Former Liberia chess president decries tenure as ‘waste of time’ amid feud

Published: September 29, 2025

MONROVIA — Former Liberia Chess Federation President Thomas Karyah has branded his tenure a “waste of time and resources,” blaming what he called “backstabbers and ingrates” within the federation.

Karyah, who resigned Sept. 7 for the second time in less than a year, made the remarks Saturday in the LCF’s official WhatsApp chatroom. He said his comments were not politically driven but reflected wider social frustrations.

“My main regret now is how and why I wasted so much time and other resources working in a group of mostly backstabbers and ingrates that I mistook as friends,” Karyah wrote. “I thank God that he kept me alive in this cesspool of frenemies … it was a nice ride, and time will be the best judge.”

Financial Secretary Beauford Okai, speaking to The Liberian Investigator, accused Karyah of deflecting blame and charged that current LCF President Gonkartee Dekpah has been targeting members since taking office Sept. 7.

“Karyah is afraid to call his former vice president’s name because they come from the same Nimba County,” Okai said. “Dekpah is the real backstabber and ingrate in the LCF.”

Okai said he plans to push for a constitutional amendment barring both the president and vice president from hailing from the same county, arguing the arrangement undermines the federation’s national character.

Dekpah denied the allegations, calling them false and accusing Okai of “clandestine acts” and double-dealing for kickbacks.
“I told him before in the chatroom, and I will fight to remove him from leadership if he keeps doing things to spoil LCF’s name in the public,” Dekpah said.

The feud follows weeks of accusations between the two, including Dekpah’s claim that Okai is withholding $700, a laptop, a generator, financial records and about $1,000 in real-estate funds belonging to the federation.

Karyah had first resigned in November 2024 amid criticism over alleged financial mismanagement but was reinstated in January after mediation by government officials and chess stakeholders. He cited professional obligations outside chess for stepping down again this month.