By Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe (Political Leader, Liberia’s People’s Party)
I had planned to deliver this tribute in Gbayblin, his hometown, on Saturday, September 27, 2025.
However, due to a prior commitment to serve as keynote speaker at the International Day of Peace celebration hosted by the New Liberian Women Organization Skills Training and Advocacy Center, in collaboration with the Universal Peace Federation at Cooper Farm, near Fendall, I was unable to do so.
I therefore publish this tribute for public reflection, because Brother Peter N. Kerbey played an important role in the history of peacebuilding in Liberia.
During the 1990s, Brother Peter and I, along with several other displaced Nimbaians, resided at the Ducor Hotel in Monrovia. While a few of us came from abroad, most of the other residents were trapped in the city by the civil war.
Among that group were Dr. Joseph Saye Guanue, Elder John Sahn, Elder Joseph Zegben Collins, Elder Gabriel Fahngalo, Elder Joseph Fahngalo and his wife Marie, Elder Harry Yuan, Elder Sheikh Kafumba Konneh, Brother Kamoh Soko Sackor, Brother Yarsuo Dorliae, Brother John Yormie, Brother Johnson Gwaikolo, and Brother Noah Bordolo. We were later briefly joined by Brother Edward Komo Sackor.
In that circle, Brother Peter stood out. He was cheerful, warm, and endlessly sociable. I cannot recall ever seeing him angry. He always carried a smile, a reminder that even in hardship, hope must endure.
Many Liberians in the 50s and beyond will remember the “Kings and Queens Night Club,” which Peter operated at the Stephen Tolbert Estate while working at the Ministry of Finance. The club became one of the most popular in Monrovia, a reflection of his congenial spirit, until the outbreak of the civil war in December 1989.
Peter’s love for unity, especially among Nimbaians, was unwavering. In the early 1990s, together with Brother Johnson Gwaikolo, who then represented Nimba County in the Interim Legislative Assembly, he organized a historic meeting of all Nimbaians living in Monrovia.
That gathering, held at the Executive Pavilion in 1992, reassured us that our people were still scattered throughout the city—even within the Barclay Training Center. Out of that meeting grew a regular forum that strengthened our bonds, and Peter emerged as a natural leader for the Nimba community in Monrovia.
Because of the curfew in those days—5:00 p.m. sharp—we spent our evenings together at Ducor. We shared stories about our county, the painful news of the death of Jackson F. Doe, and our childhood memories.
Elder Gabriel Fahngalo, Nimba’s first Superintendent, told us of his encounters with President Tubman; Elder John Sahn spoke movingly about his lifelong friend Jackson Doe; and Peter shared his own story of being raised by the late Speaker Richard A. Henries. He often recalled how people teased him as a “Congo man” because of his accent and refined manners.
His upbringing under Speaker Henries shaped him into a man who was free of tribalism, open-hearted, and comfortable across all social lines. It was therefore fitting that his funeral was held at Providence Baptist Church, where Speaker Henries had led him as senior deacon.
With Brother Peter’s passing, yet another of the Ducor family of the 1990s has departed this world. He now joins those who went before him: Ambassador Gabriel G. Fahngalo, Elder John Gbamie Sahn, Professor Joseph Saye Guanue, Brother John Yormie, Elder Sheikh Kafumba Konneh, Brother Karmoh Soko Sackor, Brother Edward Komo Sackor and Brother Johnson N. Gwaikolo.
On behalf of the former displaced Nimba residents of the Ducor Intercontinental Hotel of 1990, I extend heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. To the family and people of Gbeyeeblin, you have lost a great son and to the children, your father was a great man in every way.
Be proud that had such a great man as a father. May the soul of Brother Peter Kerbey, and those of all the faithful departed, rest in perfect peace and may light perpetual shine upon them. Amen.
