MONROVIA – In his life time, the late Nimba County Senator, Prince Y. Johnson, alias PYJ was popularly known as the “Godfather” of Nimba politics due to his commanding influence and affluence in determining which citizen or resident of the county ascended to a legislative seat on the national level.
The late Nimba Senator gained such power during his revolutionary days, starting in the mid 1980’s and leading into the 1990s, when he defended the people of Nimba County from annihilation from the claws of former Liberian president and military junta leader, Samuel Kanyon Doe.
According to the late Senator when he appeared before the erstwhile Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, he vehemently stated that he took arms along with others against the Doe government because he had to defend the people of Nimba from being erased from the face of the Liberia.
And so, it came as no surprise to most Liberians when Nimbaians in the thousands overwhelmingly supported the late Senator PYJ when he first declared his intention to contest the senatorial seat of their county in 2005, after falling out of favor with the Unity Party (UP) headed by Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the time.
From 2005 till his death in November 2024, Prince Y. Johnson won one of the county’s senatorial seats three different times for a nine-year-term respectively. He served for 18 years consecutively and was in his third time that would made him to serve for 27 years, where he would have been the longest serving senator in Liberia. And due to his influence almost every candidate’s hand the late PYJ would raise eventually won either a senatorial seat or representative seat, with the likes of the current Jeremiah Kpan Koung and the now senator Samuel Kogar being beneficiaries.
It also a well-known fact that the late Senator Prince Y. Johnson’s influence made current Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung a candidate for his party, Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) to send him to the Unity Party (UP) and he was made running mate to former Vice president Joseph Boakai, where the both of them eventually ascended to the presidency and vice presidency in 2023.
And even in death, it is said in Nimba County that the people resolved to replace PYJ with someone who he had nurtured politically, and true their words former Representative Samuel Kogar of the MDR, Prince Johnson’s party, was elected senator overwhelmingly by the people of Nimba to replace their fallen Senator – PYJ.
So, is MDR Betrayed? VP Koung and Senator Kogar Indicted
One of the prominent activists in Nimba County and Liberia at large, Rev. Dr. Prince S. Woniewala, in a letter that has stirred political debate across Nimba County, has indicted Vice President Jeremiah Koung and Senator Prince K. Kogar of betraying the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), political party that was the brainchild of their political ‘Godfather,’ the late senator Prince Y. Johnson.
Addressed directly to the Vice President and the Nimba County Senator, the open letter expresses profound disappointment over what Rev. Woniewala describes as their failure to publicly support the MDR candidate in the recent by-election for Electoral District #5.
Known for his outspoken activism, Woniewala criticized both officials for what he views as a serious breach of political loyalty and a disregard for the values of the party founded by the late Senator Prince Y. Johnson.
“You were given opportunities to serve the people of Liberia — Vice President Koung as a Representative, then Senator, and now Vice President-through the political foundation laid by Senator Johnson,” the letter states. “It is disheartening that you would now jeopardize his legacy.”
Senator Kogar was also called out for allegedly attempting to undermine Johnson’s authority within the Nimba County Legislative Caucus. Woniewala referenced a failed effort by Kogar to remove Johnson as Caucus Chair, despite Johnson’s pivotal role in advancing Kogar’s political career.
“Senator Johnson was instrumental in your ascent within the Legislature, yet you opposed his leadership,” the letter reads.
The activist questioned the officials’ loyalty, arguing that their silence during the by-election suggests a lack of commitment to the party and its supporters.
“If you cannot stand firmly behind the political institution that elevated you into public office, how can we expect you to make decisions that benefit the people of Nimba County?” he asked.
Woniewala further accused the two leaders of putting personal interests above party duty, calling their actions “shameful and disgraceful.”
The letter ends with a strong appeal to voters in Nimba County to hold their elected leaders accountable.
“If these political leaders cannot stand firm in their convictions, they certainly will not act in the interests of the county,” he warned. “As we approach future elections, let us remember that credible representatives are essential for our county’s progress.”
Up to date, neither Vice President Koung nor Senator Kogar has issued a public rejoinder to the accusations.
The open letter has since gone viral on social media, igniting political debate in Nimba County, Liberia’s second most populous region. With by-elections and national political realignments already underway, the growing divide between MDR loyalists and sitting officeholders may have far-reaching consequences for the party’s future.
Did Vice President Koung Join Unity Party?
It can be recalled in November 2024, Vice President Jeremiah Koung publicly clarified that he is a full-fledged member of the ruling Unity Party, following rumors suggesting he remains affiliated with the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR). The clarification, which came during a regular session of the Senate, dispelled speculation about his political allegiance.
Koung, who was elected as the running mate to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in the 2023 elections, confirmed that he officially joined the Unity Party prior to his selection as Vice Presidential candidate. The clarification followed reports that Koung had been the Political Leader of the MDR before his selection, sparking concerns about his political loyalty.
According to the Unity Party’s constitution, any individual chosen as Vice Presidential candidate by the party’s standard bearer must become a member of the party before being officially named. Koung confirmed that he met this requirement before the public announcement of his candidacy.
“The Unity Party’s constitution says before you become Vice Presidential candidate of the party, you must join as a member. I am a full-fledged member of the Unity Party,” Koung stated during his remarks in the Senate.
The Vice President’s clarification was made amid confusion fueled by the MDR’s public statements, particularly after the then controversial election of Representative Richard Nagbe Koon as Speaker of the House of Representatives when former Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa was still the Speaker of the 55th Legislature. The MDR issued a “begrudging congratulations” to Koon, which led some to speculate that Koung still had ties to the opposition party.
Koung strongly dismissed these claims, attributing them to a misunderstanding of the Unity Party’s constitutional processes. “People are not reading, that’s all. Before you are selected as Vice President, you must go through the process. The Executive Committee must endorse you, and you must fill in the form,” he explained.
As the ruling party’s Vice President, Koung’s remarks sought to dispel any doubts about his political loyalty at the time to the MDR while reaffirming his commitment to the Unity Party’s vision.
No Public Record of Kogar Leaving MDR
Meanwhile, there is no public record to state that Senator Samuel Kogar has left the MDR to join any other political party as was in the case of Vice President Koung, who reportedly joined the UP before he was confirmed as running mate to President Joseph Boakai.
So, could Rev. Dr. Prince S. Woniewala’s indictment of Veep Koung betraying the late Senator Prince Y. Johnson’s MDR be a miscalculation or was it an oversight on his part, to have not known that the Veep is no longer a member of the MDR, so by he not endorsing and supporting an MDR candidate in the Nimba County representative by-election was not compelling on his part. Could it also be said that Rev. Dr. Woniewala was looking at the cardinal role the late Senator PYJ played in the political lives of the Veep Koung, so maybe it would have been prudent for him to support a MDR candidate. But again, the Veep Koung was said to be in a catch-22-stituation of ‘damn you and damn if u don’t’ because had he endorsed an MDR candidate and leave out his new political institution-Unity Party candidate, he would have also been condemned by its partisans of still being loyal to the MDR despite giving him the opportunity to become Vice president of the Republic of Liberia. Well, the bookmakers are watching keenly what will be the responses of Veep Koung and Senator Kogar to Rev. Dr. Prince S. Woniewala’s indictment against them for ‘betraying’ their political ‘godfather’ political party – the MDR in the Nimba County Representative by-election.
