FORMER LIBERIAN VP, EX-WIFE OF CHARLES TAYLOR, JAILED AHEAD OF DRUG TRAFFICKING TRIAL
Former Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has been transferred to Monrovia Central Prison as she awaits further court proceedings over allegations linking her to an international drug trafficking network.
Howard-Taylor, who served as Liberia’s Vice President from 2018 to 2024 under former President George Weah, faces several charges, including illicit drug trafficking, unlicensed importation and distribution of controlled substances, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation, criminal solicitation and money laundering.
The 63-year-old politician is also the former wife of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who ruled Liberia from 1997 to 2003. Howard-Taylor previously served as Liberia’s First Lady during Taylor’s presidency. Charles Taylor is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom following his conviction by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war.
Howard-Taylor was stopped at Roberts International Airport on August 19 as she prepared to leave Liberia and was subsequently taken into police custody. Her case forms part of an investigation into an alleged transnational narcotics network operating within and outside Liberia.
On Tuesday, a Monrovia court rejected a request by her lawyers for her to remain in hospital on medical grounds and ordered her transfer to Monrovia Central Prison as legal proceedings continue. Her defence team has rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless and politically motivated.
The case comes amid heightened concern over international drug trafficking through Liberia following major cocaine seizures in recent months.
Liberian authorities have stressed that the charges against Howard-Taylor remain allegations and that she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a court of law.