By Jamel Dugbe
Liberian Economist
Transparency International itself, in its 2019 publication, explicitly stated that “no country is free of corruption.” Poorer countries tend to have higher levels of corruption than richer countries, and poor countries generally prosecute less than their wealthy counterparts. However, there are some poor countries that really do prosecute at advanced countries’ level. The stylised facts are that:
1. Countries with strong institutions (mostly rich countries) often end up prosecuting the elites because prosecutors, courts, media, and auditors are strong enough to act, and
2. Countries with weak institutions (mostly poor countries) may appear to have “no elite convictions,” not because they do not have corrupt elites, but because enforcement is weak, politicized, or blocked.
It has been 23 years now since the end of the civil war, but despite being one of the most corrupt countries on earth over the past two decades, Liberia doesn’t seem to prosecute its political elites. In fact, it has never done so (forgive me if I’m weakly wrong here).
Even poor countries at Liberia’s level, and within the same region with similarly weak institutions, have had the courage to charge and imprison some of their elites. For example:
Sierra Leone 
A. Victor Bockarie Foh — former Vice President. Was investigated and charged in corruption-related matters after leaving office.
B. Momoh Pujeh — former Minister of Transport and Aviation and a major figure in the APC government of Ernest Bai Koroma was convicted on corruption and illicit enrichment charges in 2022 by the Anti-Corruption Commission and sentenced to prison
3. Haja Afsatu Kabba — former Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources. She was convicted in 2010 over corruption involving misuse of donor funds connected to the sale of rice meant for post-war recovery programs
Guinea 
A. Ibrahima Kassory Fofana — former Prime Minister under President Alpha Conde was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement, illicit enrichment, and corruption involving public funds
B. Amadou Damaro Camara — one of the most powerful figures in the Conde era and former Speaker of Parliament. He was convicted in 2024 for corruption and embezzlement tied to parliamentary construction funds and sentenced to prison.
Ivory Coast 
A. Hubert Oulaye — former Minister of Public Service under President Laurent Gbagbo. He was convicted in 2020 for embezzlement and misuse of public funds linked to the coffee and cocoa sector and sentenced to prison.
Liberia? No history since the war ended. Liberia is the only poor country that is also one of the most corrupt countries on earth, but one that doesn’t prosecute corrupt elites. Are political elites carriers of contagious diseases that Mother Justice fears so much that she socially distances from them, or is the judiciary system just an expansive circus with lawyers tied to the dollars 
?
