President Joseph Boakai, alongside Liberia’s Minister of Defence Brig Gen. Geraldine Janet George and Members of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Source: Executive Mansion-Liberia.
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Claim: Ex-Representative and Steward of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Acarous Moses Gray, posted an image of President Boakai on Facebook, seated in a wheelchair in a bucket of a pickup truck, inspecting a parade by the Army. According to Gray, the image was President Boakai’s reality during the inspection.
Verdict: False! A live broadcast on the Executive Mansion-Liberia page and other credible media outlets show President Joseph Boakai standing in a pickup during the inspection of the AFL.
Full Text
The Armed Forces of Liberia were formally established by legislation on February 11, 1957. This day is set aside each year to recognise and celebrate the military’s role in maintaining peace and stability in Liberia. It is usually celebrated through a national event that includes a parade, a military exhibition, and other activities that showcase the AFL’s strength. Amongst these activities, the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief, conducts a routine inspection of the Army.
February 11, 2026, marked the 69th celebration of the Armed Forces, which was observed with the President and other National Leaders in attendance. As required by law, Commander-in-Chief Boakai inspected the men and women of the Armed Forces. However, Acarous Moses Gray posted on Facebook, claiming that the President was in a wheelchair while inspecting the AFL.
The post said, “Damn, and we are excited about this damaging image of our President. This picture says a lot about the kind of leadership we have, and this is the hallmark of a totalitarian.”
The post was shared by other social media users, as evidenced here, here, and here.
A screenshot of the post.
Screenshot of comments below
The post accumulated 1k reactions, 987 comments, and 44 shares by the time of this write-up. Reading the comments, internet users debated the picture’s authenticity, while others believed the post. The mixed reviews led DUBAWA to initiate a fact-check.
Verification
DUBAWA first searched the Executive Mansion page for live coverage of the event. In the video broadcast live on February 11, the President is seen standing in a decorated pickup truck that drove him around the event premises to inspect the AFL. The scene appears between 2:11:00 and 2:21:40 in the live stream.
Additionally, Frontpage Africa, a credible news outlet in Liberia, posted a video of the President standing in a pickup truck, inspecting the troops.
A manual examination of the viral image reveals no resemblance between the President of Liberia and the person depicted.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, President Boakai wasn’t in a wheelchair inspecting members of the Armed Forces of Liberia.
