Gbarnga, Bong County ~ A well-known businessman and mobile money agent in Gbarnga, Robert Tamba, commonly known as “Small Total,” has raised serious concerns about the security and reliability of the Lonestar Cell MTN mobile money platform, following a recent incident that left him financially exposed and fearing for his personal safety.
Speaking in an interview with this paper,Tamba recounted a troubling experience in which he processed a mobile money withdrawal for a customer on Sunday of last week. According to him, everything appeared normal at the time of the transaction. “I did the transaction and gave the man his money. Everything was okay,” Tamba said.
However, the situation took a sharp turn the following Monday. He said, another man showed up at his business center, angrily accusing him of withdrawing money illegally from his account. “He came with serious anger, saying I withdrew his money. He said the transaction was invalid,” Tamba explained.
“The man threatened me. My life was at risk—he could have come with weapons.”
Tamba said he attempted to clarify the issue with Lonestar Cell’s local office in Gbarnga but received vague and conflicting information. He had processed the transaction using the agent-to-agent function—standard practice for many agents when both the sender and receiver are agents. “They told me agent-to-agent can’t do cash-out. But if that’s true, why is the option available on the platform? And there’s no official notice or warning,” Tamba said.
He emphasized that there is no public guidance or alert on the platform informing agents that such transactions are not allowed, and that such a lack of clarity leaves agents vulnerable. Tamba was ultimately forced to repay the full amount of L$10,000 (Liberian Dollars) out of pocket.
“Up to now, I haven’t recovered my money. And they just tell you with their mouth—there’s nothing in writing, no system alert, no training to say ‘don’t do agent-to-agent transactions.’ This whole thing is confusing.”
The incident has left Tamba deeply concerned about the trustworthiness and operational transparency of the mobile money system. “The system is not secured. The system is not trusted,” he stressed.
“If this continues, many agents will stop operating out of fear of loss and danger.”
Tamba is now calling on Lonestar Cell MTN to address these vulnerabilities by firstly unblocking his business sim, improving communication with agents, issuing clear guidelines, and strengthening the security of the mobile money platform to protect both agents and customers.
Lonestar Cell MTN’s local office in Gbarnga has not issued an official statement on the matter, despite efforts to reach out to its local Gbarnga office.
