Liberian youth are calling for their turn in leadership. In a dialogue with former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and senior leaders, they heard powerful lessons of sacrifice and resilience, while demanding genuine inclusion in shaping the nation’s future. With 75% of Liberians under 35, bridging the generational divide is urgent. Joyclyn Wea reports in this…
Governance
Youth Hear the Cost of Leadership And Ask for Their Turn
By Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro, gender correspondents with New Narratives Summary: Young Liberians sat face-to-face with some of the country’s most powerful political figures last week in Monrovia, listening to stories of prison, exile, and hard-won leadership. But as they absorbed lessons from the past, many also made a quiet demand: they want a…
Groundbreaking investigation exposes the corruption that is paralyzing Liberia’s police and courts and allowing human traffickers to ensnare thousands of poor citizens
Promises of jobs in Canada and Australia have lured hundreds of people into the hands of human traffickers in Liberia. But fair trials for those affected have been elusive. A months-long New Narratives investigation detailed bribe payments that more than 50 victims said had protected their traffickers from prosecution. Delays have meant that the accused traffickers could walk free….
National ID Card Rollout Continues to Be Held Up by $1.7 Million Unpaid Government Debt
Seven months after President Joseph Boakai halted Liberia’s national ID rollout to fix problemsin the system, the program is still not running. Officials say the country cannot access itsbiometric database because the government owes 1.7 million dollars to the company that built it. The delay means millions of Liberians remain outside the system. Tetee Gebro…
Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog Asked Liberians to Report Corruption By Putting Allegations in Boxes – It Didn’t Work
Liberia is testing new ways for citizens to report corruption. One idea was simple: drop acomplaint in a locked box and walk away. But it didn’t work. The results show Liberians aretoo afraid to report corruption.Corruption watchdogs hope a new app will solve the problem. But, as with so many otherthings in Liberia, it needs…
Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog Asked Liberians to Report Corruption By Putting Allegations in Boxes – It Didn’t Work
Liberia’s anti‑corruption watchdog has admitted its plan to fight graft by placing “whistleblower boxes” in government buildings has failed, with fewer than three reports submitted in seven months as citizens fear retaliation for being seen near the boxes. Experts say the experiment highlights a deeper crisis of trust and safety in reporting corruption, and are…
Victims and Advocates Angry As Government Stays Silent Over Bribery Allegations in Country’s Biggest Human Trafficking Case as Suspects’ Release Date Nears
Liberia’s biggest human‑trafficking case is now hanging by a thread as government officials remain silent over explosive bribery allegations, while 11 accused traffickers could walk free on bail this month due to delays in prosecution. Victims who bravely came forward say they feel abandoned as the justice system falters, raising serious concerns about corruption, accountability,…
Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog Asked Liberians to Report Corruption By Putting Allegations in Boxes – It Didn’t Work
By Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives Summary: In August, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, hoping to encourage Liberians to call out what experts say is rampant corruption at every level of government, began placing whistleblower boxes across key government ministries, agencies, and police stations. They hoped people, particularly officials of government, would quietly report corruption and other illegal…
National ID Card Rollout Continues to Be Held Up by $1.7 Million Unpaid Government Debt
Liberia’s digital identity crisis is spiraling into a national emergency. Seven months after the government halted the rollout to “fix the system,” millions of Liberians remain locked out of banking halls, telecom services, and basic public systems—all because a US$1.7 million unpaid debt has left the country’s biometric database in the hands of a foreign…
National ID Card Rollout Continues to Be Held Up by $1.7 Million Unpaid Government Debt
By Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro with New Narratives Summary Seven months after President Joseph Boakai halted Liberia’s national digital identity card rollout to “fix the system,” the National Identification Registry says Liberia still cannot run the system because it is locked by the Kenyan company that built it. The Registry says the company will…
Saudi Rice Shipment Becomes Early Test of Boakai Government’s Anti-Corruption Drive, But Experts Say Delay in Trial is Undermining Trust
In Liberia, a corruption case involving 25,000 bags of donated Saudi riceis from Saudi Arabia is becoming an early test of President JosephBoakai’s promise to crack down on graft. In 2024 thousands of flood victims in rural counties were left with nogovernment help after flood waters washed away homes. Prosecutorssay half the rice was stolen….
Saudi Rice Shipment Becomes Early Test of Boakai Government’s Anti-Corruption Drive, But Experts Say Delay in Trial is Undermining Trust
Flood victims in River Cess and Margibi say they were left hungry and abandoned after the 2024 rains destroyed their homes, even as officials promised help that never came. Their stories now sit at the center of a major corruption case involving 25,000 bags of Saudi‑donated rice that prosecutors say were diverted instead of reaching…
Saudi Rice Shipment Becomes Early Test of Boakai Government’s Anti-Corruption Drive, But Experts Say Delay in Trial is Undermining Trust
By Joyclyn Wea and Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon with New Narratives Summary: ITI VILLAGE, River Cess County -When the rain came hard in 2024, residents here in this village in the southern part of the county described a disaster: floodwaters swallowed roads, farms, and homes, stranding people and pushing families into makeshift shelters. In the same…
Bong Take Steps to Address Pretrial Detention
The number of people waiting for trial in Liberia’s jails has been a major problem for some time.More than three thousand four hundred people – who have not been convicted of any crime –are now in pretrial detention nationwide, according to the Bureau of Corrections. Pretrial detainees account for seven in every 10 prisoners in…
With Boakai’s Assets Recovery Team Under a Cloud Activists Call for a Reset in Corruption Fight
At his inauguration in January this year President Joseph Boakai became the latest Liberian leader to announce bold new initiatives to end corruption at the start of his administration. But Liberians have seen decades of endemic corruption, with few attempts to hold accused officials accountable. So most took a wait and see approach at this…
Nobel Laureate Gbowee Says Hindsight Has Shown Former President Sirleaf’s Government Was a “Diamond” in Comparison with Successors
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary In a surprising concession, Leymah Gbowee, Liberia’s internationally renowned peace activist, has said that she has revised her prior criticisms of the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who left office after two six-year terms in 2018. In an exclusive interview with FrontPage Africa, Gbowee, who shared the…
Dr. Jallah Barbu Pledges to Work with Everyone “to Address Impunity at Highest Level” as Head of Office of War and Economic Crime Courts
Dr. Jallah Allen Barbu, a former presidential candidate and dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law of the University of Liberia, has pledged to work with everyone as the new Executive Director of the Office of War and Economic Crimes Courts….
Nobel Laureate Urges Voters to Stop Rewarding Warlords with Votes at One of Two Events Marking Liberia’s 20th Anniversary of Peace
Leymah Gbowee, Liberian Nobel Peace prize laurate, has insisted that Liberia only has stability, not peace. Credit: Anthony Stephens/New Narratives….
Liberia: Justice Advocates Commemorate 20 Years Since Accra Peace Accord, Renewing Calls for a War Crimes Court
Friday marks twenty years since the official end of Liberia’s brutal civil wars that claimed the lives of estimated 250,000 people. Local and international human rights advocates are holding a conference in Monrovia to commemorate the signing of the Accra Peace Agreement on August 18, 2003. But instead of calling the intervening period “peace” the advocates insist it is only “stability” as long as Liberia does not hold those responsible for the wars to account….
Liberia: Presidential Candidates Cummings and Gongloe Commit to War Crimes Court
Two of Liberia’s leading candidates for president have committed to establishing a war and economic crimes court to try alleged leading perpetrators of Liberia’s civil wars if elected in the October elections….
Presidential Candidate Tiawan Gongloe Promises to Sweep Corruption from Liberia, But Can He Win Over Voters?
Counsellor Tiawan Saye Gongloe, a veteran statesman and human rights lawyer, is one of few of the 20 presidential candidates in next week’s election with a detailed plan to fix Liberia’s problems….