Who is Patrick Kormazu, appointed by President Boakai as acting deputy for operations at LDEA?

Published: August 29, 2025

KAKATA, Margibi County — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police Patrick B. Kormazu, Margibi County’s Police Commander, as the Acting Deputy for Operations at the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA), placing him at the center of Liberia’s renewed fight against illicit drugs.

The appointment follows Boakai’s sweeping dismissal of the agency’s top leadership, a move widely viewed as part of his administration’s crackdown on drug trafficking and rising substance abuse, which have become urgent national security threats.

Kormazu, a 2004 graduate of the Liberia National Police Training Academy, has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense, reform-driven police commander. In Margibi, he led efforts to decongest Kakata’s main streets through strict traffic enforcement, renovated the county police headquarters, and strengthened community-police relations, winning praise from local residents and authorities.

He first gained national recognition as Police Commander of Paynesville’s Red Light, one of Liberia’s busiest and most volatile commercial hubs. In 2021, he served on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, where he gained exposure to international policing and crisis management standards.

Kormazu holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from African Methodist Zion University and a master’s degree in public administration from Day Spring International University in India. He has also completed multiple local and international trainings in policing and leadership.

As Acting Deputy for Operations, Kormazu faces his toughest task yet — dismantling drug networks and tackling rising youth drug addiction. Many see him as part of a new generation of Liberian security leaders, combining field experience, education, and reform-minded leadership to shape the nation’s fight against narcotics.