Monrovia-Jackson K. Kolako, deputy superintendent for operations at the Monrovia Central Prison, has spoken publicly for the first time since his release from police custody, alleging procedural violations surrounding his six-day detention and calling for stronger international intervention in Liberia’s ongoing fight against drug trafficking.
Kolako was released Friday, Aug. 7, after spending six days in the custody of the Liberia National Police without being formally charged, according to his account he posted to social media. He was arrested Aug. 1 while on duty at the Monrovia Central Prison in connection with allegations that he obstructed a security operation.
In a statement released following his detention, Kolako said he would withhold some sensitive details because an investigation remains ongoing. However, he appealed to the Liberian government and its international partners, particularly the United States, to take measures he believes are necessary to protect the integrity of the country’s response to the drug crisis.
Kolako called on individuals close to President Joseph Boakai to convey his request that inmates detained at the Monrovia Central Prison in connection with the multimillion-dollar drug case be transferred to a secure holding facility outside Liberia, preferably in Morocco, while awaiting trial.
He said such a move would help prevent the case from undermining the administration’s broader campaign against drug trafficking.
“As we proceed with this investigation, please keep the following names in mind,” Kolako said, listing Siafa Bahn Kemokai, Lawrence G. Bohlen, Samuel Lance Jasper and Raymond A. Messan.
He did not explain the specific connection of the four individuals to his concerns.
“No one will set us up for failure at the Monrovia Central Prison. We are far too experienced,” Kolako said.
Kolako’s account of how he was arrested:
Kolako said he was arrested at about 2 p.m. Aug. 1 by three LNP officers while he was on active duty at the prison. He said Kemokai was personally present and ordered his arrest.
“In his arrest order, he claimed that I had obstructed lawful security operations at the MCP,” Kolako said.
According to Kolako, about 30 minutes before Kemokai arrived at the prison, two individuals identifying themselves as agents of the National Security Agency arrived wearing shorts, which he said violated prison regulations.
He said the individuals failed to properly identify themselves and declined to enter their names and the purpose of their visit in the prison’s visitor logbook. They reportedly told prison authorities that their mission was covert and that they needed to speak with an inmate connected to the multimillion-dollar drug case.
Kolako said that while prison officials were attempting to verify the visitors’ identities and the legitimacy of their request, two senior prison officers who were not assigned to the facility arrived and overrode established security procedures.
One of the officers, he alleged, repeatedly said, “We make the law, and we can break the law.”
As the ground commander at the prison, Kolako said he asked whether the chief superintendent of the MCP and the assistant minister for corrections had been informed about the visit.
According to Kolako, one of the senior officers told him they had not been informed and claimed that the visitation order superseded the authority of the Department of Corrections within the Ministry of Justice.
Kolako said he then asked, “Would you mind if I reached out to them?”
The officer, he said, replied, “Go ahead.”
Kolako said he contacted Deputy Superintendent for Administration Janet K. Siryee, and together they called MCP Chief Superintendent Col. Roosevelt Varney and Assistant Minister for Corrections Gabriel Fayiah Ndupellar.
Both officials, according to Kolako, expressed surprise and said they had no prior knowledge of the visitation.
Kolako said the inmate sought by the visiting security personnel was outside his housing unit for fresh air and exercise. He ordered the inmate to return to the housing unit, and the inmate complied.
He said he then resumed his normal supervisory duties over approximately 1,800 inmates and nearly 100 officers on duty.
“A few minutes later, I noticed from a distance the presence of Mr. Siafa Bahn Kemokai and several LNP officers within the MCP,” Kolako said.
He said he approached Kemokai and offered the customary paramilitary courtesy, which he said was not returned. Instead, Kolako alleged that Kemokai ordered his arrest in the presence of several police officers.
Kolako said he believed the manner in which the arrest was ordered could have provoked his officers and potentially triggered a disturbance or mass prison break.
“With twelve years of experience at this prison, I recognized the provocation and the potential national consequences that accepting such provocation could have caused,” he said.
He said he left the area quickly because he was concerned that his officers might witness the arrest and react before understanding the potential consequences.
Kolako said he was taken to LNP headquarters, where he received conflicting information about his whereabouts. He said his officers eventually traced him but were denied access to him, except for senior Ministry of Justice officials.
According to Kolako, the LNP did not take a statement from him during the six days he remained in custody, from Aug. 1 through Aug. 7.
He said that on Aug. 3 at approximately 9 p.m., senior prison officers from the Ministry of Justice, two NSA agents and members of LNP Unit 105 compelled him to have his mobile phones brought to police headquarters and provide the passwords associated with them.
Kolako said he complied that night.
He alleged that during the encounter, authorities accused him of being a member of a drug cartel and claimed that he had received substantial financial deposits from drug cartels.
Kolako said he was later instructed to return home and report back the following day. He said he declined to leave police custody because he was uncertain about his safety.
“I refused and decided that I would not leave LNP custody until there was certainty regarding my safety,” he said.
He said he subsequently found a way to notify several colleagues and family members about his situation.
Kolako said he was released from LNP headquarters at about 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, and was effectively forced to leave with his two mobile phones, which he said had remained in the possession of the NSA since Aug. 3.
Around the same time, he said, a senior prison officer presented him with a suspension letter.
Kolako said he accepted and read the letter but told the officer he would acknowledge receipt on Monday after consulting with others and getting some rest.
According to Kolako, the suspension letter alleged that he had disrupted an ongoing interview with an inmate being conducted by an external security agency.
He questioned the basis for the allegation and why he was referred to the police rather than the Ministry of Justice’s internal disciplinary process.
“I have never consumed alcohol or smoked, so when did I become impaired enough to engage in such conduct?” he asked.
“Even assuming, for the sake of argument, that I had committed such an offense, the Ministry of Justice has an established disciplinary board. Why, then, was I turned over to the Liberia National Police?” he said.
Kolako also defended his professional record, saying his career has been defined by public service and financial sacrifice.
He said he spent nine years as a classroom teacher, three years as a conductor with the National Transit Authority and 12 years in law enforcement.
According to Kolako, he has maintained an unblemished record throughout his years of service and has never earned a net monthly salary exceeding $224.
“Out of self-discipline, I chose never to trade my integrity and loyalty to my country for financial gain or personal advancement,” he said.
Kolako did not disclose all the details surrounding the allegations against him, citing the ongoing investigation. His account also did not establish whether any formal charges are pending against him.
