The Arsonist-in-Chief: Why Boakai’s Call for Peace is a Double Standard

President Joseph Boakai

MONROVIA — In his New Year address this week, President Joseph Boakai looked the Liberian people in the eye and demanded a "lowering of the temperature." He called for civility. He asked for calm. It was indeed a performance of breathtaking hypocrisy.

For President Boakai to lecture the nation on "temperature" in January 2026 is like a captain drilling holes in the hull and then scolding the passengers for getting wet. The political climate in Liberia isn't overheating by accident. It is burning because the Executive Mansion has spent the last two years dousing it in gasoline.

Let us be honest: this is not about rogue officials going off-script. The fish rots from the head. When a President watches his cabinet assault journalists, demolish opposition headquarters, and shoot protesters—and then keeps them in office—he is not a bystander. He is an accomplice. He is sanctioning the chaos. 

If you want to know why the country feels like a powder keg, stop looking at the opposition. Look at the men sitting at your dinner table, Mr. President.

The Ministry of Intimidation

The President calls for "civil discourse," yet he actively shields Jerolinmek Piah, an Information Minister who behaves less like a rebel faction spokesman and a bully.

We have not forgotten September 2025 in Sanniquellie, Nimba County. When FrontPage Africa journalist Franklin Doloquee dared to ask a simple question about the Vice President’s absence, he wasn't met with an answer. He was assaulted. Piah allegedly seized his phone and deleted his files.

Earlier in the year, Minister Piah was accused of publicly insulting a Blaze FM journalist in a Monrovia supermarket simply for requesting an interview. Piah’s deputy, Daniel Sando, has turned the Ministry’s podium into a slaughterhouse for reputations, unleashing personal vitriol on anyone—be it a Senator or a citizen—who dares criticize the administration.

By keeping these men in power, President Boakai sends a clear message: Intimidate the press, slander anyone who disagrees with our government and you have my blessings.

The Enforcer of "Scorched Earth"

While Piah silences the voices, Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman crushes the dissent. And he does so with the President’s consent. The President speaks of the "rule of law," but his Police Chief operates by the rule of force. The demolition of the CDC headquarters in August 2025 was the defining image of this administration’s vindictiveness. Armed police didn’t just evict a political party; they bulldozed a symbol of opposition. They uprooted the Sycamore tree, leveled the Munah Pelham Vocational Center, and turned a political home into rubble.

This "scorched earth" tactic didn’t stop there. The police have turned their sights on STAND (Solidarity and Trust for a New Day). We watched as state security raided their headquarters in May 2025 and arrested peaceful protesters in December.

When the Police Chief acts as the ruling party’s private militia—tearing down buildings and raiding activists—and the President says nothing, the President is the one pulling the strings.

The Blood on the Floor

The President wants us to move forward, but we are still tripping over the bodies left behind by his partisans.

Joshua Solomon is dead beaten by UP partisans in Sinkor. Momo Peters is dead—hunted down in Foya, the President’s own stronghold. Two protesters in Kinjor are dead—shot by state security.

Who has been fired? No one.

Who has been prosecuted? No one.

The President’s silence on these crimes is not "calmness." It is consent.

The Verdict

Mr. President, do not tell us to be calm.

You cannot unleash Jerolinmek Piah to assault the press, authorize Gregory Coleman to demolish the opposition, and then stand at a podium and play the peacemaker.

The double standard is glaring. You demand we lower our voices while your officials raise their fists. The temperature will drop only when you stop sanctioning the arsonists in your cabinet. Fire the bullies in the Information Ministry. Sack the partisan Police Chief. Prosecute the killers in your own party.

Until then, your New Year’s message is nothing but smoke—and the Liberian people are tired of choking on it.

Some glaring Facts the President has ignored

1. THE HUMAN TOLL (Irreversible Loss of Life)

• The Kinjor Massacre (Feb 2024): State security forces shot and killed at least two protesters demanding better conditions at the Bea Mountain mining concession in Grand Cape Mount.

• The Killing of Momo Peters (Sept 2023): Hunted down and killed in Foya District, Lofa County, during clashes. Reports confirm he was targeted by Unity Party partisans securing the district for Boakai.

• The Death of Joshua Solomon (Dec 2023): A fashion model and CDC partisan who died of internal bleeding months after being brutally beaten by UP supporters in Sinkor.

2. STATE VIOLENCE AGAINST DISSENT (Systemic Intimidation)

• Raid on STAND (May & Dec 2025): Police raided the headquarters of the STAND movement (Solidarity and Trust for a New Day), led by Mulbah Morlu. In December, peaceful protesters were arrested, signaling a crackdown on civil society.

• Assault on Franklin Doloquee (Sept 2025): Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah physically harassed a FrontPage Africa reporter in Nimba, seizing his phone and deleting evidence because he disliked a question. 

• Assault on Journalist Toe (Dec 2024): Beaten by the President's own Executive Protection Service (EPS) guards at the Capitol.

3. DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL SYMBOLS (Political Warfare)

• Demolition of CDC HQ (Aug 2025): Under IG Gregory Coleman, the LNP enforced an eviction that resulted in the total demolition of the CDC headquarters, including the Munah Pelham Vocational Center. The opposition views this as a politically motivated "erasure" of their legacy.

4. TOXIC RHETORIC (The Climate of Hate)

• The "Supermarket Insult" (2025):

Minister Piah publicly insulted a Blaze FM journalist in a grocery store, showcasing the administration's disdain for critical media.

• Weaponization of MICAT: Deputy Minister Daniel Sando has been flagged for using state press briefings to launch personal, insult-laden attacks on critics rather than addressing government policy.

Mr. President, spare us the lecture. You cannot demand a 'lower temperature' while your own cabinet holds the flamethrowers. As long as you shield the bullies and bulldozers in your ranks, this fire is yours. Put down the matches or stop complaining about the smoke.

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