MONROVIA, Montserrado – On a rainy Monday morning, hundreds of Liberians trekked to the U.S. Embassy on Benson Street to protest the allegedly missing billions of dollars in Liberian banknotes.

At its highest, the crowd size was about 400 persons, swelling when the rain ceased for a bit and dwindling in number when protestors took shelter from the rain.

The fact that protestors carried their petition to the U.S. Embassy reflected their lack of trust in their government. In fact, one demonstrator, Charles Myers, who reluctantly admitted to being a member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change party, said he did not trust President George Weah anymore.

“We trust the American people itself,” he said. “Even the president too should be investigated. Yes, even the past government and this present government should be audited. If they [stole], they should go to jail for it.”

He said he found it hurtful that the government would be involved in such a scandal when many Liberians were still suffering.

“This L$16 billion is for Liberians,” Myers said. “Go on the street. Go see our brothers and sisters – selling. They’re not in school. Why? Because no money.”

He continued, “I’m a born CDCian. I [thought] that he [Weah] could bring change in this nation. But now he proved to me that he can’t bring nothing. So, if he comes [to run for a] second [term] and I see him, I will tear his picture.”

A passionate protestor chants on Benson Street. Photo: Jefferson Krua

While there have been conflicting information coming from various government spokespersons, Finance Minister Samuel Tweah has said the L$15 billion that was printed in Sweden is accounted for. Both the former Central Bank executive governor, Milton Weeks, and former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf concurred with Tweah’s statement.

But Myers said he would not believe the result of any investigation that concludes that no money was stolen.

“It can’t be possible. They will find it,” he said. “The one that’s hurting me here is why George Weah’s government must just take eight months to steal L$16 billion while Ellen took 12 years to steal money. Why? That’s the question I’m asking. Why? L$16 billion in eight-months’ time? Why? So what y’all taking our country to be? Stupid country? So y’all fool us. They fooled us to vote for them and then at the end of eight months’ time, they come steal L$16 billion?”

Euotia T. Gbatoe, a student at the University of Liberia, also said she would need strong proof that no money went missing for her to believe the results of the investigation.

“If there’s no money missing, then they’ll show us the L$16 billion that is kept somewhere,” she said. “Because when it’s not missing, definitely it should be kept somewhere. So, they will give account of it.”

“We are assembled here for the international community to intervene and see how best for our money to be back.” – Euotia T. Gbatoe. Photo: Jefferson Krua

A jaded CDC supporter, Peter Massaquoi, also said he had no faith in an investigation led by the government.

“We want independent investigators,” he said. “We don’t want government – and CDC is my government – we don’t want government that will be contradicting itself. Finance minister says this, information minister says this, another person comes out and says this. So, we don’t want that. We want independent investigators.”

“I am a CDCian. I’m still a CDCian. I’ll always be a CDCian, but Liberia is greater than CDC” – Peter Massaquoi, member of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change. Photo: Jefferson Krua

Massaquoi said he decided to join the protest because he heard CDC’s Rep. Acarous Gray of Montserrado’s eighth district saying on the radio that there were no CDC members at the protest. The statement encouraged him to go home and get a photo of himself at a past CDC rally in a CDC-branded outfit to prove his allegiance to the party.

“I’m here to protect my country Liberia,” Massaquoi said as he stood in the pouring rain. “I voted for George Weah not because he’s fine. I voted for George Weah because I want a better Liberia. I want for my life to be improved and I want for ordinary Liberians’ lives to be improved. I never voted for George Weah for his family’s life to be improved or Acarous Gray’s or Mulbah Morlu’s. I have never gone to the party headquarters to seek for job – not a day. Me, I never voted them for jobs. I voted them for a better Liberia. That’s the reason why you see me under this rain.”

Not far away was Precious Williams, who spent much of her time organizing the few women who had decided to join the protest. When the rain started pouring with force, she purchased rain caps to distribute to the women, encouraging them to continue the protest.

“Since I heard about this container, I can’t sleep,” said Williams, who took her four kids out of school today because of the protest. “I’m worrying because I don’t have no country besides Liberia.”

She feared that the news about the missing money would send the wrong message to the international community and make it difficult for any donors to want to assist Liberia, a country that depends heavily on aid.

“No country will look at us and help us and take us to be serious,” she noted. “So now we’re calling [on] George Manneh Weah, the president of the Republic of Liberia, to go and bring this money back [from] where they placed it.”

Precious Williams helped to organize some of the women at the protest. Photo: Jefferson Krua

Williams also commented on the lack of a unified voice coming from government officials, saying that it shows that “the government is confused.” She vowed to continue protesting until the money is returned, adding that when the president returns from his trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, she and others will be waiting at the airport, demanding that he speaks about the money.

But Williams said she would not trust the investigation if it does not find anyone responsible for stealing public funds. And if the investigation finds that the president was involved, she said, “He will surely step down – he will step down, and he will go for judgment.”

Not all who attended were distrustful of the government or supportive of the protest. Lydia Davis, who stood on the sidelines, said she came because she said she feared the demonstration would become violent: “I just came to see the atmosphere – how things will be like.”

“The protest they’re carrying on, I’m not in favor of it. Because, as I learned, the president is not in the country right now. I don’t think we have to be doing something like this behind his back,” Davis said. “We should have waited for him, when he comes back, what he will say to us. Because I heard on the radio, he said we should be patient.”

She said she would rather see the protestors give the government up to two weeks to “let the law take its course.”

If the president is implicated in the scandal, Davis said she would like to see him punished. “Nobody is above the law,” she added.

Lydia Davis did not support the protest but wants those found responsible for the scandal to be punished. Photo: Jefferson Krua

Another bystander who took on a laissez-faire attitude to the activists’ push was the hipco rapper Henry ‘Amaze’ Toe, who launched an anti-corruption song in 2015 called, “Corruption, Corruption.”

“As they stated, the investigation is ongoing, so we’re on the fence right now, observing,” Toe said. He called for the investigation to be done “hastily.”

Speaking about an ideal duration for the investigation to last, Toe said, “A reasonable time will be in two, three weeks.”

Henry ‘Amaze’ Toe called for the investigation to be conducted “hastily because there’s a dark cloud over our country right now.” Photo: Jefferson Krua

Since news emerged on September 13 of missing billions of dollars in printed Liberian banknotes, the government has still not provided details fully explaining the situation to the public.

Government officials have been giving contradictory accounts, and the figure of the allegedly missing amount has shifted from L$9 billion to L$16 billion. The figure was again revised to L$15 billion by Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, who blamed the media for distorting the number.

Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has said that under her leadership, no container of money went missing.

“There’s no missing money. I am certain – whatever my administration did was in accordance with the law, the constitution, and there has been nothing that has been missing,” she said. “What they’ve done since they’ve been in government, I don’t know.

Featured photo by Jefferson Krua