By Festus Poquie
Former President George Weah urges Liberians to set aside political differences and work together to preserve peace and national unity, warning that hatred and political vindictiveness risk undoing two decades of fragile progress.
Speaking at Faith Life Ministries in Paynesville Sunday, Weah — who served as president from 2018 to 2024 and lost political power in the 2023 election to incumbent Joseph Boakai — appealed for tolerance across party lines.
“Let us avoid anything that will destroy our country,” he said, adding that peace is the foundation for development and leadership renewal.
“We need peace in order for future leaders to grow. We need peace in order to build our country.”
Weah used a personal anecdote to underline his point, recounting how a schoolgirl who had asked him for help initially identified herself as a supporter of his party before admitting she wore a rival Unity Party shirt.
“That’s why I say we should do things for God’s sake whether you are a Unity partisan or a CDCian,” he told the congregation.
He implored public officials to respond to citizens’ needs regardless of political affiliation and cautioned against insults and political fanaticism, saying democracy depends on persuasion and dialogue, not hostility.
The plea for unity comes amid heightened post-election tensions.
Several former Weah administration officials are facing prosecution under the Boakai government, and the administration has pursued measures to seize assets linked to the former first family, including efforts reportedly targeting the Clar Hope Foundation, the charitable organization run by Weah’s wife. Supporters of Weah say such actions risk fueling perceptions of political retribution.
Analysts say that moves perceived as punitive—whether prosecutions, asset seizures, or public recrimination—can deepen polarization in a country where politics and identity remain closely intertwined.
Weah warned that hate and revenge can erode social cohesion: when citizens are divided by party or ethnicity, trust in institutions weakens, public services suffer, and prospects for investment and reconstruction dim.
“Let us not hate each other because of colors or because of what we believe,” he said.
Liberia’s history of conflict and its post-war reconciliation efforts add weight to Weah’s call.
After the civil wars that ended in 2003, Liberia established mechanisms such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine abuses and recommend reforms aimed at healing divisions.
However, many observers and civil society groups say implementation of reconciliation recommendations has been incomplete and lingering ethnic and political fault lines remain.
Those divisions, they argue, make the country vulnerable to renewed tensions if political battles spill over into reprisals or exclusionary policies.
Weah framed unity as both a moral and practical necessity with message centering on a familiar refrain: peace must come before progress, and the nation’s future depends on the willingness of leaders and citizens alike to rise above partisan and ethnic divides.
“We are one people,” he said. “I can run into the kitchen and say, ‘I am George Weah give me food,’ because we are human beings.”
The 2029 Comeback
The former head of state is no longer hiding his ambition to return to power. He is working on a strategy for the presidential elections planned for 2029 and reorganizing his Congress for Democratic Change party along with a few figures who, for the most part, served in his administration.
Since his narrow defeat in the presidential elections of November 2023 against Joseph Boakai, George) has been mobilizing his troops with a view to winning back power at the next elections, planned for October 2029.
However, skeptics and political opponents doubt he would make it to the Executive Mansion again.
But Weah points to his personal journey, adversity both on and off the football field including career-threatening injury to illustrate to critics and rivals that a retaking state power is possible.
“They said I broke my leg and would never play again,” he recounted.
“But I told the child who was crying, ‘They are not God.’ I recovered and went on to win many accolades.
“I have faced challenges and tests of time. That is why I cannot be easily broken or demotivated.
“Some people swore their lives on my name [he will not become President]. Others did the same and they died. Be positive. Be objective. Hold conversations.
“Fighting and insults will not help the process. That is not the best way forward for our country.”
