KABLAKEN, Maryland County – At Liberia’s southeastern frontier, where the Cavalla River meets the Atlantic Ocean and separates Liberia from Côte d’Ivoire, the country’s presence at one of its most strategic border crossings is quietly being sustained—not by a government facility, but by the generosity of a single resident.
By Peter P. Toe, Jr. Peterp.toe@frontpageafricaonline.com
The Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) border facility in Kablaken, Harper District, Maryland County, once built to strengthen border security, now stands abandoned after years of deterioration.
Its broken roof, shattered doors, cracked walls and unsafe living conditions have rendered the structure unfit for both work and residence.
Constructed during the period of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) under the administration of former President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf, the facility was strategically designed to serve as both an administrative office and residential quarters for immigration officers assigned to the Liberia–Côte d’Ivoire border.
Located directly across from the Ivorian town of Blieron, Kablaken is a major cross-border point connecting Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, making it strategically important for immigration control, cross-border trade and national security.
Today, however, the official border post no longer serves its intended purpose.
Instead, immigration officers have spent more than four years operating from the modest home of Community Watch Forum Chairman Tumu Morais, whose single living room now functions as their office, meeting room and workspace after he offered them shelter when the government facility became uninhabitable.
Speaking to reporters, who visited the town over the weekend, Morais said he could not watch officers assigned to protect the country’s border commute long distances from Pleebo, Harper or Karloken every day because there was nowhere safe for them to stay.
“This building has been in this condition for many years now,” Morais said.
“Because of the condition of this building, I took the Immigration to my area, and that’s where they are operating.”
He explained that allowing officers to return to distant towns after each day’s work would have left the border exposed.
“I could not allow them to come to work, then after work they travel back to Pleebo, Harper or Karloken, so I had to take them in and they stay with me in my house.”
According to him, the arrangement has continued for more than four years, with one group of officers completing its assignment before another took over—all while living under his roof.
“The first group left and the new group is here. More than four years now they have been here with me.”
Morais stated that the deteriorating building has become a source of embarrassment for both the community and the country, especially for visitors entering Liberia from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
“Now, that building can be shameful to us. When French people come across, when we show them the building, they can’t enter—they can go back.” “We are calling on the government to come work on this building. It is really shameful for our country. French immigration can come and laugh at us. It is hurting us too bad.”
His concerns are shared by residents who use the border crossing regularly. Businesswoman Martha Gweh described the condition of the immigration post as embarrassing for Liberia.
“When we crossing these days, our own immigration office is not visible. This is seriously embarrassing,” she said.
Contacted by FrontPage Africa Monday evening, Charles Greene, Deputy Spokesperson for the Liberia Immigration Service, acknowledged that the condition of the Kablaken border facility is not a new issue.
“The issue of Kablaken is not a new issue to the Liberia Immigration Service. It is one of the many problems that we are faced with and that we are handling right now,” Greene said.
He explained that the service is managing several infrastructure challenges simultaneously while pursuing broader institutional development.
“We have other competing priorities. As you may have been aware, we just got through with in-service training, and I’m very much sure that after the in-service training, those other issues will be handled.”
Greene noted that the Liberia Immigration Service is constructing residential headquarters in several counties and said border facilities have not been forgotten.
“Perhaps you may not be in the know, but the Liberia Immigration Service is in the process of constructing residential headquarters in the various counties. Once the land is available, we are going to construct our own headquarters there. Now, we cannot be constructing our own headquarters and leave those border areas undone. All of those places that are not in good shape, the administration is working very well to make sure that they are in good shape.”
When asked when work would begin on the Kablaken facility, Greene declined to provide a specific timeline.
“I may not speak to time, but as time goes by, this administration is doing all it can do to have these things put into place.”
Until that happens, one of Liberia’s most important international border crossings will continue operating from the single living room of a community volunteer rather than the government facility built for that purpose.
For more than four years, Tumu Morais has carried a responsibility that belongs to the state, ensuring immigration officers remain at their post despite the collapse of the official facility. While authorities say plans are underway to address the situation, no date has been announced for rehabilitation.
Until then, the abandoned building—with its broken roof, cracked walls and shattered doors—will continue to stand as a visible reminder of neglect, while Liberia’s border in Kablaken is kept operational through the sacrifice of an ordinary citizen.
