Seeking Grace
“This is the ugly thing about Liberian politicians. When they are in government they don’t talk about the ills the government is practicing but when the government is out of power, they pretend that they were critical of their own regime. This political trick is all about seeking grace to be appointed in the next government in power…..“Peters wants to be reappointed at NIR but he does not know that UP has qualified members to occupy that position too.”
In the two years of the presidency of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, the usual defection trend of members of former governing party seems to be gripping with the Coalition for Democratic Change of former football icon George Manneh Weah.
Already, some members of the CDC have detached their membership criticizing the ills of the former governing party, something they were mute to flag out when they were dinning and winning in the past six years under the rule of former President Weah.
At the county level, Bong County CDC Chairman is one of those who recently announced his resignation from the party. Bong County Representative Melvin Cole also has no alignment with the CDC again. He has been criticized in his own county for bowing to Senator Prince Moye who is from the governing Unity Party eyeing the vice presidency under a Jeremiah Koung presidency in the 2029 elections in Liberia.
Still enjoying his tenure position at the National Identification Registry (NIR) as Director General, Andrew Peters of Rivercess County has been very vocal of what he considers as failures of the Weah-led administration. Peters has strongly taken the work of the Ministry of Public Works under the past regime to task.
The NIR Director General has become critical of the regime he enjoyed privileges and opportunities as an alignment element of the National Patriotic Party(NPP) of former Vice President under CDC, when his tenure position is nearing termination. “Peters wants to be reappointed at NIR but he does not know that UP has qualified members to occupy that position too,” a member of the NPP who begged for anonymity told the In Profile over the weekend in Monrovia.
“This is the ugly thing about Liberian politicians. When they are in government they don’t talk about the ills the government is practicing but when the government is out of power, they begin to pretend that they were critical of their own regime. This political trick is all out seeking grace to be appointed in the next government in power,” a CDC partisan told this paper on August 1, 2025 in Monrovia.
Meanwhile, most alarming criticisms of former and stanch partisans of the CDC have come from former Solicitor General, Cllr. Cyrenius Cephus, citing deep regret over past governance failures.
Cllr. Cephus’ criticisms of the CDC have been pieced together by Cyrus Joel McGee, a US-based correspondent of In Profile.
McGee writes: “In a strongly worded public statement released Tuesday, Liberia’s former Solicitor General Cllr. Cyrenius Cephus expressed his unwillingness to criticize the current administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, citing deep frustrations and regrets over what he described as widespread missteps and dysfunction within the previous government led by former President George Weah.
In a post that has since sparked widespread discussion on social media and in political circles, Cephus candidly listed 11 reasons for his silence on Boakai’s leadership, painting a harsh picture of internal failures, nepotism, and betrayal of party ideals during his own tenure in government.
“I am unwilling and unable to criticize the Boakai government for a number of reasons,” Cephus wrote. “Few of these reasons are stated ad verbatim…”
Among the reasons cited, Cephus criticized the Weah administration for neglecting loyalists who championed the party during its time in opposition, promoting personal friends over capable partisans, and mismanaging national projects like the national census. He also accused key leaders of spending time gossiping and spreading falsehoods rather than focusing on national development.
Perhaps most controversially, Cephus described the Weah presidency as “Weahcianized,” invoking George Orwell’s Animal Farm to suggest that political insiders lived lavishly while ordinary citizens suffered.
He lamented the direction of Liberia’s foreign policy, claiming it was “on sale,” and referred specifically to votes against China that he argued jeopardized national interests.
“The structural leadership of governance… was in the hands of southeasterner-vis a-vis minority tribe-Kru,” Cephus added, referencing what he views as ethnic imbalance in key power positions during the Weah era.
Cephus also took a swipe at the former president’s post-presidency conduct, criticizing his social media appearances, including videos of him dancing, which he described as “shameful and childish.”
The unexpected remarks mark a rare moment of public reflection by a former high-ranking official, highlighting growing tensions within Liberia’s political class as the Boakai administration continues its efforts to chart a new course amid high public expectations.
As of press time, there has been no official response from former President Weah or the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). Political analysts say Cephus’ comments may deepen existing rifts within the former ruling coalition and signal broader challenges in reconciling party loyalists ahead of future elections.
Cephus, Weah, Boakai, Cole, Peters