Published: December 8, 2025
MONROVIA — The ruling Unity Party spent years portraying Representative Thomas Pangar Fallah as a symbol of everything wrong with Liberian politics — a man they claimed embodied corruption, patronage, and unexplained wealth. But on Saturday in Congo Town, as the party launched a US$2.5 million headquarters fundraiser, Fallah was not seen as a pariah but as a valued guest, received with applause, embraced, and openly celebrated by the same political establishment that once condemned him.
By David Menjor & Thomas Kojo Roulhac, with The Liberian Investigator
Fallah was a top executive of the opposition and former ruling Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). He was expelled from the party last December after he was accused of joining operatives of the ruling Unity Party to oust the then Speaker, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, unconstitutionally from the post. Koffa is also a member of the CDC.
Hundreds packed the compound as music blared, speeches rolled on and the Unity Party leadership worked the crowd. But the day belonged to Fallah, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who arrived not in shame but in triumph, pledging his money and his loyalty to President Joseph Nyumah Boakai — a man he once fiercely opposed.
And the party, eager to consolidate power ahead of 2029, embraced him with open arms.
A Rally Fueled by Money — and Irony
The Unity Party framed the event as a patriotic call to invest in the future. A mammoth crowd responded, filling the soon-to-be headquarters grounds with noise and optimism.
Yet beneath the celebration lingered a difficult truth: to reach the US$2.5 million goal, the party chose to embrace individuals it once described as corrupt actors who allegedly looted the state.
Fallah was the most prominent among them.
For years, UP partisans mocked him as “Thief Five,” “Walking ATM,” “Corrupt Lawmaker,” and worse — labels that echoed across radio talk shows, social media, intellectual centers and political rallies.
On Saturday, those insults evaporated. Fallah was no longer a “criminal.” He was a “man of integrity,” at least according to Mo Ali, Unity Party executive and head of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation.
“Fallah is a man of honesty, integrity and value,” Ali declared — a statement that drew approving applause from some and stunned silence from many others.
How a Once-Rejected Politician Became an Asset
Fallah’s political survival story is as remarkable as it is controversial.
Elected in 2005, he rose from plank seller to one of the most influential lawmakers in the CDC-led government. His wealth grew rapidly. So did questions about how he acquired it.
Residents of Montserrado District #5, which he represented for 18 years, complained bitterly about the absence of public services. No town hall. No public school. No clinic. No recreational center. Yet Fallah acquired multiple properties in Neezoe, 72nd, SKD Boulevard, and Johnsonville — even building a college so massive it draws comparisons to the University of Liberia’s Fendall campus.
Critics argued that his personal empire grew while the communities he represented stagnated.
But politics is rarely about moral verdicts. It is about leverage.
And Fallah had plenty.
The Moment Everything Changed
The turning point came when Fallah broke with the CDC to support the removal of then-Speaker J. Fonati Koffa — a move widely seen as betrayal by his former party.
That decision opened the door for his new political rebranding.
Suddenly, Fallah was no longer the CDC strongman accused of corruption. He was a “nationalist” willing to cross party lines. He was a “reconciled son of Foya,” returning to political alignment with President Boakai, his kinsman.
The Unity Party, eager to weaken the CDC’s legislative influence, welcomed the opportunity.
The man they once condemned became a strategic asset.
Fallah’s Pitch: “There Was a Country Called Liberia Before Party Politics”
Taking the podium on Saturday, Fallah presented himself not as a defector seeking refuge but as a patriot seeking unity.
“There was a country called Liberia, before political party. There was a country called Liberia before the existence of our Constitution. There was a country called Liberia before all of us here, and we believe His Excellency President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, along with his team, is doing exceptionally well. Our governance system and our country are on the right path. Because our country is on the right path, you have my support,’ Fallah said.
His words were calculated, crafted for reconciliation.
But not everyone bought it.
Abraham Kollie, a Brewerville resident, stood on the edge of the crowd shaking his head.
“The government is doing well,” he said, “but embracing people who stole from us yesterday means we are insensitive to the historical realities that have kept Liberia backward,” he told The Liberian Investigator.
Why the Unity Party Is Betting on Fallah
Inside the Unity Party, the decision to embrace Fallah is strategic.
He does not come alone.
During the ceremony, Fallah presented several lawmakers as new recruits to the UP fold:
- Rep. Sumo Mulbah (Montserrado District #3)
- Rep. Prince Koinah (Bong County)
- Alex Grant (River Cess County)
- Austin B. Taylor (Maryland County District #2)
- Former Rep. Solomon George (Montserrado District #7)
The Unity Party is already thinking about 2029, and Fallah brings a crucial combination of cash, influence and legislative connections.
If reconciliation with former rivals helps secure that future, the party appears willing to pay the political and moral cost.
Distrust Among Supporters: “This Is Not What We Voted For”
Not everyone is impressed.
Agnes Dennis of Montserrado District #5 grew emotional as she spoke about Fallah’s 18-year tenure.
“I still keep wondering why people accepted crumbs from Fallah and kept him in that position for eighteen years in this District. He always uses money to get what he wants, and that is how he manipulated our people all those years. But, noticing that the people were becoming smarter, he followed Edwin Snowe’s style by running to a district in the bush where poverty is even worse and used money to continue winning elections,” Agnes Dennis, a resident of Montserrado District #5, expressed her disbelief emotionally. Dennis noted that Boakai’s acceptance of Fallah and other lawmakers he condemned yesterday is a complete betrayal of trust and a trade of integrity for money.
UP does not need people like Fallah, but this is Liberia for you. People who are the loudest today against corruption soon go to bed with the same corrupt people. What else do we do? He did the same thing with the late Prince Johnson because of votes in Nimba. It is sad,” Dennis lamented, and she concluded her interview with The Liberian Investigator.
President Boakai’s Response: “All Hands Are Needed”
When President Joseph Boakai stepped up to address the crowd, he said Liberia needs unity, not division.
“Our country is moving,” he told partisans. “Your future is assured… We are going to do everything to make our country a country of law, friendship, security and everything that is good.”
Boakai used the moment to honor Unity Party founders and the five partisans who died during the November 20, 2023 celebration on Broad Street. His tone was solemn, patriotic and unifying — the opposite of the bitterness swirling among some supporters.
The Controversial US$1.3 Million: Fact or Political Fiction?
At the end of the fundraiser, organizers announced that the event raised US$1.3 million, more than half of the US$2.5 million target.
Critics immediately doubted the figure.
Musa Bility, political leader of the Citizens Movement for Change, accused the ruling party of using state funds to purchase the property, claiming the increased national budget was partly designed to facilitate the acquisition of the new headquarters.
He provided no evidence.
The Political Metamorphosis of Thomas Fallah
Fallah’s journey is instructive.
Once dismissed as a plank seller hauling wood between red-light markets, he rose through CDC ranks to become chair of Ways and Means and later Deputy Speaker — one of the most powerful posts in the country.
But his political power did not translate into development for Montserrado District #5.
Research by The Liberian Investigator found no record of:
- public schools built by Fallah
- clinics constructed
- town halls established
- community centers created
Yet he built:
- A university-sized college
- A high-end private high school
- A modern clinic under construction
- Multiple residential properties
To some, this is proof of corruption.
To others, it is proof of political savvy.
To the Unity Party, it is proof that Fallah is a man worth winning over.
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