Liberia - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Several people killed in accident at abandoned Liberia gold mine

SEVERAL people have been killed in Liberia in an accident at an abandoned gold mine, the West African country's mines minister said. Minister Wilmot Paye said that seven people died in Monday night's incident but acknowledged the authorities could not yet provide an exact death toll until a team reached the site in River Cess County in south-central Liberia. "I was told that seven persons died, but I can't say much until the team gets there. The mines had been abandoned several months ago," Paye told Reuters, adding that he did not know which company had operated the site. "If…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Liberia’s lower house backs creation of war crimes court

NEWS

LIBERIA'S lower house voted to establish a war crimes court, moving a step closer to bringing overdue justice for the victims of serious abuses committed during the West African country's two civil wars. The two conflicts between 1989 and 2003 saw widespread atrocities including massacres, rape, and the use of child soldiers. A Truth and Reconciliation Committee later called for a special court to be set up to try those allegedly responsible, but no concrete action was taken. The latest resolution was proposed by newly inaugurated President Joseph Boakai and backed by 42 of 72 lawmakers. It now passes to…

Mar

2024

By MAXWELL AKALAARE ADOMBILA

Liberia’s civil war refugees left destitute after decades-old Ghana camp demolished

NEWS

SITTING on a tattered mattress amongst the rubble of his former home, Wendell Elijah Mallobe is one of 15,000 Liberian refugees left destitute after authorities in Ghana demolished the camp where he has lived for more than 30 years. "I don't know anybody in Liberia. Nobody. They burnt the village I was living in," said 55-year-old Mallobe, who arrived in the camp in 1990, after fleeing Liberia's civil war. "My bed, television, clothes - everything I have worked for is gone." More than 200,000 people were killed and thousands more were mutilated and raped in brutal civil wars in Liberia…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Liberia orders central bank audit as part of anti-graft drive

BUSINESS

LIBERIA'S President Joseph Boakai has commissioned an audit of three key government institutions, including the central bank, as part of efforts to tackle graft, the presidency said. Boakai, who defeated his predecessor George Weah in the November elections, won on the promise to tackle corruption and improve livelihoods in the West African nation. The anti-corruption push included an audit of the former government. In a statement on Thursday, the presidency said Boakai had asked Liberia's General Auditing Commission to carry out an audit of the central bank, the national security agency and the executive protection service. The inspection will focus…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Liberia transferred power peacefully again: 3 reasons the calm is holding, and one red flag

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOSEPH Boakai was sworn in as Liberia’s 26th president on 22 January 2024. Boakai secured a six-year term of office after defeating incumbent president George Weah in a keenly contested November 2023 poll with 50.9% of the votes cast. The West African country of 5 million people reached a major milestone on 17 November 2023, when Weah, of the Congress for Democratic Change, conceded defeat to the Unity Party candidate. CHARLES WRATTO, Associate Professor of Peace, Politics, and Conflict Studies, Babes Bolyai University Weah scored 49.1% of votes cast and lost the tight presidential run-off, which the EU described as…

Nov

2023

By CARIELLE DOE

Car ploughs into supporters of Liberia’s president-elect killing two

NEWS

A car ploughed into a crowd celebrating the election victory of Liberia's president-elect Joseph Boakai in the capital Monrovia, killing two people and injuring around 18 others, two hospital staff said. It was not immediately clear if the incident, which took place outside Boakai's party headquarters, was deliberate or an accident. A video of the aftermath shared on Facebook showed badly injured people sprawled over the road and pavement outside the Unity Party office. Boakai, 78, a former vice president, narrowly defeated President George Weah in the Nov. 14 presidential run-off, securing 50.64% of the votes cast, according to the…

Nov

2023

By ALPHONSO TOWEH

Liberia’s President-elect Boakai to review mining concessions

NEWS

LIBERIAN President-elect Joseph Boakai, who defeated President George Weah in the November 14 presidential runoff, says his administration will take a close look at mining concessions to ensure they benefit the country. Boakai, 78, a former vice president who lost to Weah in the 2017 runoff and campaigned on a promise to "rescue" Liberia, told Reuters in an interview on Sunday evening that he expected a lot of challenges, particularly with the economy. "The first step of rescuing Liberia is taking it from these people. It has been rescued. The next thing is to deal with the issues that have…

Nov

2023

By ALPHONSO TOWEH and CARIELLE DOE

Liberia counts votes in presidential runoff as many hope for change

NEWS

BALLOT counting was underway in Liberia on Tuesday in a run-off election between President George Weah and former Vice President Joseph Boakai, in what is expected to be a closely fought vote. Former soccer star Weah, 57, who came to power in 2018 after beating Boakai, won just 7,000 more votes than career politician Boakai in the October poll. Weah failed to reach the 50% needed to secure an outright victory in October. Turnout appeared lighter on Tuesday in Monrovia, the capital, compared with the first round of voting, a Reuters reporter said. Several polls closed on time without people still…

Nov

2023

By CARIELLE DOE and ALPHONSO TOWEH

Liberia heads to competitive runoff between President Weah and former VP Boakai

NEWS

LIBERIANS will vote on Tuesday in a runoff election between President George Weah and former Vice President Joseph Boakai after a fiercely fought first round in which neither could score over 50% of the vote to secure an outright victory. Former soccer star Weah led the first round, gaining 43.83% of the vote, and Boakai had 43.44%. The razor-thin margin between them, and the absence of a strong third candidate, means the second round will also be very competitive, said Maja Bovcon, senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. "The remaining votes from the first round are scattered among 18…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Liberia presidential election heads for November run-off vote

NEWS

LIBERIA'S electoral commission on Tuesday scheduled a presidential election run-off for November after results showed that the two frontrunners, President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai, had failed to secure enough votes. Weah holds a slim lead at 43.83% of the vote, while Boakai has 43.44%, according to tallied results from 100% of polling places, the West African nation's election commission said. Commission chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah said the run-off vote would be held on November 14. She said there was a record turnout of 78.86% of around 2.4 million registered voters. The October 10 election has been widely…