In Western parlance, it is said, “If the Christmas will be good, you will know from the eve.” With barely two months to the conduct of the October 10, 2023 general and presidential elections, electoral violence is gradually becoming the order of the day, with major political actors beating the drums of chaos, in contrast to their commitment to the Farmington River Declaration, in which they pledged to subscribe to and support a peaceful, violence-free election.
Troubling statements have been spewing from several members and supporters of the Unity Party (UP) since the crowds of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Unity Party (UP) recently collided on the Airfield, district #9, Montserrado County, with the incident becoming bloody and leaving supporters from both ends wounded.
Yekeh Kolubah, Representative of district #10 and supporter of Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai’s presidency, is claiming that the President of the Republic, George Manneh Weah, is after his life, but before it happens he will be the first to claim the President’s life. He threatened that if President Weah wants Liberia to turn to Rwanda, he would gladly help him—dragging the country into chaos and mayhem.
Yekeh, a trained security personnel, stated that he cannot sit and watch President Weah “disrespect” the Liberian people, threatening to “kill” the President the day they meet one-to-one. In his words, Yekeh said President Weah, while speaking to the people of district #10 at the former Suzan Berry School, said, “The next time Yekeh and myself ‘borloh’ [meet] in the market, we all will sleep in the market.”
Yekeh threatened, “George Weah, let me say to you…just how you setting for me, I’m setting for you. And the day you and myself ‘borloh’…I know you can’t kill me; I will kill you since you want to kill me. You think we will be afraid of you, George Weah? Ehn you say you setting for me? The day anybody from the opposition is brutalized by CDCians we will get in the street and brutalize not less than 100 CDCians. George Weah, if you want this place to turn into Rwanda, I can help you.”
Yekeh made it clear that he does not trust the Supreme Court, threatening that “any attempt for anyone to do anything in my district I will revert to the bush. I hold no regret. George Weah, let me tell you something: the same way you’re setting for me, myself setting for you. you came in my district, brought 100 EPS, 75 AFL…Look, I’m calling on all our men in the AFL, police, SSS, NSA, Immigration, all our men that are standing by, to standby and wait for instruction…any attempt for George Weah to put fear in people and say he can rig this election…you want to turn this country into Rwanda, I can help you, George Weah.”
He said they will not listen to anyone who wants to be seen as a “diplomat”, describing President Weah as a “former President” and a “gangster”. He said they will not listen to the international community or ECOWAS.
In a similar manner, the Senator of Montserrado County and Lead Campaigner of the Unity Party, Abraham Darius Dillon, has also threatened that enough is enough, and the situation in district #9 will be the last. He, too, indicated that the day CDCians throw stones at them they will retaliate, and if they fire gunshot at them they will fire back.
Dillon said he was speaking in the capacities of the Unity Party Campaign Lead and Senator of Montserrado County.
Also, the Secretary General of the UP, Amos Tweah, and the Spokesman of the UP Campaign, Mohammed Ali, have added their voices to the sounds of chaos, threatening to ignore the Farmington Declaration and legal process by retaliating if CDCians ever try to stone them. Mo Ali said any CDCian seen within 100 meter radar around a UP gathering would be considered a potential threat, and would be dealt with accordingly.
Several Liberians have condemned the statements of these politicians and expressed their hope for a peaceful, violence-free election come October 10, 2023.
Political observers are wondering as to the intent of the Unity Party, noting that these statements are tantamount to instigating chaos and reverting the country back to its darkest days. According to them, while the Liberia National Police (LNP) have launched an investigation into the incident at district #9, but yet to conclude its findings and determine who was in the wrong, the UP stalwarts are taking the law into their own hands, giving themselves the right and deciding the next course of action.
They say this is not healthy for the country’s growing democracy, especially when this is the first presidential election to be conducted without the presence of international security forces since the end of the brutal civil conflict. They recalled all political actors to the Farmington Declaration, and charged them with the responsibility of upholding the peace and stability of the country.
According to the political observers, President Weah, from his end, has condemned the incident and called on his supporters to remain peaceful and maintain the peace. They say he is on record for even asking the security forces to throw out an intoxicated CDCian who was seen drinking alcohol in the crowd while on his district tour recently.
They commended the President, who is also a candidate in the upcoming election, and insisted that all other candidates and political actors become agents of peace, in the supreme interest of the country.