Sidiki Fofana | Truth In Ink
Almost a month ago, something remarkable happened in central Liberia, but it did not make headlines. Members of the Kpelle ethnic group, Liberia’s single largest, formally launched a national cultural and political association, bringing together lawmakers, former officials, elders, youth, academics, business leaders, and ordinary citizens.
In attendance were the entire legislative caucuses of Bong and Margibi Counties, former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, and other prominent figures who identify as Kpelle or share in its linguistic and cultural heritage. The gathering, bathed in traditional music and ceremony, was not simply a cultural festival, it was a political awakening.
“This group, this unique ethnicity, makes up the single largest group of people bound together by language, culture, and heritage,” said Ambassador Soluteh, the association’s board chairman. “Therefore, it’s about time we use this numerical advantage to bring us the political power we deserve.”
The applause was thunderous, but it wasn’t just emotional, it was strategic. A new consciousness was taking shape. The Kpelle people, long courted but never crowned, were signaling their readiness to become a decisive force in Liberian politics.
Yet this development raises urgent questions about the trajectory of our democracy: Is tribal identity supplanting party ideology as the true engine of political power in Liberia? And is that necessarily a bad thing?
The Unspoken History of Tribal Power
Despite decades of rhetorical commitment to national unity, tribal politics has always lingered just beneath the surface of Liberia’s political fabric. In fact, some might argue it has been the real machinery behind the scenes.
From the founding of Liberia in 1847, the divide between Americo-Liberians and indigenous ethnic groups shaped the country’s power dynamics for over a century. The settler elite, mostly of African-American descent, dominated national politics until 1980, when Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, a member of the Krahn ethnic group, staged a coup and ushered in a new, but equally tribal era.
Doe’s regime entrenched ethnic favoritism in state appointments and military promotions. His presidency is still remembered for the brutal 1985 execution of Gen. Thomas Quiwonkpa, a Gio from Nimba County, which triggered ethnic reprisals and helped spark Liberia’s civil war.
During the war years, faction leaders like Charles Taylor (NPFL), Prince Johnson (INPFL), and Alhaji Kromah (ULIMO-K) leveraged tribal loyalties to recruit fighters and mobilize regional support. The scars of that ethnicized violence remain fresh, yet tribalism has quietly reinvented itself, not through arms, but through the ballot box.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
According to the 2008 National Population and Housing Census, the latest official data available: the Kpelle account for 20.3% of Liberia’s population. That figure far surpasses other major ethnic groups like the Bassa (13.4%), Grebo (10%), Gio (6.9%), Mano (4.9%), and Kru (6%).
These numbers, which may have increased since the 2022 census, are not just cultural markers, they are potential voting blocs. And in a country where elections are often won with just over 50% of the vote, large, organized ethnic groups can become kingmakers.
“Where Nimba goes, so does the election result,” Vice President Jeremiah Koung was heard saying during a 2025 senatorial campaign, invoking the legacy of his mentor, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson.
Prince Johnson, the late ex-rebel turned politician, built a formidable ethnic coalition in Nimba by uniting the Gio and Mano. His endorsement was pivotal in four successive presidential elections. In return, the county saw prioritized development, cabinet appointments, and strategic political influence. As many Liberians say with a mix of awe and criticism, “Nimba votes come with a price.”
Koung’s rise to the vice presidency is widely believed to be a direct result of this political arithmetic. The Unity Party, under Joseph Boakai, needed Nimba’s bloc to unseat the CDC, which relied on the Kru and other southeastern ethnic support bases. CDC’s failure to court Nimba, and the absence of Prince Johnson’s endorsement, was seen as a fatal blow .
Are Parties Becoming Ethnic Tribes?
Liberia’s political parties increasingly reflect ethnic loyalties more than policy distinctions. Unity Party draws its strength from Lofa County, especially among the Lorma and Kissi. The All-Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP) is seen as a Mandingo base. The Liberty Party has deep roots in Bassa-speaking areas. CDC leans heavily on the Kru, Sarpo, and other southeastern groups.
“Our politics will always be tribal. And we should embrace that reality,” said Ben Savee, former Liberty Party chairman, speaking on the Closing Arguments in response to Koung’s political rhetoric that branded the contested senatorial seat a ” seat for the Gio people.”
Even in the diaspora, tribal identity is seen not as a regression but a natural organizing force.
“It exists even in the United States, perhaps in different forms,” noted Musa Willie, President of the Bomi Country Association in the United States. “Think of Black, Latino, and Jewish voting blocs. These are communities seeking collective interest through democratic means.”
So, is this trend necessarily dangerous? That depends on whether tribal organizing is used to demand inclusive development, or simply to extract benefits for one group at the expense of others.
Kpelle’s Political Turn: Justice or Ethnic Entitlement?
Despite being the largest ethnic group, the Kpelle have never produced a president of Liberia. This is not lost on Lewis Wright, a founding member of the new association and its Vice President for Administration.
“We’ve always voted for others. They win, and then they forget us. They even call us stupid. That era is over.”
There is undeniable truth in this sentiment. For years, the Kpelle vote has been the most dispersed- loyal to no single party, yet indispensable to every campaign. The only other time they showed some form of tribal unity for political relevance was doing the days of Gabriel Kpoelleh, then Standard Bearer of the Liberia Unification Party ( LUP) approximately four decades ago. But now, that flexibility may end as they move to effect the necessary correction.
An elder at the gathering of the Kpelle Association, speaking on behalf of the elders and traditional leaders, put it more bluntly:
“The Gio and Mano do it, so why can’t we? We are more than them. Look at Nimba, see how it has developed. Now, look at Margibi and Bong, closer to Monrovia, the seat of government, yet no tangible progress. We must put everything into this association and be ready for 2029.”
This frustration underscores a broader sense of political alienation. The Kpelle are no longer willing to be passive participants in a system that neglects their interests. They are determined to turn their sheer numbers and historical significance into political leverage.
If the Kpelle can organize into a disciplined electoral force, similar to Nimba or Lofa, the political map of Liberia could change permanently. And if numbers count, they may very well decide who becomes president in 2029.
A Nation of Tribes or a Tribe of Nations?
This new tribal momentum could empower historically marginalized groups, or it could usher in a new era of ethnic competition that weakens national cohesion.
Dr. Amos K. Johnson, a political historian at the University of Liberia, puts it this way:
“When ethnic identity becomes the primary criterion for power, governance risks becoming a zero-sum game. Those who win govern for their tribe. Those who lose become resentful outsiders. That is a dangerous road.”
The Kpelle movement, while understandable, must tread carefully. It must insist on justice, not supremacy. It must build alliances, not hierarchies. And it must frame its demands in terms of national transformation, not ethnic revenge.
In a nation still recovering from conflict, we must ask: will tribal power brings development to forgotten places? Or will it merely entrench division in a fragile democracy?
The answer may lie not just in what the Kpelle do, but in the cohesion and a sense of purpose they are able to create how and how Liberia will respond.
