A senior official of Liberia's main opposition party has warned that it will "return fire for fire" in the 2029 elections. Paulita C.C. Wie of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) spoke on Saturday at the party's Martyrs' Day event in Kinjor, the Liberian Investigator reported via AllAfrica. "We are not putting Bibles on our chests anymore," she said. Wie is a former deputy minister for urban affairs.
In her keynote address, Wie accused President Joseph Nyuma Boakai's government of using state institutions against opposition supporters, including women who took part in protests. She said the destruction of the CDC's headquarters would not intimidate the party. No Liberian should be beaten or killed over their politics, she added. Wie also asked what the government does with the 1.2 billion it says it has raised. She pointed to poor roads, unreliable power and weak public services around Kinjor.
Party leaders at the same event struck a calmer tone. CDC National Chairman Janga A. Kowo urged supporters to "reject violence, uphold the rule of law" and respect political differences. He called for impartial investigations into unresolved political violence and killings, including deaths in clashes with security forces. Former President George Manneh Weah, in a message read on his behalf, said voters must be able to choose their leaders and have that choice respected. According to New Dawn, Weah also accused the Boakai administration of using state institutions to intimidate opponents.
Unity Party official Mohammed Ali hit back on social media. He wondered how old Wie was when the civil war began on December 24, 1989. "If they want to fight, we will give them somewhere in the forest to go fight. Liberia is not for war mongers," he wrote. Ali also wrote that the CDC turns to threats because it lacks the intellectual capacity to compete with the ruling party.
The event honoured dead CDC members, especially those killed on November 7, 2011, when security forces clashed with party supporters in Monrovia. Weah conceded the November 2023 presidential runoff to Boakai after losing by about 20,500 votes. His concession cleared the way for a peaceful handover of power.
Other speakers looked ahead to 2029. Margibi County Senator Nathaniel F. McGill pledged to pay the remaining 50% of the cost of a new CDC headquarters in Grand Cape Mount County. Grand Cape Mount Senator Simeon Taylor had pledged US$15,000 at the groundbreaking. Former lawmaker Yekeh Y. Kolubah renewed his call to impeach the chief justice. He accused the chief justice of corruption without offering evidence.
Separately, CDC Secretary General Jefferson T. Koijee said on Facebook on Sunday that he is ending nearly two years abroad. He said his "mission is now successfully accomplished".