Cllr. Taiwan Saye Gongloe, former presidential candidate and human rights advocate, has vowed to provide legal representation for Senator Edwin Snowe should the government initiate any legal action against him for expressing dissenting views.
By: Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, Liberia, June 3, 2025: “I assured Senator Snowe that if the government goes after him, takes him to court, or does anything, I will provide him the legal service,” Gongloe pledged.
The assurance was issued through a public statement on Monday, June 2, 2025, via Gongloe’s official Facebook page.
In his message, he addressed Liberians both at home and abroad amid an intensifying dispute between Senator Snowe and the Boakai led administration.
The controversy centers around claims that Senator Snowe is using his political influence to undermine President Joseph Boakai’s leadership.
Over the past week, critics have argued that his statements aimed at eroding public confidence in the administration, potentially laying the groundwork for his own political ambitions.
However, Snowe has firmly rejected these allegations, clarifying that his criticisms stem from a commitment to good governance and a respect for democratic norms.
Weighing in on the matter, on Monday Cllr. Gongloe expressed concern over what he described as a growing trend of intolerance among certain government officials toward opposing viewpoints from both fellow officials and ordinary citizens.
“Last week, I read in the papers, heard on the radio, and saw online the reactions of high-ranking government officials to a statement allegedly made by Senator Snowe, wishing the government would fail,” he recounted. “They responded in different ways, and I was surprised.”
He continued, “Even within families, people hold differing views about their children. Why can’t the government respond by saying, ‘You are wrong, and we will prove you wrong by succeeding’ rather than getting angry?”
Gongloe referenced the work ethic of figures like Abraham Touray, emphasizing that public officials should focus on delivering results that the Liberian people can feel, instead of being distracted by criticism.
He stressed that opposing views are vital in a democracy, as they challenge leaders to reflect, adjust, and ultimately succeed.
“I don’t believe leaders should get angry over what people say. Instead, they should prove critics wrong not through words, but through their actions, for the benefit of the Liberian people,” he advised.
Drawing on a personal anecdote, Gongloe shared that during the last election, his youngest sister whom he holds dear supported him in the first round.
However, in the second round, she informed him that she had shifted her support to President Weah and not to Boikai and had also encouraged others to vote for former President George Weah.
“I had no problem with that,” Gongloe said. “But then I read in the newspaper that there were problems within the Gongloe family because of our different political choices. That wasn’t true.”
He noted that he publicly clarified there were no such family divisions, underscoring that diverse political views should not be a source of conflict, but rather a catalyst for productive governance.
Highlighting his longstanding commitment to free expression, Gongloe referenced the Kamara Kamara Free Speech Act.
he explained that serving as Solicitor General under the Ellen administration he chose not to prosecute individuals for criminal libel against the President, but Instead, in 2009, he authored a repeal of such laws and presented the draft to then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and shared it with the Press Union of Liberia.
He asserted that if former President Weah had not officially repealed those three laws in 2017, Liberia’s democracy could have faced serious challenges by 2020 or 2022.
“Our democracy has been strengthened by the Kamara Kamara law, which ensures that no one is arrested for expressing free speech,” Gongloe emphasized.
He concluded by reaffirming his support for Senator Snowe and anyone else who speaks out in the interest of Liberia.
“I assure Senator Snowe that I will defend people’s right to speak freely. If they get into trouble whether civil action or damages for the good of the country, I will defend them,” he promised.
According to him, he will provide this service to anyone whose rights are being violated for exercising their democratic rights under the Constitution of Liberia and international laws to which Liberia is a state party.
However, he pledged not to offer this service to individuals he described as “mercenary journalists” and “mercenary civil society activists,” claiming they are paid to say certain things or suppress the truth.
