SUP Warns Against ‘Political Witch-Hunt’ After Tweah Acquittal, Defends Court Verdict

Liberian government officials attending a fiscal decentralization meeting in Cestos City, River Cess County

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Govt Moves to Break Monrovia’s Grip on Public Finance

May 19, 2026

CESTOS CITY, River Cess County — The Government of Liberia has launched a significant effort to transfer financial decision-making authority...

Front view of the National Elections Commission (NEC) headquarters building in Monrovia, Liberia, with yellow columns and maroon trim, and a man standing near the entrance.

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Court Orders Seizure of NEC Assets Over US$171K Unpaid Debt

by Melvin Jackson

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MONROVIA — The Commercial Court of Liberia has ordered the seizure and possible sale of National Elections Commission assets to...

Commercial taxi driver Francis Nana escorted by police officers at the Monrovia City Court after being charged with murder for the death of LNP Patrolman Mark Bracewell at the Gabriel Tucker Bridge in Monrovia

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Jury Splits 6-6 in Police Officer’s Death Trial, Forcing Mistrial

by Melvin Jackson

May 18, 2026

MONROVIA — The jury at Criminal Court ‘A’ deadlocked evenly on Monday in the murder trial of a commercial driver...

Participants attending a Local Voices Liberia fact-checking symposium on misinformation and democracy

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Local Voices Liberia Expands Fact-Checking Symposia to Strengthen Information Integrity

by The Liberian Investigator

May 18, 2026

Monrovia – Local Voices Liberia (LVL) is intensifying its efforts to combat misinformation and strengthen information integrity in Liberia through...

Fact checks

Fact Check: Liberia Failed 10 MCC Indicators, but Scorecard Was Not Newly Released

by Local Voices Liberia

May 18, 2026

On May 7, Foday Massaquoi, a staunch critic of the government, claimed in a Facebook post that “the Boakai-Koung Administration failed 10...

Labour activist George Sahr Tengbeh speaking during a radio interview in Monrovia

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Removing Free Tuition Won’t Fix UL’s Problems, Activist Warns

by Blamo N. Toe | The Liberian Investigator

May 18, 2026

MONROVIA — Scrapping Liberia's free tuition policy at the University of Liberia would not solve the institution's deep governance and...

Education Minister Jarso Maley Jallah displaying an AFTRA Fellowship award in Monrovia

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Liberia to Host 2027 AFTRA Conference as Teacher Licensing Push Gains Continental Recognition

by Roseline Gbessagee

May 18, 2026

MONROVIA — Liberia has been selected to host the 2027 African Federation for Teaching Regulatory Authorities Conference, Education Minister Jarso...

Finance Minister with consultation with President Boakai

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Finance Ministry Takes Budget Reform Push to Five Counties This Week

by The Liberian Investigator

May 18, 2026

MONROVIA — The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning will dispatch teams to five counties beginning Monday to enforce fiscal...

$Liberia's Largest Ethnic Group Urged to Convert Cultural Pride Into Measurable National Progress KAKATA, Margibi County — The executive director of Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency called on the Kpelle people Friday to transform ethnic pride into structured national service, proposing a six-point unification compact and a dedicated education scholarship initiative as the country's largest ethnic group marked its annual Unification Day. Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, delivering the keynote address at the National Kpelle Unification Day celebration here, told traditional leaders, government officials, women leaders and youth representatives that unity without measurable outcomes amounted to flowers without fruit. "Celebration alone is not development," he told the gathering, invoking a Kpelle proverb: "Trees which bear flowers do not always bear fruit." The Kpelle people represent more than 20 percent of Liberia's population, making them the country's largest ethnic group, with communities spread across Bong, Margibi, Gbarpolu, Lofa and Bomi counties and extending into Guinea. Yarkpawolo said that demographic weight carried an obligation rather than a privilege. "To be the largest is a burden of responsibility," he said. "The largest must also be peaceful, organized, generous, disciplined, and committed to the common good. If the Kpelle people are divided, Liberia feels it. If we are united, Liberia benefits." A Compact With Six Pillars The centerpiece of his address was a proposed Kpelle Unification Compact structured around six commitments: rejecting county and clan division; preserving and modernizing the Kpelle language; committing to leadership and national service; educating youth and empowering women; protecting forests, rivers and farmland; and ensuring that Kpelle unity strengthens, rather than fractures, Liberian national identity. He also called on Kpelle leaders, professionals and members of the diaspora to establish a Kpelle Education and Scholarship Initiative targeting rural students, girls, vocational training, teachers and young people pursuing agriculture, medicine, environmental science and public administration. "No unification is complete if children remain uneducated and parents remain economically poor," he said. Language as Archive, Not Accessory Yarkpawolo devoted a significant portion of his address to language preservation, warning that cultural erosion was accelerating as younger generations abandoned the Kpelle tongue in favor of English at home and in schools. "When a people lose their language, they lose a library of memory," he said. "Language carries wisdom, prayer, history, place names, family names, and the soul of a people." He noted that ongoing English-Kpelle machine translation work demonstrated the language's potential in the digital age, but argued that technology alone would not save it. Parents, he said, must speak Kpelle to their children; radio stations must broadcast in it; and churches and mosques must use it in worship. He quoted Marcus Garvey: "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots." Women and Youth at the Center Yarkpawolo was pointed in his call for women's inclusion, arguing that any unity that organized men while leaving women behind had only organized half of the house. He cited the historical authority of Chief Suah Koko as evidence that Kpelle tradition had already legitimized women's leadership in difficult periods of Liberian history. "Kpelle unification must include women's leadership, girls' education, protection from violence, access to land and finance, and respect for women's dignity," he said. To youth in the audience, he said pride without education was dangerous and energy without direction could destroy. He invoked a line in Kpelle, translating it as a challenge: "Do not only say, I am Kpelle. Ask yourself: Am I honest, hardworking, respectful, learning, serving, building?" Land as Covenant Speaking as someone born in Gomue Village, Kpaquellie Clan, Zota District, Bong County, who said he began school at age 14 before eventually rising to lead the country's top environmental regulatory body, Yarkpawolo warned that the Kpelle homeland faced threats from illegal mining, river pollution, deforestation and unsustainable land use. "A people cannot claim love for their ancestors while destroying the land those ancestors protected for them," he said, adding that development through roads, mining and agriculture was necessary but must respect communities, protect water sources, follow the law and benefit local people. Naming the Divisions In an unusually candid passage for a unification address, Yarkpawolo named the specific fault lines he said were weakening the Kpelle: political bitterness, clan disputes, jealousy, economic inequality, the distance between Monrovia and rural communities, and disrespect for elders and youth alike. He referenced a Kpelle proverb — "If you are not inside a house, you do not know where it leaks" — and told the audience they were inside the Kpelle house and could see the damage. "Because this is our house," he said, "we must repair it together." The celebration was held in Kakata under the theme "Kpelle Unity for Cultural Renewal, Peace, Development, and National Progress."$

News

Liberia’s Largest Ethnic Group Urged to Convert Cultural Pride Into Measurable National Progress

by Lennart Dodoo | The Liberian Investigator

May 18, 2026

KAKATA, Margibi County — The executive director of Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency called on the Kpelle people Friday to transform...

News

AFESL Inducts New Executive Committee in Paynesville

by The Liberian Investigator

May 18, 2026

PAYNESVILLE — The Association of Former Elected and Served Lawmakers inducted its new Executive Committee on Saturday during a ceremony...

Liberia Engineering Group Rallies Communities Ahead of US$16M Freeport Road Expansion

News

Govt Moves to Break Monrovia’s Grip on Public Finance

Court Orders Seizure of NEC Assets Over US$171K Unpaid Debt

Jury Splits 6-6 in Police Officer’s Death Trial, Forcing Mistrial

Local Voices Liberia Expands Fact-Checking Symposia to Strengthen Information Integrity

Fact Check: Liberia Failed 10 MCC Indicators, but Scorecard Was Not Newly Released

Removing Free Tuition Won’t Fix UL’s Problems, Activist Warns

Liberia to Host 2027 AFTRA Conference as Teacher Licensing Push Gains Continental Recognition

Finance Ministry Takes Budget Reform Push to Five Counties This Week

Liberia’s Largest Ethnic Group Urged to Convert Cultural Pride Into Measurable National Progress

AFESL Inducts New Executive Committee in Paynesville

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