Liberian Security Expert Cecil Griffiths Says Wearing Of Party T-shirts & Caps “Erodes Public Confidence” In State Security
PHOTO: One of the armed EPS officers who was wearing CDC T-shirt and cap guarding the President
By Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
Politicizing state security forces has serious implications for the country’s peace and stability and it tends to instill fears in the Liberian people, warns a Liberian security expert, Cecil B. Griffiths who is head of the Liberia National Law Enforcement Association (LINEA).
On Saturday, February 4, 2023, many observing the CDC 2nd term nomination of its Standard Bearer, President George Weah were taken aback to see some of his presidential guards, Executive Protection Service (EPS) officer dressed in CDC party T-shirts and cap carrying automatic weapons at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS).
Mr. Griffiths, a retired senior officer of the Liberia National Police (LNP), criticized the Director of the EPS, Trokon Roberts who should have taken disciplinary action against his EPS men who violated security ethics by wearing political party T-shirts and caps while armed and in public.
LINEA President Cecil B. Griffiths
Speaking on the latest edition of the new weekly radio magazine program, 2023 ELECTIONS UPDATE produced by Public Trust Media Group (PTMG), the head of LINEA criticized the silence and inaction by the EPS high command, something he said suggests that they are in support of the action by their men.
Any investigation and public disciplinary action now will just be “cosmetic”, the Liberian security expert added.
“If the guys are staff of the EPS and were seen in CDC party uniforms, the EPS boss should have taken action long time. But if they are silent it means they are in maybe in support of the issue,” Mr. Griffiths noted.
The action of the EPS officers on February 4 to openly sympathizing with a political party “is unprecedented in Liberia and I think we need to put a stop to it, it erodes public confidence in the security sector and the law enforcement community.”
The head of the Liberia National Law Enforcement Association has therefore insisted that concrete disciplinary action must be taken as a deterrent so that such a practice of glaring partisanship cannot happen again.
Days after the public display of partisanship by the EPS officers, the Justice Ministry through Information Minister Ledgerhood Rennie released a statement saying: “The Government says these concerns are legitimate and terms the EPS Officers’ behavior as embarrassing which it attributes to over-exuberance and lack of knowledge of the standard operating procedures of the service.”
However, Liberian security expert Griffiths said although EPS duty manual is still in draft form, because its high command is yet to approve the handbook, the “the EPS is part of the national law enforcement sector,” and the cannons of police ethics mandates nonpartisanship.
He furthered stated that it is a globally security ethics requires that state security be apolitical.
“That the law officer represents the community and their legally expressed will and should therefore not be a member of any political party, faction or clique.” And such law enforcement officers should refrain from no security officer or official should be a member of any political party, neither should they be partisan in their activities or should refrain from becoming involved in political party activities,” Mr. Griffiths noted.
He said other political parties will have some issues and eventually they will lose the public’s trust. “They’ll feel frightened, it is a serious problem and it needs to be addressed.”
In Liberia, the Liberian security expert said that the system is flawed, as political leaders who become president tend to change the entire leadership of the state security to bring in individuals who are aligned or loyal to the leader.