Liberia: Boakai Govt Starves War Crimes Court As Staff Go Months Without Pay

Monrovia — Five months without pay. That’s the grim reality facing staff of Liberia’s Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, an institution once hailed as a cornerstone of President Joseph Boakai’s justice and reconciliation agenda.

Despite an executive order signed in May this year that renewed the mandate of the office, not a single Liberian dollar has been disbursed by the government to support its operations, according to its executive director, Dr. Jallah Barbu. The funding freeze has forced staff to endure months of unpaid labor and has left the office struggling to meet even the most basic obligations, including rent for its premises.

“For over four months now, staff haven’t received salaries, and rent for the building remains unpaid,” Barbu revealed during a meeting in Monrovia with leaders of the Faith and Justice Network, a coalition of religious institutions advocating for transitional justice. “This lack of financial support is not only discouraging to our team but also to international partners, who have made it clear they will not pay the salaries of government staff.”

The cash flow crisis is particularly striking given that President Boakai, in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024, recommitted Liberia to pursuing accountability for war-time atrocities and corruption. He underscored this pledge by signing Executive Order #131, which extended the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court and tasked it with preparing a comprehensive roadmap for the eventual creation of a hybrid court to prosecute crimes from Liberia’s brutal civil wars (1989-2003).

But more than a year after that order was signed, and despite its renewal in May 2025, the office remains paralyzed–undermanned, underfunded, and increasingly uncertain of its future.

A Cry for Help

In the absence of government funding, Barbu and his team are now turning to Liberia’s faith community for support. During the recent meeting with the Faith and Justice Network in Mamba Point, he appealed to religious leaders to pressure the Boakai administration to fulfill its commitments.

In response, Bishop Samuel Quire, Chairman of the Network and Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Liberia, pledged to personally raise the matter with the president. He also committed to organizing a nationwide awareness campaign through local churches to highlight the court’s relevance and urgency.

“We will organize coordinated awareness forums with local churches in all counties,” Quire said. “These efforts will highlight the court’s purpose and relevance, especially in healing the wounds of Liberia’s past.”

The Faith and Justice Network also announced a victims’ healing initiative to be launched in partnership with licensed Christian counselors. The program will offer trauma healing workshops, group therapy, and spiritual counseling to help victims of war regain a sense of dignity and closure.

In addition, the network plans to train 60 pastors and church leaders as “justice ambassadors” who will serve as liaisons between communities and the court. These ambassadors are expected to play a key role in educating the public, building trust, and advocating for justice across the country’s 15 counties.

The Cost of Delay

The court’s creation has long been a demand of war victims and civil society groups. Despite strong public support and recommendations from Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which submitted its final report in 2009, no warlord or commander has been prosecuted in Liberia for the mass killings, torture, and sexual violence that defined the country’s civil conflicts.

While a handful of war crimes cases have been prosecuted abroad–most notably in the United States and Europe–efforts within Liberia have been repeatedly stalled by political inertia and, more recently, administrative dysfunction.

International watchdogs have taken note. In May 2025, six leading human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Civitas Maxima, and the Advocates for Human Rights, called on President Boakai to renew Executive Order #131 and to push for legislation that would give the office a permanent legal foundation. They also urged the government to allocate a budget, adopt a clear statute for the court, and initiate meaningful consultations with stakeholders.

“President Boakai promised Liberians accountability for wartime atrocities, but for this to become a reality, he needs to renew the executive order,” said Michelle Reyes Milk, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “He should also work with the legislature to pass enabling legislation so the office can work sustainably.”

Dr. Barbu, who was appointed after a more inclusive selection process in early 2024 following criticism of his predecessor, has been tasked with producing a comprehensive roadmap for the court’s establishment. That plan was expected to outline the court’s structure, jurisdiction, staffing needs, funding requirements, and timeline. But without financial backing, the office has made little progress.

“A comprehensive roadmap that can ensure the office has both the resources and mandate to fulfill its key mission–establishing a sustainable war crimes court–is therefore vital and urgent,” said Hassan Bility, Executive Director of the Global Justice and Research Project, a key proponent of the court.

Fragile Commitment or Strategic Delay?

Critics of the Boakai administration are beginning to question whether the delays are due to bureaucratic lapses or a deliberate attempt to avoid difficult political conversations. Several lawmakers with ties to factions involved in the civil wars remain in positions of influence. Analysts say this entrenched political class may be reluctant to back a court that could implicate allies.

“There’s a growing sense that the administration is walking a tightrope between satisfying international demands and preserving political capital at home,” said a Monrovia-based political analyst who asked not to be named.

The funding stalemate has only deepened concerns. Civil society actors are warning that if the government does not act soon, Liberia could miss a rare opportunity to secure transitional justice and send a strong message that impunity will no longer be tolerated.

For the thousands of Liberians who suffered during the civil wars–those whose relatives were murdered, whose homes were burned, or whose lives were shattered by sexual violence–the continued delays are deeply painful.

By Liberian Investigator.