“Justice Must Not Be Weaponized,” Council of Churches Urges Government to Seek Fairness in Ongoing High-Profile Capitol Arson Case

MONROVIA, LIBERIA: In an unapologetic intervention amid Liberia’s busy judicial landscape, the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) has unleashed a sharp rebuke of perceived prosecutorial overreach in the ongoing Capitol Building Arson Case, warning the Boakai-led administration and the judiciary to uphold the sanctity of due process and resist the growing temptation to use the law as an instrument of revenge.

By: Abraham Sylvester Panto

The LCC, through a strongly worded statement issued Saturday, June 28, 2025, by its General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Christopher Wleh Toe, declared that while corruption, sabotage, and treasonous acts must be addressed within the bounds of national justice, any deviation from constitutional procedure, fairness, and neutrality would mark a fatal blow to Liberia’s already fragile democratic integrity.

The Church’s statement comes on the heels of the Capitol Arson legal showdown, at a time when public anxiety is mounting over whether the prosecution of political figures connected to the controversial blaze at the Capitol Building is being driven by genuine evidence or by political expediency aimed at punishing past regimes.

“We support the government’s duty to fight corruption and pursue justice,” the Council emphasized, “but justice must never come at the cost of fairness, neutrality, and lawful procedure. The law must not be converted into a political sword. Every person is innocent until proven guilty, and they must be treated with dignity, not demonized for headlines.”

The arson case, in which several persons are facing prosecution for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to torch the Capitol to conceal procurement fraud, has evolved into a political flashpoint.

The investigation, praised by some as a bold assertion of institutional accountability, has equally triggered criticism from human rights groups and opposition leaders who accuse the prosecution of relying on hearsay and politically manipulated charges to detain suspects in violation of their rights.

“Let no one use the law for politics or personal gain,” the statement reads. “Let every step be guided by what is just and right, not what is politically convenient. If this trial becomes a circus, the entire justice system will be on trial before the nation and the world.”