Published: May 2, 2025
Monrovia — The Revolutionary National Youth League (RNYL) of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) has issued a scathing press statement accusing the administration of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai of plotting to assassinate former President George Weah and ex-Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, while denouncing the Ministry of Justice’s stance on a recent protest in Monrovia.
The group, which represents the youth wing of Liberia’s largest opposition party, said it “vehemently rejects” what it described as “rubbish spewed” by the Ministry in its response to a peaceful protest held in solidarity with Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré. The statement characterized the protest as a Pan-Africanist action and condemned the government’s reaction as a veiled threat aimed at the CDC and the growing opposition movement.
“The Boakai administration has drawn up a master plan to assassinate former President Weah and former Vice President Taylor,” the statement alleged, without providing evidence. It further claimed that the plan was being implemented through the withdrawal of state security assigned to the two former leaders. The statement named Sam Gaye, Director of the Executive Protection Service, as a key player in the alleged plot.
The Ministry of Justice has not responded publicly to the allegations. The government’s earlier press release characterized the protest as unauthorized and warned organizers against violating the law.
The Youth League defended the right to protest, calling it “a constitutional right” and blasted the government for revoking the security detail of former Vice President Taylor allegedly because of her support for the demonstration. The League questioned why then-opposition leader Joseph Boakai was not stripped of his security protection when he supported the June 7, 2019, protest against the CDC government.
“This regime has declared war on the Constitution,” the group charged, accusing the Boakai government of hypocrisy, political repression, and moral illegitimacy. It cited the recent House of Representatives power struggle and the Supreme Court’s ruling as examples of what it described as “a broad-day butchering of democracy.”
“The CDC will rally the opposition and mobilize the streets to confront your repressive apparatus, fire for fire,” the statement warned. “We will protest without permit and resist without apology to a government that has lost every ounce of legitimacy.”
The Youth League also called on House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa to reject what it called “rumors of resignation,” urging him to “stand firm on the side of democracy and the rule of law.” Speaker Koffa has not commented on any plans to resign.
The press statement invoked the legacy of African revolutionaries such as Thomas Sankara and Nelson Mandela to justify their call for civil disobedience and resistance.
There was no immediate response from the Office of the President or the Ministry of Justice regarding the allegations. The EPS has also not issued a statement.
The CDC Youth League’s press release underscores the increasingly tense political climate in Liberia, as the opposition seeks to regroup and reassert itself amid ongoing controversies surrounding governance, legislative disputes, and civil liberties under the Boakai administration.
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