Boakai’s private jet U-turn exposes his hypocrisy—defending the very luxury he once scorned
- Michael T
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
President Joseph Boakai’s defense of his private jet travel, delivered in a BBC interview this week, has triggered criticisms and accusations of hypocrisy from many quarters. The president, whose campaign was built on promises of restraint and accountability, now finds himself justifying the same elite privileges he once condemned as wasteful and out of touch.
Pressed by BBC Newsday’s Victoria Uwonkunda, Boakai insisted, “I do not ride private jets just because I want to ride them, but there are occasions when it becomes necessary. I can assure you that we are not here to misuse resources for any purpose”1. The president’s attempt to recast private jet flights as a matter of national necessity has done little to quell public anger, particularly among those who recall his fierce criticism of former President George Weah for similar conduct.
During the 2023 election, Boakai’s denunciation of Weah’s penchant for private jets became a rallying cry for voters disillusioned by official excess. Today, those same voters are watching their president step onto the tarmac and into the same rarefied air, as Liberia’s economic crisis deepens and public services falter12.
The optics are hard to ignore. Since taking office, Boakai has repeatedly used private jets for international summits and domestic travel. Critics argue that these journeys, whether paid for by the state or “friends,” send a message of privilege and disconnect at a time of national hardship. The backlash has also forced some of Boakai’s own allies to reconsider their stance. Montserrado Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, once a vocal critic of private jet travel, issued a public apology for his earlier attacks on Weah, admitting he had “underestimated the constraints” of presidential travel13. But for many Liberians, the issue is not logistics, but principle: a leader who promised to break with the past now appears to be repeating it.
As the administration scrambles to justify its actions, the central question remains: Is this the pragmatism of office, or the entrenchment of privilege? For a president who campaigned on the promise of change, the turbulence may only be beginning.
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