Liberia: Sen. Koung to Be Liberia's ‘de Facto President’?
Throwback: Joseph Boakai, 2nd from left, raises hands with Senator Jeremiah Koung, his chosen running mate, at their Party headquarters on Board Street a few months ago.
… Sen. Johnson thinks so, as he was caught on tape disclosing the succession plan of the Boakai presidency.
Senator Prince Y. Johnson has claimed in a leaked audio that his political godson, Senator Jeremiah Koung, will become the de facto president if former Vice President Joseph Boakai wins the October 10 polls.
In the recording, Johnson, who is a Senator for vote-rich Nimba County, can be heard appealing to Philip Flomo, the City Mayor of Karnplay, to support the “Boakai-Koung” ticket before citing the former Vice President as being advanced in “age and health” — this being a key factor to making Koung the de facto president.
Flomo, whose support Johnson was seeking, supports the reelection bid of incumbent President George Manneh Weah, but it is not clear whether the Senator was made aware that he was being recorded or not. If not, Flomo could be sued for recording a private conversation, which is an offense under Liberian law.
“We’re fighting for you,” Johnson said to Flomo in the two-minute audio recording. “When [you all want] turn to this man [Weah] against our prayer for Nimba to produce the Vice President, this old man is old, he took Koung to be his Vice President when he wins. Isn’t it Koung that would be doing the job for him? Can he go everywhere? No!” Johnson argued.
“We’re fighting for Nimba County to take the lead, and Nimba will win in the name of Jesus,” the Senator added as Flomo remained mute as per the audio. “Bassa is with us, Gbarpolu is with us, Bomi is with us, Lofa is with us, Bong County with us.; [so] what is your problem? My brother, what have I done? You got to change.”
Boakai will be 79 years old on November 30 of this year. If he wins against Weah, whom he lost to in the 2017 elections, he would be the oldest president in the nation’s history. It is this age factor that Johnson, who has been a polarizing political figure, is using to whet the appetite of tribal pride.
“This is the pathway to the presidency,” Johson publicly said in the presence of Boakai at an elaborate political gathering in Nimba in July where Koung was officially unveiled to the people of Nimba as Boakai's running mate.
However, the latest audio, which is damaging to the Boakai-Koung ticket, might have limited impact on swaying Johnson’s influence over Nimba, which is the second-largest voting block in the country.
Johnson withdrew his support from Weah recently after helping him win the election in 2017. The Senator endorsement holds significant weight, particularly within Nimba which he has leveraged during past elections to strike political deals.
But this time around, the Weah campaign is hoping that the latest audio would bring about an entirely new level of scrutiny upon Johnson and Koung's motives and allegiances with Boakai, which seems nearly impossible in Nimba that has for years remained loyal to Johnson -- the country's political godfather.
Political godfathers and godsons are not uncommon in Liberian politics, and this clandestine disclosure shines a light on the way power is brokered within these networks. Some argue that such arrangements contradict the principles of meritocracy and fair competition in democratic governance.
Meanwhile, before Boakai selected Koung as his running mate, Johnson had in advance made the voluntary decision to step down from his position as the political leader of the Movement for Democratic Reconstruction (MDR), in favor of his political godson.
While some political analysts think that Johnson’s choice was due to U.S. sanctions imposed on him, others suggest that it was a calculated move aimed at bolstering Koung’s chance of being selected as a running mate to any political parties who needed Nimba's support.
Nimba stands as the second-largest and electorally influential county in Liberia, boasting a voter count of 307,254. Tribal affiliations often play a significant role in the county’s voting patterns.
Johnson, in 2017, emerged as a staunch supporter of the Weah, playing a pivotal role in securing an overwhelming majority of Nimba’s votes for the President who was then an opposition candidate.
With Koung now being named as Boakai’s running mate, Johnson holds an optimistic outlook that Nimba County is primed to take a significant step towards capturing the Liberian presidency.