SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba County – As voters prepare for Tuesday’s crucial senatorial by-election, a prominent traditional leader in Nimba County has urged citizens to reject tribalism and vote based on conscience and competence.
Chief Robert G. Sehmeah, Paramount Chief and Chairman of the Nimba County Chiefs and Elders Council, called on eligible voters to rise above tribal loyalties, particularly the historic dominance of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups in county politics.
“Nimba is not owned by any one group or tribe,” Chief Sehmeah said. “We must stop preaching politics centered around Gio and Mano ethnicity.”
His remarks come amid renewed debate over “tribal balance” in the county’s senatorial representation. Historically, voters in Nimba have elected one Gio and one Mano senator—a tradition dating back to the 1960s. However, that unofficial arrangement was disrupted in 2011 when then-Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, a Gio, supported fellow Gio Thomas Grupee’s senatorial bid while still in office.
Chief Sehmeah said such tribal divisions undermine unity and do not reflect the constitutional values of Liberia.
“Every citizen who meets the requirements has the right to vote and be voted for,” he said. “No one should be denied that right to satisfy an unwritten, outdated custom.”
He echoed earlier comments from human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe, who previously told The Liberian Investigator that elections in Liberia should be based on ideas that improve lives—not used as a tool to maintain tribal or political supremacy.
Chief Sehmeah emphasized that Nimba is home to several other ethnic groups beyond the Gios (Dans) and Manos (Mahs), including the Krahns, Bassas, and Mandingoes—many of whom feel sidelined from political participation.
He cited historical precedent: in the 1960s, Edward Komo Sackor, a Mandingo, served alongside Mano Senator Hilary Gbunblee until Sackor’s death, when he was replaced by another Mano, re-entrenching the two-tribe dominance.
“It could be a Gio and a Krahn, or a Gio and a Bassa,” Sehmeah said. “But we shouldn’t focus on tribe alone. We should ask what the candidates can offer to improve lives.”
The Paramount Chief also responded to allegations that he and fellow chiefs received bribes to support a specific candidate. He confirmed they received US$25 each from the county superintendent but insisted it was not for political reasons.
“That meeting was long planned before the elections,” he said. “The US$25 was for transportation to attend, and 19 motorbikes were given to commissioners. The timing was unfortunate, but it was not a bribe.”
The Risks of Tribal Politics
Tribal tension in Nimba has long fueled calls for political reform—or even secession. At various points, members of the Krahn and Bassa tribes have threatened to split from the county and join Grand Gedeh or River Cess, citing marginalization in electoral politics due to their smaller numbers.
That frustration is mounting again, especially as prominent figures such as Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung and Senator Nyah D. Twayen advocate for continuing the tribal power-sharing tradition.
VP Koung has publicly encouraged members of the Mano tribe to vote for a Gio candidate—specifically, District #5 Representative Samuel G. Kogar—arguing that the Manos already have representation in the Senate through Twayen.
However, political analysts believe Koung’s support for Kogar is rooted not in tribal solidarity but political calculation. They say Koung sees Kogar, one of the few lawmakers who openly challenged the late Senator Prince Johnson and won, as a threat to his political influence in the county.
Kogar defied Johnson’s political machinery in both 2017 and 2023, and some observers believe Koung—rumored to harbor presidential ambitions for 2029—is backing Kogar to avoid being sidelined in Nimba’s evolving political order.
Twayen’s Calculated Endorsement
Similarly, Senator Twayen is seen as supporting Kogar’s candidacy out of political necessity. Twayen, who is completing Koung’s unexpired term, is reportedly concerned that opposing Kogar could jeopardize his chances of re-election.
Twayen and Superintendent Kou Meapeh Gono have both urged their Mano kinsmen not to vote for other prominent Mano candidates—former Representative Richard Mantenokay Tingban and Madam Edith Gongloe-Weh—under the guise of maintaining “tribal balance.”
Despite this, Gongloe-Weh and Tingban are pushing back, insisting that their right to run should not be reduced to ethnic considerations.
“Elections should be about ideas, not about who belongs to which tribe,” Gongloe-Weh said recently.
A Push for Substance Over Sentiment
Many Nimba citizens, including Gio and Mano voters, are now calling for an end to the cycle of tribalism in county politics.
“We copy everything from America,” said Prince Doemah, a resident of Ganta. “But in the U.S., you don’t hear about tribe—only institutions and individuals with ideas. Elections are about Democrats and Republicans, not ethnicity.”
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