

The letter, written on Ministry of Justice letterhead by the head of the LNP’s Human Resource Management Division, says the police administration resolved to dismiss Mulbah for what it describes as unsatisfactory conduct and unsatisfactory performance, citing Section 6.5 (e and f) of the Liberia National Police Administrative Instructions on Discipline and Professional Standards, under the heading of misconduct.

In a parenthetical setting out the conduct alleged, the letter accuses Mulbah of extorting funds from Khalil Fawaz under the pretense of facilitating the award of a contract to supply food, clothing and other logistical and training items to the academy.

The Liberian Investigator gathered that the allegation concerns dealings with the Fawaz family, a prominent Lebanese business family with long-standing commercial interests in Liberia. Nothing in the dismissal letter alleges wrongdoing by Fawaz or by any member of the family, who appear in the document as the party from whom money was allegedly solicited.

Mulbah was ordered to report to the Crime Services Department for a criminal investigation into the allegation, meaning the matter is intended to move from an internal disciplinary process into a possible prosecution.

He was also instructed to surrender all government property in his possession, including badges, uniforms, identification card and boots, to the Human Resource Management Division.

The letter also directed Mulbah to stop identifying himself with the organization “to avoid future embarrassment.”

It is signed by DCP Fitzgerald T. M. Biago, head of the Human Resource Management Division, and copied to more than a dozen offices within the force, including its legal and audit units and Mulbah’s personnel file.

Mulbah had led the academy in Paynesville, where the force trains recruits and runs in-service and specialized courses for serving officers. He was publicly representing the academy as recently as November, when he opened a training program for police instructors run in partnership with an international organization.

Mulbah could not be reached for comment. The Liberia National Police did not respond to questions about the dismissal, whether the criminal investigation has begun, or whether the case has been referred to prosecutors. Efforts to reach Khalil Fawaz for comment were unsuccessful.