By Sidiki Fofana | Truth in Ink
In Nimba County today, there is no longer any secret: “VP Koung will be the next President.” From Ganta’s palava huts to Mount Nimba’s peaks, the campaign already has a name: “Nimba 2029.”
But beneath the slogans, Liberia now faces a dangerous test of its fragile democracy, one that history warns us could easily fracture the current government, or worse.
As Vice President Jeremiah Koung launches an increasingly open presidential bid, without the blessing of his boss, President Joseph Boakai, cracks are already widening within the ruling Unity Party (UP) Alliance. The President’s grip on his own administration now faces its most serious internal challenge.
The Ambition Behind Nimba 2029
VP Koung makes no apology for his ambition. Publicly and privately, he presents himself as the chosen successor of Nimba County’s political godfather, the late Senator Prince Y. Johnson. In fact, Koung told mourners at PYJ’s memorial:
“The Senator prepared me for this path. He always told me, ‘Jeremiah, the work is not finished, Nimba must one day lead the whole country.’ I will not betray that vision.”
(Source: VP Koung, Prince Y. Johnson Memorial, Feb. 2025; Radio Nimba / New Dawn Liberia reporting)
Now that vision has a machine: Nimba 2029. T-shirts are being printed. A steering committee led by Deputy Minister Cornelia Kruah meets weekly at Koung’s residence. Dry rice strategy sessions have replaced quiet diplomacy. Koung is no longer hiding his intention.
And that is where the danger lies.
A Fracturing Alliance, and an Unfolding Power Struggle
Already, the Liberty Party (LP), a key UP Alliance member, is in revolt. The deal that brought Koung onto the Boakai ticket included a promise that LP would have a say in the next leadership configuration. Now Koung is pushing ahead unilaterally, and Liberty Party’s Senator Darius Dillon has warned:
“Koung cannot be the replacement for Boakai; our agreement was clear.”
Meanwhile, Koung is flexing political muscle. He reportedly played a key role in engineering the removal of a sitting Speaker of the House, a process requiring both strategic cunning and cross-party influence. He also led the campaign that elected former rival Senator Samuel Kogar, who now privately acknowledges:
“Koung made me Senator, and now I must fight to make him President.”
At a campaign rally in Ganta, Koung himself reminded voters:
“Where Nimba goes, so goes the nation. We must remain united if we are to take the next step. Nimba must lead, and that time is coming.”
This is not an ordinary vice-presidential positioning exercise. It is a parallel power structure emerging inside the sitting government.
A Dangerous Rift with the Presidency
President Boakai knows it. He recently called a cabinet meeting and issued a stark warning:
“Anyone harboring presidential ambitions for 2029 should leave my government.”
The security implications are serious. With nearly four years remaining in the current term, a Vice President openly launching a presidential bid sends a dangerous signal, one of defiance and disloyalty at the heart of the Executive Mansion.
For many observers, Koung’s early and open quest for the presidency is not merely strategic planning; it is also being viewed as a referendum on President Boakai’s performance, suggesting that Koung believes he could do a better job as head of government than his boss is doing now.
The rift between Boakai loyalists and the Koung camp has deepened. A senior Unity Party operative put it bluntly:
“Could he have tried that nonsense under Taylor or Doe? All day Nimba vote, which is still no reason to openly disrespect the President with this kind of campaign.”
History’s Hard Lessons
Liberia knows where such rifts can lead:
- Under Samuel Doe, Vice Head of State Thomas Weh Syen was executed after seeking greater power.
(Source: Liberia: A Modern History, Elwood Dunn, 2001)
- Under Charles Taylor, first Vice President Enoch Dogolea reportedly died under suspicious circumstances after showing presidential ambition. His successor, Moses Blah, was later jailed amid similar tensions.
(Source: BBC News, “Liberian Vice President Dies,” June 24, 2000; The Perspective, “Moses Blah: From VP to Political Prisoner,” 2003)
- Even under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a more democratic leader, Sirleaf carefully kept Vice President Joseph Boakai at a controlled distance, warning in 2017:
“We must never again allow personal ambition to destroy national unity.”
(Source: Inaugural Address, Jan. 16, 2017)
Beyond Liberia, history offers more caution:
- In Nigeria, Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s open presidential campaign nearly tore the PDP apart under Obasanjo.
(Source: Vanguard Nigeria, 2007)
- In Kenya, rivalry between President Kibaki and VP Musalia Mudavadi paralyzed governance before the 2007 election.
(Source: Kenya Human Rights Commission, Democracy and Betrayal, 2008)
Political scientist Prof. Richard Joseph summarizes the risk clearly:
“Nowhere in Africa is the spectacle of a Vice President running against his own President while in office without consequences to national stability.”
(Source: Africa Today, 2015)
Why This Moment Matters
In Liberia today, where tribal identity often outweighs party platforms, Koung’s base is real and potent. Combined, the Gio and Mano groups represent 15.9% of the national population—the country’s second largest ethnic group.
(Source: Liberia 2008 National Population and Housing Census, LISGIS)
And Koung is ready to leverage this. His power is growing. His challenge to the presidency is already destabilizing the alliance. The Boakai government now risks slipping into paralysis, as cabinet members and lawmakers split loyalties between the sitting President and the rising Vice President.
Liberians must understand what is at stake. As political economist Samuel Jackson recently warned:
“This is Liberia. We know how these things end. When you have a Vice President building a campaign while the President is still in power, it is an invitation to crisis.”
(Source: Spoon Talk Talk)
Ambition alone is not the problem. Timing, discipline, and respect for national unity are. Koung may see himself as the man to fulfill Nimba’s long-awaited dream of the presidency. But if Nimba 2029 becomes a full presidential machine now, before 2029 arrives, Boakai’s government may not reach the next election intact.
