The US administration has decided to block the assets in the United States of the mayor of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. He is accused of violence against his political opponents, human rights violations and corruption, according to the US embassy in Monrovia.
The mayor, Jefferson Koijee, is accused of ordering paramilitary-type organizations linked to his party, and over which he has control, to act brutally against demonstrations by opponents, government critics or anti-rape activists between 2018 and 2022, the US Treasury says this Saturday.
Mr. Koijee is a senior official of the CDC, the party of incumbent President George Weah, who was recently defeated in the presidential election by Joseph Boakai, in a region that has been plagued by coups d’état and political faits accomplis in recent years.
He “also engaged in acts of corruption, including bribery and detour of state assets to private political organizations, and pressuring anti-corruption investigators”, adds the Treasury.
In recent years, the United States has sanctioned senior Liberian officials, including President Weah’s chief of staff, for alleged corruption and embezzlement, as well as intimidating opponents.
Corruption is reputed to be endemic in this small West African country, one of the poorest in the world.
The voice of the United States carries weight in Liberia, given the historical and current relations between the two countries and the weight of the Liberian diaspora on the other side of the Atlantic.