Liberia: Ex-VP Denies Drug Charges

What the report says

Former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has denied allegations connecting her to drug trafficking and related offenses, according to a report by the Liberian Observer carried by AllAfrica. She said the case is politically motivated and unfairly damages her reputation. The matter has drawn wider attention in Liberia because it touches both the government’s anti-drug drive and concerns about due process.

The article says Howard-Taylor, who served as vice president from 2018 to 2024, was stopped at Roberts International Airport on August 19 while preparing to travel to Accra, Ghana, where she was due to speak. Her office said she had not been told in advance that she was under investigation and had not been questioned before the airport stop. It also said she was later taken to Police Headquarters and formally charged after being intercepted while heading to meet lawyers.

Howard-Taylor’s office rejected suggestions that she was involved in drug activity, and said any contacts she had with people now under investigation were tied to official duties. The government, for its part, said she was charged after an investigation by a Joint National Security Investigative Team under laws including Liberia’s drug, penal and anti-money-laundering statutes. The reported allegations include trafficking-related offenses and money laundering, and three foreign nationals have also been charged in absentia.

The case comes amid heightened public concern over illicit drugs in Liberia, including a major cocaine seizure cited by the government. The report says civil society figures and a former House Speaker are urging both strong enforcement and equal treatment under the law, making the Howard-Taylor case a test of how Liberia balances security, rights and political fairness.