By Adesina Soyooye
Mrs Jewel Howard-Taylor, a former Vice President of Liberia, has strongly denied accusations of drug trafficking and other sundry issues leveled against her by her Government.
The very serious allegations were reeled out by the Liberian Attorney General.
The suspect, who was also Liberia’s former First Lady, was intercepted at the Airport on her way to Accra, Ghana, where she was billed to deliver a key note address to an international audience.
She was, thereafter, taken to Police Headquarters where she was detained.
But in a statement issued issued by her office, Mrs Howard-Taylor described what happened to her as “deeply troubling and raises serious questions about how state power is being used in Liberia today”. She, also, dismissed the allegations as baseless, unfounded and with no merit.
The former Vice President under former President George Weah, said she would defend herself with every breath, and will never accept even one word contained in the allegations leveled against her. Not only are the allegations beneath content, she implied, she said the show how low the Liberian Government could go to misuse state powers.
The full text of the statement reads:
“The Office of former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor categorically rejects and denies, in the strongest possible terms, all charges read against Her Excellency by the Minister of Justice in which she was accused of drug trafficking and other related offences. These allegations are baseless, unfounded, and without merit, and Her Excellency will not accept a single word of them.
“What happened to Her Excellency on August 19 is deeply troubling and raises serious questions about how state power is being used in Liberia today.
“She was stopped from leaving Roberts International Airport en route to deliver a keynote address in Accra, Ghana — with no prior notice that she was under investigation and no summons for questioning.
“The Office subsequently learned that authorities were attempting to connect her to individuals allegedly under investigation for transnational criminal activity, based solely on official engagements carried out during her tenure as Vice President.
“Let us be absolutely clear that contacts and engagemements carried out in the course of executing her official duties are not evidence of participation in anyone’s alleged crimes.
“Former Vice President Howard-Taylor did not participate in, facilitate, finance, conceal, or knowingly associate herself with any drug-trafficking operation or criminal network, and she categorically rejects any suggestion to the contrary.
“Equally disturbing is how this matter has unfolded.
Her Excellency made clear at the airport that she was prepared to voluntarily report to Police Headquarters with her lawyers. Yet while traveling to meet her legal team, her vehicle was intercepted on the Congo Town Back-road and she was escorted to police headquarters, where she was charged in the presence of her lawyers. This is not how a former Vice President who has expressed her full willingness to cooperate should have been treated.
“The Office has also been made aware of plans by elements within the government to doctor and create audio and visual recordings, using artificial intelligence, to generate fabricated evidence against Her Excellency.
“This is an extremely serious and alarming development. It speaks to the lengths to which state actors may be prepared to go to construct a false narrative, and any such manufactured material will be met with independent forensic scrutiny.
“Her Excellency will not be intimidated, bullied into accepting guilt by association, or used to let legitimate law-enforcement concerns be turned into a political weapon. The timing, manner, and circumstances of this case raise serious questions about whether this is an honest pursuit of justice or a political campaign to discredit and silence a former Vice President.
“She considers it a politically motivated witch-hunt and an abuse of state power — and the Liberian people deserve to know whether state institutions are being used impartially.
“Let there be no mistake about her response: she will fight this through the law, confront every allegation, and defend her name, record, and integrity. She remains confident the truth will prevail, and welcomes a fair, transparent investigation based on evidence — not insinuation, political pressure, or manufactured narratives.
“We call on the Government to respect the rule of law and due process, and to let the courts — not political interests — determine the facts. We call on the Liberian people to remain calm: calm does not mean silence, and respect for the law does not mean surrendering the right to demand justice. Let the Government present its evidence. Let the courts do their work. Let the truth be tested in the open.
“Her Excellency Jewel Howard-Taylor has served Liberia at the highest levels of government. She has nothing to hide and will not run from the law – but neither will she allow her name to be dragged through the mud for political purposes.
“She will stand. She will fight. And she will defend the truth.
Further verified information will be released as appropriate.”
The former Vice President was married to a former Liberian President, the brutal Charles Taylor from whom is divorced. Taylor is serving a long jail sentence in a United Kingdom prison imposed on him by the International Criminal Court for the atrocities he committed when he was a warlord, and later, President. He was once granted asylum by the Nigerian Government.
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