By Pewu Y. Sumo
MONROVIA – Joseph N. Boakai, Jr., the son of Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has strongly denied any involvement in narcotics trafficking and calls for an impartial investigation into what he characterizes as a calculated smear campaign.
In a statement release to, Boakai, Jr. addressed a recent viral video connecting him to illicit drug networks. It marks the first time the son the Liberian leader has publicly broken his silence regarding a series of personal allegations spanning the last three years.
According to Boakai Jr., the current controversy stems from a series of events that began a few days prior to his statement. He revealed that while asleep at approximately 3:00 AM, his phone received an unsolicited WhatsApp message from a phone number tracing back to Colombia. The message accused him of being involved in narcotics trafficking and included explicit threats against him.
Boakai Jr. stated that he initially viewed the text as a “foolish attempt” to manufacture a false connection to criminal activity. After replying to the message, he blocked the sender, took screenshots of the exchange, and immediately turned the evidence over to the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the National Security Agency (NSA).
However, the situation escalated the following day when an online video emerged exposing his profile picture, phone number, and the threat. Boakai Jr. emphasized that the creators of the video deliberately omitted his defensive response and his outright rejection of the claims to fundamentally alter public perception.
The video also featured photographs linking Boakai Jr. to another individual, whom he identified as Mr. Ibrahima Touré. Addressing this relationship directly, Boakai Jr. explained that he had met Touré earlier in the year through a mutual acquaintance, Mr. Habib Sheriff—a young Liberian entrepreneur looking for legitimate local business opportunities.
Their initial interactions centered purely on sports development and a proposed delegation visit to the Real Madrid Foundation. Because Boakai Jr. holds no official government office, he insisted that formal officials guide the process, resulting in three subsequent meetings that included the Minister of Youth and Sports and the Liberian Ambassador to France to discuss sports, medical technology, and telemedicine. He further noted that later conversations in May regarding private hospitality and food service ventures never resulted in any finalized agreements.
“At no point did Mr. Touré ask me to facilitate anything illegal,” Boakai Jr. said, extending the same clearance to Habib Sheriff and another heavily scrutinized associate, Mr. Mark Kuiah.
However, he made it clear that personal ties would not act as a shield: “Friendship is not immunity from the law. If any friend of mine is found to have violated the laws of this Republic, that person must answer before the law like every other citizen”.
Throughout his address, Boakai Jr. repeatedly stressed his separation from state operations, reminding the public that at the start of 2024, he made a deliberate decision to step away from the day-to-day affairs of government. This choice was made to ensure state officials could work independently without anyone claiming he was wielding undue influence as the President’s son.
“I have never held myself out as a government official,” he clarified. “I neither make government decisions nor direct government institutions. My relationship to the Presidency is one of family—not constitutional authority”.
Declaring that “justice requires evidence, due process, and fairness,” Boakai Jr. welcomed a thorough, objective investigation by the LNP, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), or the NSA. He pledged his total cooperation with any competent authority, reiterating that he has never participated in drug trafficking, facilitated illegal activities, accepted money for influence, or used his family name to obstruct accountability.
Concluding his remarks with an appeal to the public and the youth of Liberia, he urged citizens to rely on factual evidence presented to proper authorities rather than social media speculation. He maintained that while he accepts the heavy scrutiny that comes with his position as the President’s son, the focus must remain on supporting security forces to dismantle actual narcotics networks inside the country.
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