Actions of personnel of the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the Executive Protective Service (EPS) are not exemplary and must not be emulated by the men and women of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
Personnel of these two state security forces have allowed themselves to be lured into politics and have therefore lost public trust and confidence.
Today, Liberians refer to the Police and EPS as partisan security forces because of the way they conduct themselves.
Both forces have compromised their neutrality, making them objects of mockery.
As it is often said, “Action speaks louder than words.” Another popular saying in Liberia is: ‘It is the liar, who will always say his or her witness is behind the river’.
Personnel of the EPS just recently proved to the Liberian people and the world that the elite presidential security force has its loyalty to the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change or CDC and not the State.
Its personnel wore the party t-shirts of the CDC on the day the ruling political party launched its one-million citizen rally.
So were personnel of the Liberia National Police on July 26, 2022, Independence Day. They stood and watched members of the CDC Council of Patriots or COP to brutalize some students of the University of Liberia, who were having a peaceful protest near the United States Embassy in Monrovia.
Rather than protecting the students, members of the Police contingent protected members of the CDC COP under the watchful eyes of journalists.
So you see, the Police and EPS have proven beyond all reasonable doubts that they have lost public trust and it is unlikely they will regain that trust.
Believe it or not, as we approach the October 2023 Legislative and Presidential Elections, many Liberians, especially those from the opposition bloc, have begun to worry about their security under the protection of a national police force that has proven to be a partisan police force.
This is why the Armed Forces of Liberia, AFL, remains the country’s only pride and trusted security force as we go to elections.
Let this AFL, during and after the pending national elections, maintain its neutrality and not be lured into politics as was the case of the old AFL.
As President George Weah said during celebrations marking the AFL’s 66th anniversary, there cannot be a strong democracy without a professional military.
According to the President, he has no doubt that the AFL is on the right path to greatness, both locally and internationally.
This is why our national army should NOT thread the path of the Police and the EPS. That is the only way it can enjoy the trust and confidence of the Liberian people.
