Liberia: Taylor Lawyers Drop Preliminary Examination Bid As State Presses Cartel Case

What the report says

Former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor’s defense team has withdrawn its request for a preliminary examination in a cocaine-trafficking case, allowing the prosecution to continue without a pretrial hearing focused on the strength of its evidence. The development was reported by The Liberian Investigator and distributed by AllAfrica on Sept. 8, 2026, in Monrovia.

According to the report, the case is being heard in Criminal Court “C.” Prosecutors allege that Howard-Taylor is linked to people involved in an international drug-trafficking network that used Liberia as a transit route. A state investigator testified that she communicated with alleged cartel figures and received US$15,000 on Aug. 17, 2020, through a request said to have been made via Sheikh Bassirou Kante. The prosecution has also relied on WhatsApp messages, text messages and audio recordings it says support its claims.

The defense has challenged that evidence on grounds including hearsay, authentication and privacy, while Judge Ousman F. Feika overruled several objections, including on text-message material. The court referenced prior case law allowing some evidence gathered in covert operations. Prosecutors are now seeking permission to play additional audio they say was recovered from communications involving Howard-Taylor and alleged cartel associates.

Howard-Taylor has not been convicted, and the state must still prove its allegations in court. The case is being watched closely because it involves a prominent former national official and broader concerns about alleged drug-trafficking routes through West Africa.