{"id":17581,"date":"2024-02-27T11:41:36","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T10:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=17581"},"modified":"2024-02-27T11:43:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T10:43:11","slug":"protests-rock-president-boakais-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/protests-rock-president-boakais-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Protests rock President Boakai\u2019s government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just like the early protests that greeted the immediate past administration under George Manneh Weah<\/a>, the newly elected government led by Joseph Boakai has started to grapple with a similar development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether by design or sheer coincidence, it is the wives and widows of active and deceased service members of the Armed Forces of Liberia who are at the centre of these protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the protests took place<\/a> just before the new president, George Weah took office as president of Liberia, and the issues that triggered the demonstration were markedly different from the ones under the new president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, the month of love, the wives of these service personnel<\/a> were in no mood for a bland experience with the new administration. Instead, they were in arms in protest over the new government’s appointment of a Defence Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joseph Boakai, just like the one before him, now has to proffer solutions to keep the angry wives of the servicemen at bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did it start?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prince Charles Johnson, a retired Army General, who was loved and hated in equal measure, was the reason behind this protest. <\/strong>President Boakai appointed the retired general Prince Charles Johnson<\/a> as Minister of National Defense of Liberia, a decision that did not go well with the wives of active servicemen of the AFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 10, 2024, the women staged a protest leading to a roadblock along the Roberts International Airport in the country. This action inconvenienced most people who used that stretch of road, including persons not involved in the demonstration.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the women’s group, the Liberian leader’s decision to appoint the retired army general to the minister post was not in the interest of their husbands and the military. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They cited unfair employment practices and the alleged failure of retired General Johnson to remit to their husbands the just benefits earned from serving the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping assignments. Daniel Ziankahn was then the Defense Minister, whilst General Johnson (retired) was chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This protest was, however, called off after the intervention of the vice president, Jeremiah K. Koung, and Police Inspector General, Gorgory Colman, after suggesting that the newly confirmed defense minister be dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are their issues?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even though the appointment of the Army General was the immediate trigger for the protest, there were other underlying issues. According to the soldiers\u2019 wives, the issues of lack of electricity, high school fees for their kids at the Edward Beyan Kesselly Barracks in Schieffelin, retirement benefits, low salary, corruption, lack of insurance, education, poor housing, social services, and their welfare in general were part of the reasons they hit the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AFL wives also indicated that their actions result from prolonged lingering issues confronting the soldiers that are yet to be resolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequences of the Protest Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a result of the protest by the wives of army personnel, the celebration of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), a regular programme held on August 24 of each year, was minimally<\/a> celebrated, as announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several activities characterised the 67th Armed Forces celebration held on Saturday, February 10, 2024. The activities include a one-day soccer tournament that brought together the Press Union of Liberia, Lonestar Cell MTN, United Bank for Africa (UBA), the Joint Security, and the Military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Thanksgiving service at a local church followed the one-day tournament. Still, due to the protest, the official parade of the soldiers and other paramilitary at the Barclay Training Center (BTC) and the official indoor programme were not held.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the day of the official programme marking the 67 anniversary of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) on Feb. 11, 2024, there were a series of protests across Monrovia and other parts of the country by the wives of the soldiers, something that led to several roadblocks at various locations, including the Bong-mines bridge<\/a> area, a place hosting the Coast guard based of the AFL.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, the protest led to the compulsory resignation<\/a> of the newly confirmed defence minister, retired General Prince Charles Johnson, a resignation that the Liberian leader has since accepted.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the United States Embassy near Monrovia<\/a> has frowned on the latest action by the women, terming their action as disruptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has launched an in-depth investigation <\/a>into the women\u2019s protests to bring a lasting solution.     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just like the early protests that greeted the immediate past administration under George Manneh Weah, the newly elected government led by Joseph Boakai has started to grapple with a similar development.  Whether by design or sheer coincidence, it is the wives and widows of active and deceased service members of the Armed Forces of Liberia who are at the centre of these protests. In 2018, the protests took place just before the new president, George Weah took office as president of Liberia, and the issues that triggered the demonstration were markedly different from the ones under the new president. In February, the month of love, the wives of these service personnel were in no mood for a bland experience with the new administration. Instead, they were in arms in protest over the new government’s appointment of a Defence Minister. President Joseph Boakai, just like the one before him, now has to proffer solutions to keep the angry wives of the servicemen at bay.  How did it start? Prince Charles Johnson, a retired Army General, who was loved and hated in equal measure, was the reason behind this protest. President Boakai appointed the retired general Prince Charles Johnson as Minister of National Defense of Liberia, a decision that did not go well with the wives of active servicemen of the AFL. On February 10, 2024, the women staged a protest leading to a roadblock along the Roberts International Airport in the country. This action inconvenienced most people who used that stretch of road, including persons not involved in the demonstration.   According to the women’s group, the Liberian leader’s decision to appoint the retired army general to the minister post was not in the interest of their husbands and the military.  They cited unfair employment practices and the alleged failure of retired General Johnson to remit to their husbands the just benefits earned from serving the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping assignments. Daniel Ziankahn was then the Defense Minister, whilst General Johnson (retired) was chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). This protest was, however, called off after the intervention of the vice president, Jeremiah K. Koung, and Police Inspector General, Gorgory Colman, after suggesting that the newly confirmed defense minister be dismissed. What are their issues? Even though the appointment of the Army General was the immediate trigger for the protest, there were other underlying issues. According to the soldiers\u2019 wives, the issues of lack of electricity, high school fees for their kids at the Edward Beyan Kesselly Barracks in Schieffelin, retirement benefits, low salary, corruption, lack of insurance, education, poor housing, social services, and their welfare in general were part of the reasons they hit the streets. The AFL wives also indicated that their actions result from prolonged lingering issues confronting the soldiers that are yet to be resolved.  Consequences of the Protest Action As a result of the protest by the wives of army personnel, the celebration of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), a regular programme held on August 24 of each year, was minimally celebrated, as announced. Several activities characterised the 67th Armed Forces celebration held on Saturday, February 10, 2024. The activities include a one-day soccer tournament that brought together the Press Union of Liberia, Lonestar Cell MTN, United Bank for Africa (UBA), the Joint Security, and the Military. A Thanksgiving service at a local church followed the one-day tournament. Still, due to the protest, the official parade of the soldiers and other paramilitary at the Barclay Training Center (BTC) and the official indoor programme were not held.   On the day of the official programme marking the 67 anniversary of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) on Feb. 11, 2024, there were a series of protests across Monrovia and other parts of the country by the wives of the soldiers, something that led to several roadblocks at various locations, including the Bong-mines bridge area, a place hosting the Coast guard based of the AFL.        Also, the protest led to the compulsory resignation of the newly confirmed defence minister, retired General Prince Charles Johnson, a resignation that the Liberian leader has since accepted.        At the same time, the United States Embassy near Monrovia has frowned on the latest action by the women, terming their action as disruptive. However, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has launched an in-depth investigation into the women\u2019s protests to bring a lasting solution.     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1572,4,3812,3815,1960,1688,16],"tags":[4056],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3532],"class_list":["post-17581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explainers","category-featured","category-headline","category-homepage","category-liberia","category-news","category-politics","tag-president-boakais"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-4zz","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3532,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"jackson-c-clay-jr","display_name":"Jackson C. 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