A leading Liberian civil-society organization urged California State University, Sacramento’s Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR) to strip or deny a planned peace award to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, citing an extensive catalogue of alleged human-rights abuses, governance failures and threats to democratic institutions at home.
In a formal April 23 letter to CAPCR Director Prof. Ernest Uwazie, Solidarity & Trust for a New Day (STAND) said conferring the honor would amount to an endorsement incompatible with a leader it says has presided overrule-of-law erosion, political exclusion, and violent crackdowns on dissent.
STAND warned the award would pose a reputational risk to the university and undermine the integrity of a prize meant to recognize commitment to justice and accountability.
STAND’s complaint lists multiple allegations it says disqualify Boakai from being treated as a peace exemplar:
- Rule-of-law concerns: STAND accuses the administration of ignoring tenure protections, flouting Supreme Court rulings and undermining judicial independence.
- Due-process violations: The group cites the alleged extrajudicial transfer in November 2024 of Ibrahima Khalil Cherif to Guinean authorities while Cherif was a pre-trial detainee and a pending legal challenge and alleges opaque circumstances and potential illicit exchanges tied to the transfer.
- Security-sector abuses: STAND points to repeated credible allegations of excessive force, killings and torture by the Liberia National Police under Inspector General Gregory Coleman and warns that the president’s decision to travel with Coleman to accept the award compounds concerns.
- Questionable security partnerships: The letter notes reports that elite Liberian police units have received external training — reportedly involving Rwanda — and says such links merit scrutiny given Rwanda’s controversial human-rights record.
- Political exclusion and institutional strain: STAND documents alleged dismissals of opposition-aligned civil servants, contested actions affecting the House of Representatives, and unresolved tensions with neighboring Guinea.
- Resource and local-rights disputes: The group highlights violent incidents around mining operations, including alleged killings of protesting youths tied to Bea Mountain Mining and Kinjor-area operations.
- Misplaced public spending: STAND criticized what it said were high-value presidential projects, such as a reported US$10 million residential development in the president’s hometown, as aggravating perceptions of corruption.
- Repression of civic space: The letter recounts police crackdowns on student demonstrators, the burning of STAND’s offices after December 17 protests, the arrest of its members, and an alleged assassination attempt on STAND’s chairman ahead of a July 2025 protest.
STAND framed the allegations as a pattern of unresolved incidents, lack of transparency and limited accountability that together make awarding a peace prize inappropriate.
The organization demanded that CAPCR either reconsider the award or ensure any engagement is accompanied by rigorous, public scrutiny addressing these issues.
CAPCR and California State University, Sacramento did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In its letter, STAND acknowledged the role of universities in engaging leaders but argued that honoring an officeholder under such scrutiny would risk international validation of domestic abuses.
The group also took aim at the optics of the president traveling with the police chief, saying such association could be read as tolerating or legitimizing alleged abuses.
The appeal underscores growing scrutiny from diaspora and rights groups when academic institutions engage with contentious foreign leaders, particularly where questions of human rights and democratic backsliding are involved.
