MONROVIA – Most political parties in Liberia when seeking the presidency, which is the highest seat in the land, political leaders of those parties will use young people as their ‘foot soldiers’ to propagate and promote their agendas in the trenches, in hamlets, towns, villages, communities, districts and counties nationwide, with the promise upon ascendancy the youth will be placed on high priorities in seeking their general interests, ranging from education, jobs, among others.
In 2006 following her inauguration as President of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in appointing her government officials reached out to some opposition members and included them into her government in the spirit of reconciliation since the country had just ended a devastating civil war that lasted for 14 years.
While her decision was hailed by the opposition bloc, youth and other party members of her governing Unity Party (UP) came up against her, stating that she was prioritizing opposition politicians more than her own party members who sacrificed to campaign for her ascendancy to the Liberian presidency. Despite those criticism, Madam Sirleaf kept her focus and still incorporated more opposition bloc members into government, including the likes of former Education Minister D. Joseph Korto (deceased), Dr. James Kollie (CDC Ideologue), Nathaniel Barnes, Lewis G. Brown, Isaac W. Jackson, among many others. She told her UP partisans that she was President of Liberia and not just president of the UP.
In the case of former President George Weah, he, too, came under heavy criticism from CDCians who classified themselves as ‘Disenchanted CDCians’. They, too, said, they were ignored and marginalized following the ascendancy of their political leader as President of Liberia. Those CDCians accused former Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill,(now Senator) of selling positions to non-CDCians, who came from the diaspora, while ignoring grassroot CDCians, who sacrificed their tears, sweet and blood for the CDC to acquire state power in 2018.
Fast forward to the Joseph Boakai Administration, which took state power in January 2024, with one year few months into his administration, the youth wing of the Unity Party Alliance, a conglomeration of like-mind political parties that came together to support the candidacy of Mr. Boakai in the second round of the 2023 Presidential Election. Having governed for more than a year now, a staunch supporter of the ruling Unity Party Alliance, Lasana S. Kanneh, has accused the party of betraying the young people who fought tirelessly to secure President Joseph Boakai’s victory in November 2023. In a strongly-worded public letter, Kanneh expressed deep disappointment over what he describes as “the marginalization of the party’s youthful base.”
According to Kanneh, the young men and women who stood at the forefront of the Unity Party’s campaign—often under difficult and risky conditions—are now being sidelined. He said these young people, driven by patriotism and hope, “poured their sweat, tears, and dreams” into a political movement that has now forgotten them. Despite their crucial role in bringing the party to power, they have received little to no recognition or support in return.
“The Unity Party we once knew was a beacon of unity,” Kanneh writes, “but today, it has settled into a posture of neglect.” He describes how youth advocates have made repeated efforts to reach out to party leadership—seeking employment or simple acknowledgment—but have been met with broken promises, unanswered calls, and silence. This treatment, he said, has led to embarrassment in their communities and growing frustration among the base.
Kanneh’s statement also questions the party’s current alliances, criticizing leaders for favoring individuals who were once opponents of President Boakai’s vision. “It is annoying to witness those we trusted extend greater favor to individuals who once sought to dismantle our movement,” he stated. For many youths, this shift in loyalty feels like a betrayal of the ideals they once fought for.
The frustration expressed in the piece is not only political but emotional. Kanneh acknowledged that while the youths never expected immediate rewards, they did expect to be treated with dignity and remembered as part of the party’s ongoing mission. He warned that ignoring the voices of young partisans could sow division and damage the Unity Party’s foundation moving forward.
He further emphasized that the silence of the youth should not be mistaken for weakness. “Though wounded, we are not defeated,” he said. “The pain of today will forge the resolve of tomorrow.” The letter ends with a call to action, urging the party to empower and honor its youthful supporters—not as a favor, but as a responsibility owed for their sacrifices.
As of now, the Unity Party has not publicly responded to Kanneh’s concerns. However, many young people within the party structure and campaign network have expressed similar sentiments, pointing to a growing internal dissatisfaction over exclusion and unfulfilled expectations.
Ruling Unity Party Chair Leads Protest Outside President’s Home Over Jobs
It can be recalled in February of 2024, just a month into the ascendancy of the Joseph Boakai’s Unity Party (UP) to the state power, the party’s Chairman, Rev. Dr. Luther Tarpeh, mobilized youth of the UP Alliance and held a protest at the resident of President Boakai, stressing their neglect, marginalizing and being betrayed.
The scramble for jobs in the then newly minted Liberian government was taking a daily turn of surprises for many of the die-hard supporters who had helped President Boakai get elected. Supporters of the party’s Chairman Rev. Luther Tarpeh assembled in front of the President’s home to inquire why Tarpeh (who is now Board Chairman of the National Port Authority) and other partisans had not been appointed to public positions.
Some supporters who gathered in front of the President’s compound carried placards before entering his fence. The partisans said the decision by President Boakai not to announce Dr. Tarpeh’s name was counter-productive to the massive work that he put during the elections to ensure the triumph during the 2023 Presidential Election.
Angry supporters expressed their grievances and could be heard requesting that Boakai withdraws some of the names nominated to be replaced by the party’s chairman Tarpeh.
Among some of the names that drew surprise was the appointment at the National Port Authority of a relative unknown Sekou Dukuly, who some partisans said was not active on the campaign trail to get the President elected.
Some partisans told journalists that Dukuly had no work experience in government or port management to get such a high-profile job. Dukuly was said to be in the barrel shipping business between Liberia and the US. Both he and James Bernard, who was named as Deputy Managing Director for Administration, are said to be close friends of President Boakai’s son, Jojo Boakai.
Rev. Dr. Tarpeh was said to be one of those who had interest in the post at the National Port Authority, the Gateway to Liberia’s economy. Others also who felt left out were Stephen Yekerson, Robert Kpadeh and Mo Ali, all said to have interest in the job at the port. But after that protest at the President’s residence, all those mentioned by the UP protesters began to be appointed by President Boakai to lucrative positions in the government.
Mo Ali was appointed Managing Director of the Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC), Robert Kpadeh is Liberia’s Permanent Representative at the International Maritime Organization, Boakai Jaleiba is at the National Oil Company of Liberia, among many others.
So, it is unclear with the current criticism being directed at President Boakai for ignoring, neglecting, betraying and marginalizing the UP-Alliance Youth for their ‘hard work’ in his ascendancy to state power, whether he will revert to similar action that saw the likes of Rev. Dr. Tarpeh, Mo Ali, Boakai Jaleiba, among others being named in government and state-owned enterprises following that fateful protest outside of the President’s resident in February 2024.
Will Lasana S. Kanneh and his fellow UP-Alliance youths be considered by President Boakai for inclusion into his administration having reportedly played cardinal roles for him ascending to state power? The ball is in the court of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, who campaigned on youth empowerment when he was seeking the Liberian presidency in the 2023 presidential and legislative elections. Bookmakers are watching.
