The Politicization of the Liberia National Police is Deepening Despite its Reforms (The LNP Act, 2015)

Guided by the theory of change as the theoretical framework in which the study is anchored, this article has argued that the Liberia National Police is becoming increasingly politicized, which is ironic given the goals of its reform inaugurated in 2004 under the auspices of UNMIL. With the reliance on a qualitative approach particularly focusing on secondary data as the content analysis and anecdotal evidence, the study has intellectualized how section 22.76(b) of the LNP Act, 2015 subjected the LNP to politicization. The study sees this section as a sharp or complete contradiction to Section 3 (l) that strictly forbids the LNP from a partisan approach to enforcing the rule of law in Liberia and Section 4 that defines police officer in LNP context. The study also argued that people who have visibly aligned themselves with a political party with the expectation of being appointed are already compromised even before their appointment. As such, it sets the stage for the public to brand the LNP as partisan police. The paper concludes that instead of the reform reducing the politicization of the LNP, it is deepening the phenomenon. Finally, the paper concludes that based on the theoretical framework in which the crux of argument is anchored, there is a serious need to revisit section 22.76 (b) which is counter-productive to the development and professionalism of the LNP.