Liberia: Dismissed Ria Airport Official Is Sole Owner of Firm Behind Rejected Dock Request for Fugitive Vessel

What the report says

FrontPageAfrica reports that Mark Egon Kuiah, a former deputy director for operations at Roberts International Airport in Liberia, is the sole shareholder of Madris and Companies, Incorporated, the firm linked to a request for docking privileges for the vessel IB Atlantic IV. Corporate filings reviewed by the newspaper reportedly show Kuiah as owning all authorized shares of the company, which was registered in 2018 for fishing, cold-storage, and import-export activities.

According to the article, Kuiah wrote to the Liberia Maritime Authority on July 13 in his role as registered agent for the company, seeking permission for the vessel to dock at the Freeport of Monrovia. The maritime authority rejected the request, saying the vessel was still in Sierra Leonean waters at the time and had not docked elsewhere, which raised questions about the request’s basis.

The report says the IB Atlantic IV is the same vessel Liberian forces have since pursued off Rivercess. Authorities are also examining unconfirmed reports that a smaller boat may have approached the ship and tried to place something aboard it. The timing is notable because Kuiah’s letter came before his dismissal amid Liberia’s broader cocaine scandal, though the article does not say LiMA has linked the company to any wrongdoing.

Neither Kuiah nor the company responded to the newspaper’s inquiries, and LiMA has not said whether it is investigating any connection between the docking request and the search for the vessel.