Former Solicitor General in the immediate past Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Cllr. Cyrenius Cephas, has delivered a blistering critique of the George Weah-led government, describing it as a regime driven by favoritism, tribalism, and misgovernance.
Cephas, who is one of nearly a dozen former officials of the Weah administration currently on a U.S. sanctions list, said Liberia under Weah became “Weahcianized,” a term he used to describe an irrational system of leadership reminiscent of George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
He pointed out that under this system children born into poverty were suddenly living like kings and queens as loyalty to the president rather than merit determined privilege.
“The government was Weahcianized so much that kids that were born into poverty were living like kings and queens,” Cephas noted in a public statement released earlier this week.
“Our government didn’t promote and protect those who stood in the vanguard of the struggle during the party’s days in opposition,” he wrote.
Describing President Weah as “a Christmas light only seen at official ceremonies and accessible to only a few officials,” Cephas recounted a list of ills that, in his view, defined the CDC administration.
Among them were the failure to empower loyal partisans, an obsession with foreign “experts” over qualified locals, and a leadership culture riddled with gossip, lies, and internal sabotage.
“The President was like a Christmas light only seen at official ceremonies and was accessible only to only a few officials,” he said.
“We undertook a lot of good projects, but with little impact. Just look at the population census,” Cephas lamented, accusing the administration of prioritizing entertainment over substance, especially during cabinet retreats which he described as “great fun” events lacking critical policy focus.
“Cabinet retreats were set aside for great fun rather than any meaningful exercise to discuss critical issues. The President was by and large the “Gopio” of the cabinet retreat. The President valued recycled politicians in the government more than those he called friends who were determined to serve his government,” he said.
He further criticized the disproportionate concentration of political power in the hands of a single ethnic group, the Kru pointing specifically to the roles of the President, Senate Pro-Tempore, and Deputy Speaker as evidence of regional and tribal dominance in governance.
On the international front, Cephas accused the former government of auctioning off Liberia’s foreign policy, stating: “It was for sale to the highest bidder, even at the cost of national development,” referencing controversial votes against China at the United Nations.
As a result of those lapses, Cephas, as an opposition figure, expressed unwillingness to criticize the current administration of President Joseph N. Boakai, citing the failures and regrets he carries from his time in the previous government.
“When I think of all these I feel guilty about criticizing the current government,” he said.
Cephas turned his attention to President Weah’s public image post-presidency. “A former president, once fond of making music during his tenure, is now dancing across social media. What could be more shameful and childish than this?” he asked, adding that his past complicity in the CDC government’s shortcomings leaves him morally unfit to criticize the current Boakai administration.
“I don’t have criticism for JNB,” he said.
The former Solicitor General’s remarks have since sparked widespread public debate and are regarded as one of the strongest insider denunciations of the Weah presidency to date.
A vocal supporter of the current regime, Ambulah Mamey, interpreted Cephas’s “confession” as a sign of progress resulting from national prayers. “Wow… prayers can really move mountains ya. Liberians na even pray for 2 hours yet and Cyrenius Cephus is confessing about George Weah like that?” Mamey posted on social media.
“God is working in favor of the Liberian people,” another social media commenter said. “All the bad things you people did to this country and its people will come to light one day.”
