Published: May 6, 2026
MONROVIA — Ambassador-at-Large Sheikh Al-Moustapha Kouyateh is calling on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to take personal responsibility for reconciling Liberia’s fractured political leadership, warning that deepening divisions are undermining governance and national stability.
Speaking Tuesday on Okay FM, Kouyateh said the burden of uniting the country rests squarely with the presidency and that formal mechanisms alone will not deliver results.
“President Boakai must be the one to lead this process,” he said. “Liberia will not be united when our leaders are not united.”
Kouyateh urged Boakai to personally engage former President George Manneh Weah, dismissing committee-driven approaches as insufficient for the task.
“What reconciliation requires is not committees, it requires the President to go and say, ‘I want to see you,'” he said.
He framed reconciliation not as a political gesture but as a core governance issue with direct consequences for national stability. “This is not about politics, it is about Liberia,” Kouyateh said.
The ambassador said tensions between current and former leaders continue to shape public division even in the absence of open conflict. “There are no visible signs of war, but the division is deeply rooted,” he said, adding that people within political circles were actively discouraging dialogue. “People around them do not want them to reconcile because when they do, the country will stabilize.”
Kouyateh said he had personally reached out to political figures, including the president’s political advisor, in efforts to facilitate communication between the two leaders.
He offered measured praise for Boakai’s record in other areas. “When it comes to infrastructure, livelihood, and international image, he is doing well,” Kouyateh said, while maintaining that reconciliation remained a significant gap in the administration’s performance.
He also criticized the Ministry of Information’s communications posture, saying the ministry spent more time inflaming tensions than showcasing progress. “Our communication should showcase progress, not deepen division,” he said.
Kouyateh, who identified with the Liberia First Movement, argued that the presidency must transcend partisan loyalties. “The only political party the President should belong to is the Republic of Liberia,” he said.
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