In Summary:
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The lead host of Spoon Talk, Stanton Watherspoon, claimed that Liberian laws prohibit lawmakers from owning businesses
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We fact-checked his claim by reviewing the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia and found it to be incorrect.
On March 3, Stanton Watherspoon claimed on the Spoon Talk that lawmakers are forbidden by law from engaging in business. Waterspoon made this claim while supporting Wynfred Russell, another panelist on the show, who argued that a person cannot be an active lawmaker and simultaneously be actively involved in running a business.
Russell referenced Senator Momo Cyrus, alleging that the senator is actively involved in running a business despite being a sitting lawmaker.
In response, Waterspoon claimed that a law prohibits lawmakers from engaging in such activities.
The Claim
Wynfred Russell: “Momo Cyrus had his security company prior to joining the Senate. When he got to the Senate, he should have put that in a blind trust, not actively getting contracts here and there… This is just a major conflict of interest. You can not be a lawmaker and have an active business and be involved in actively running a business, and we see that all over the place.”
Staton Watherspoon: “But they get the law, they get the law. The law prevents them from doing that; the law on the books prevents that.”
Rating Justification
To fact-check the claim, we reviewed Liberia’s 1986 Constitution.
The 1986 Constitution is Liberia’s current fundamental law, adopted after a national referendum in 1984 and entering into force on January 6, 1986.
According to Article 90(a) of the constitution, “No person, whether elected or appointed to any public office, shall engage in any other activity which shall be against public policy, or constitute a conflict of interest.”
Additionally, Article 90(c) states that “the Legislature shall prescribe a Code of Conduct for all public officials… stipulating acts which constitute conflict of interest.”
These provisions mean that lawmakers can own businesses.
However, they are prohibited from engaging in activities that create a conflict of interest with their official duties—for example, using their position to benefit businesses they own or influence.
We then reviewed the National Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees of Government (2014). The law does not prohibit public officials, including lawmakers, from owning or operating businesses. Like the Constitution, it primarily seeks to prevent conflict of interest and the use of public office for private gain.
This is reflected in Section 9.6 – Use of Office for Private Interest, which states:
“A public official or employee of Government shall not use his or her office for private gain.”
Section 9.6 makes clear that public officials must avoid using their office to benefit their private businesses or financial interests. The Code also requires public officials to declare their assets and business interests, which is outlined in Part X – Declaration and Registration of Personal Interests, Assets, and Performance/Financial Bonds.
Taken together, the Constitution and the Code of Conduct do not impose a blanket prohibition on lawmakers owning or operating businesses. Instead, they restrict public officials from engaging in activities that create a conflict between their private interests and their public responsibilities.
Conclusion
Based on these findings, the claim by Stanton Watherspoon that lawmakers are forbidden by law from engaging in active business activities is incorrect. The 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia-article 90 (a) and “(c) and the Code of Conduct did not prohibit lawmakers from owning or operating businesses, but it did prohibit them from engaging in activities that create a conflict of interest with their public duties.
