Henry O. Williams denies stealing Saudi-donated rice in NDMA trial

Henry O. Williams, the former Executive Director of Liberia’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), testified in Criminal Court ‘C’ regarding the alleged mismanagement of Saudi-donated rice. Williams denied allegations that he stole 4,317 bags of the 25-kilogram rice, asserting instead that the supplies were distributed to disaster victims and vulnerable populations as requested by project documents.

Williams testified that a portion of the rice was distributed to agency employees as compensation for unloading, transporting, and storing the consignment after the agency failed to receive requested funding for those tasks. He also testified that 5,000 bags originally intended for the Gbarnga Regional Hub were instead turned over to the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) following a request and concerns regarding the hub’s storage capacity.

During the proceedings, Williams addressed discrepancies in the total number of bags received, attributing a difference in reported figures to an “oversight.” He noted that due to limited warehouse space, 11,200 bags had been moved to a General Services Agency warehouse.