Although the riots appeared to have been politically manipulated, the initial cause was a decision by President William Tolbert, on the advice of Chenoweth, to increase the price of rice.
Tolbert was killed during the coup on 12 April and 13 members of the Administration, including the deputy minister of agriculture, were executed ten days later.
[8] In January 2013 she was suspended from office for one month by the President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, following a scandal related to the corrupt issuance of forestry permits.
Although not alleged to have personally profited, Chenoweth was accused of having failed to provide proper oversight and due diligence in the issuance of permits.
During her tenure she implemented a “Back to the Soil” campaign in Liberia to empower rural female farmers, which had success in increasing rice and cassava production.