GBARNGA — Vice President Jeremiah Koung has opened up about an awkward encounter with former President George Weah during a visit to the home of the late Nimba County Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, shortly after his passing last year.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
In an interview with the Closing Argument Platform, Vice President Koung, who is currently in the United States for the first time since assuming office, recalled how he was caught off guard when former President Weah refused to shake his hand upon his arrival at the late senator’s residence.
Koung explained that he had arrived early to express his condolences to the Johnson family, and was later joined by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who called to inform him of her visit. He greeted her upon arrival, but things took an unexpected turn when former President Weah also arrived shortly after.
Vice President Jeremiah Koung has spoken out about the tense encounter with former President George Weah at the home of the late Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson.
“As a sitting Vice President and small brother to him, I decided to walk to his car to welcome him. I extended my hand to him to shake his hand, but he snubbed me, along with Rep. Samuel Kogar, a lawmaker from Nimba County and cousin to the late Senator Johnson,” Koung said.
Koung initially assumed Weah’s refusal to shake his hand was due to health concerns but was surprised to see the former president shake hands with other guests. “Former President Weah also declined to shake the hands of Kogar and Labor Minister Cooper Kruah, who was among those whose hands Weah shook when he arrived,” Koung added.
Koung speculated that the tension between them may stem from lingering “hurt” following the 2023 presidential election, in which he served as running mate to Unity Party candidate Joseph Boakai. “If you’re hurt because of my support to the Unity Party, then you have five years to be hurt because I’m now the Vice President. This is something you have to live with. Nothing can change this until the next election,” Koung stated.
“If you still want to be president, wait for 2029 and stop being so hurt because I supported the Unity Party. Just how you wanted to remain as president, I, too, Jeremiah Koung, wanted to be a vice president,” he added.
