It’s been four years since Sensee Morris took the brave decision to call out corruption. It’s a choice very few Liberians make, according to transparency advocates, because of the dangers involved. And Mr. Morris has paid a heavy price.

By Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives

As a deputy managing director of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Mr. Morris, 46, had helped secure $30 million from the World Bank to build water infrastructure in central Monrovia. When his colleagues withdrew $US80,000 of the funds without his knowledge, Mr. Morris reported the corruption to authorities (also known as “blowing the whistle”). It was a decision, he says, that cost him his job, his reputation, and his family’s stability.

“I have not been able to get a job for my family. Even in some places, I go to find means to make a living, people are afraid to do business with me,” Mr. Morris said in an interview.

In 2022 when Liberia’s Legislature passed two laws to protect whistleblowers Mr. Morris thought his courage would finally be recognized. But three years on, his hopes have been dashed. Though the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), the government agency that implements the Whistleblower Act, cleared Mr. Morris of wrongdoing and found six individuals guilty in March 2024, he has not worked in formal employment since. He received threatening messages, that forced him to go into hiding inside Liberia in 2021.

While the Whistleblower Act and Witness Protection Act promised...

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