GANTA, Nimba County – With just days to the Nimba County senatorial by-election, Superintendent Ma Kou Meapeh Gono has publicly endorsed Unity Party candidate Samuel G. Kogar, stating that considerations of tribal identity currently outweigh gender representation in the county’s political landscape.
During a campaign rally held Friday, April 18, 2025, in Ganta, Gono told supporters that while gender inclusion is important, ethnic and tribal considerations must take precedence to maintain political balance in the county.
“I am a woman and I know the importance of gender—we know that Nimba needs gender representation. That’s why we have been having serious conversations with the Honorable Vice President so that in 2029 we support qualified women,” she said. “But I also know that as important as the issue of gender is, the issue of ethnicity and tribalism surpasses the issue of gender.”
Gono recalled supporting Madam Edith Gongloe-Weh—a prominent Mano candidate—in the 2020 senatorial race and emphasized the significance of maintaining equilibrium between the county’s two dominant tribes, the Gio and the Mano.
“More female leaders will come, but even Jesus himself said, in the fullness of time, it will happen,” she added, while warning citizens against reigniting tribal tension.
“Some people may say it happened before with Senators Gupee and Johnson—we are not here to look back. Because it happened before doesn’t mean it should happen again.”
She argued that electing another Gio candidate, such as Kogar, to replace the late Senator Prince Y. Johnson, who was also a Gio, could threaten the tribal balance in the Senate.
“And we wanted that balance, but we cannot be hypocritical to that balance,” Gono stated. “When Senator Prince Johnson passed away, as the trusted local representative of the president and the standard-bearer here, people from the Unity Party asked me to contest. But I told them: it’s dead on arrival. I will never do such a thing because that seat is not for the Mano people.”
Gono said she turned down the opportunity to run for the vacant Senate seat out of respect for long-standing traditions of tribal power-sharing.
“You’ve got to listen to what the people want for you, not what you want for yourself,” she said.
Vice President Koung Backs Tribal Sentiment
Gono’s remarks closely align with those of Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung, who is also backing Rep. Kogar. Koung told supporters that his endorsement of a Gio candidate is part of a longstanding understanding within the county.
“This thing is for the Gio people,” Koung said, clarifying that his position is not intended to promote division but to uphold a tradition acknowledged by local elders.
He assured voters that he would support a future Mano candidate when the time comes.
“I will have no regrets whether or not people see my stance as tribal politics,” Koung added.
Gongloe-Weh’s Past Positions Resurface
The contest is reviving long-standing questions of tribal representation in Nimba County, which has traditionally shared power between its two largest tribes. In 2005, Sen. Prince Y. Johnson (Gio) represented Upper Nimba, while Sen. Adolphus Dolo (Mano) served Lower Nimba.
Gongloe-Weh, a former education minister and a member of the Mano tribe, has run unsuccessfully in previous elections. In 2011, she competed against Dolo and Thomas Gupee but lost in a split vote between Mano candidates.
In 2020, Koung—then a representative—defeated Gongloe-Weh in a close race. According to the National Elections Commission, Koung secured 37,899 votes (36.12%) to Gongloe-Weh’s 34,153 votes (32.55%).
Local sources say that during that race, elders encouraged Gongloe-Weh to run in Electoral District 1, where Mano support was stronger. She reportedly declined and later traveled to the United States.
Upon her return, Gongloe-Weh drew criticism for endorsing President George Weah and Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor during the 2023 runoff—opposing Koung, who was then on the ticket with Joseph Boakai. Her endorsement of Weah has since generated political backlash in the county.
Facing Her Own Standard
If elected, Gongloe-Weh would serve alongside Sen. Nya D. Twanyen Jr., also a Mano, which analysts say could disrupt the county’s longstanding Gio-Mano balance in the Senate.
Some political observers argue that Gongloe-Weh’s earlier calls for tribal equilibrium are now being used against her, with voters questioning whether her current run aligns with the values she previously promoted.
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