Published: September 15, 2025
“The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water.” Miguel de Cervantes
I can still recall one of the most defining and painful moments in my political journey. On January 5, 2023, a container loaded with rifles and pistols was discovered at the Freeport of Monrovia. Instead of approaching the matter with seriousness, impartiality, and truth, the Unity Party (UP) rushed to social media and brazenly linked me to this scandal without a shred of evidence.
By Jefferson T. Koijee, Former Mayor of Monrovia
It was a clear demonstration of their desperation for power. Fearing my God-given gift and seeing me as a major threat to their ambitions, the Unity Party maliciously painted me as the face behind scandals I knew nothing about. This was not just a personal attack, it was a well-orchestrated tactic, a weaponization of lies to silence and discredit political opponents.
This pattern is dangerous. It is a familiar stain in Liberia’s political space, where reputations are destroyed not through due process, but through trial by propaganda. Such behavior undermines the integrity of investigations, erodes public trust, and poisons our democracy. To this very day, those who accused me: Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, Eugene Fahngon (now Managing Director of the Liberia Broadcasting System), Stanton Witherspoon (CEO of Spoon Network and a U.S. adjudicated criminal), and Patrick Honnah of the LTA amongst others have not produced a single piece of evidence. Instead, they continue to feed off lies and smear campaigns that damage not only individuals but the credibility of our entire political system.
I will never forget November 23, 2023, when tragedy struck at the Unity Party headquarters on Broad Street. Several partisans were injured, and three lost their lives after being denied advanced medical treatment despite their families’ desperate pleas. Before investigations even began, the Unity Party and its surrogates pointed their fingers at me, publicly branding me as the mastermind of the attack. Their statements labeled me a “domestic terrorist,” and the damage to my name was swift and brutal.
Yet fast forward to 2025, the truth has surfaced. The actual perpetrator, Lawrence K. Williams, has been arrested and faces investigation. Where are those who once shouted so loudly that I was guilty? Where are their apologies? Where is their accountability? The pain of those accusations is not erased simply because the truth has come out. The scars remain, both for me and for the innocent families who still wait for justice.
This is the true cost of political expediency. False accusations are not just aimed at destroying me they cast a long shadow over every young Liberian who looks up to me, every family who prays for justice, and every citizen who dares to believe in the promise of truth. They rob our democracy of its moral compass and cheapen the very values for which generations of Liberians have struggled and sacrificed.
Fellow Liberians, these events must be a wake-up call. We cannot allow politics to be reduced to a theater of lies where falsehood is weaponized and the rule of law is silenced. Justice must be impartial, transparent, and free of partisan manipulation. Only then can we rebuild trust in our institutions and reclaim the dignity of our democracy.
Mr. Boakai, who now sits in the presidency, has not only tolerated these falsehoods but actively sponsored them. He has allowed lies to shape the national narrative, exploiting tragedy for political gain, and undermining the very peace that Liberians hold so dear. This is not leadership, it is betrayal of the very people whose hopes he claims to carry.
Liberia deserves better. We deserve leadership that is anchored in truth, accountability, and unity not in propaganda and division. The Liberian people deserve to live in a society where justice is not sacrificed at the altar of political convenience, where opponents are not scapegoated for expediency, and where institutions protect the innocent rather than vilify them.
The time has come for us to rise above this cycle of scapegoating and mistrust. Our democracy cannot flourish on falsehood. Our future cannot be built on propaganda. We must reject the poisonous culture of smear campaigns and reclaim Liberia’s path of justice, truth, and integrity.
This is not just about Jefferson Koijee, it is about every Liberian who believes in fairness, every youth who dreams of a better tomorrow, and every family who longs for a nation where lies no longer hold more weight than truth.
See stories below:
Unity Party crash suspect – Public Defender
FrontPageAfrica: Justice Closes in on Suspect in UP Rally Tragedy
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