The government needs to initiate an immediate investigation into reports of public corruption and toxic work environment at the Embassy of Liberia located in the Court of Saint James in London, England.
An investigation which was initiated two years ago has outlined rampant corruption at that foreign mission linking several individuals including former and current employees but some of the interviewees who uncovered the facts revealed what seemed to be damning for our country’s foreign mission.
According to those current and former employees who preferred not to be named for fear of retaliation, the Liberian Ambassador, Ambassador Gurly Gibson Schwarz, allegedly operates a criminal enterprise at the embassy.
Ambassador Schwarz is the sister of Liberia’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Bhofal Chambers and several former employees reported that her husband, Herald Schwarz, a German national who practically oversees the daily operations at the Embassy was hired as a consultant at the embassy.
According to information gathered that, Schwarz, also an IT professional, has changed the internet server at the embassy and installed surveillance cameras and monitoring software on the embassy’s computers and uses these devices to monitor the daily activities of staff at the embassy.
It is alleged that Ambassador Schwarz and her husband determined that her husband changed the visa stamp and sticker at the embassy and instruct that the embassy staff must request a visa stamp from Mr. Schwarz while there is no tracking mechanism to ensure accountability.
One former employee said that Mr. Schwartz who is in possession of a Liberian diplomatic passport and sits in high-level embassy meetings runs the embassy as he pleases and no one dares challenge his authority.
On July 8, 2019, one staff was fired for allegedly refusing to apologize to Ambassador Schwartz’s husband for brushing hard against him and storming out of the ambassador’s office while she was still speaking to said employee.
Investigation into business dealings at the embassy in London, England, also revealed that Sekou Kaba, the General Service Officer in charge of maintenance, is the chief architect behind the corrupt dealings at the embassy.
Mr. Kaba allegedly serves as the middle man negotiating and arranging the sale of Liberian passports to foreigners.
With his unhindered influence at the embassy, Mr. Kaba was issued a diplomatic passport and an airport access card to escort diplomats while at the same time presides over the daily affairs of the embassy in the absence of ambassador.
One former employee reported that Kaba accompanied two Indian nationals with Liberian diplomatic passports in 2019 to the Argentinian embassy for a visa. The former staffer further revealed that Kaba sells Liberian passports with the full backing of Ambassador Schwartz for personal gains.
The former employees are also accusing Ambassador Schwarz of firing experienced Foreign Service staff and replacing them with blind loyalists apart from the rampant corruption being carried at that foreign mission.
In the wake of passport scandals and global terrorism, it is concerning that Liberian passports are being sold to criminals and members of international terrorist organizations.
