By Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, February 3, 2026 — On Monday, February 2, residents of Saye-City blocked a significant street linking central Monrovia, inflicting heavy visitors as they protested an eviction executed on Saturday by Supreme Courtroom sheriffs.
The eviction displaced dozens of residents and sparked anger amongst affected households, a lot of whom say they weren’t given enough discover or adequate time to vacate the disputed property, which is topic to a declare of possession between Victoria Johnson Maxiwell and Kwii S. Tarniah.
Protesters stated the demonstration was meant to attract the eye of the Boakai administration to their plight, stressing that they’ve nowhere else to go, particularly given what they described because the sudden method during which the eviction was carried out with out prior discover.
Lots of the affected residents had been seen sitting on the bottom in the course of the protest, calling on the federal government for speedy help. They described the eviction course of as one which has pushed a number of households into poverty and stated it has affected many Liberians.
On Saturday, January 31, 2026, residents of the Say-City group awoke to an eviction discover dated January 8, 2026, issued by Civil Regulation Courtroom Circuit Decide Boima Kontoe. The discover ordered sheriffs to “oust, evict, and eject” occupants from the land in accordance with the legislation, putting Victoria Johnson Maxiwell in possession of the property.
Through the analysis, residents had been pressured to place their belongings outdoors, not figuring out the place to go or who to run to. The eviction has since been surrounded by controversy, with residents questioning the way it was carried out. Many declare the sheriffs didn’t act in the very best pursuits of abnormal Liberians, a few of whom have lived within the space for greater than a decade.
Though some residents declare possession of the land, they stated they weren’t given ample time to relocate or discover different lodging. They described the eviction as abrupt and stated it affected many households.
Some protesters informed this publication on Monday that, following the eviction, Eric F. Nagbe reportedly contributed L$3.5 million by means of Prince Toe, the district consultant, to help affected residents, however they stated the quantity obtained was inadequate to handle their speedy wants, given the variety of affected individuals.
In an interview, James Pyes, one of many protesters, stated officers from the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) additionally visited the group and that the previous president promised to supply shelter for six months to permit residents time to relocate.
Efforts by this publication to contact CDC officers for affirmation had been unsuccessful. Nonetheless, residents stated a lot of these affected had paid massive sums of cash to landlords and had been unaware that an eviction was imminent.
Minutes after the protest started, a bunch of cops arrived and fired tear gasoline to revive order. Eyewitnesses alleged that police had been brutal towards the protesters, and no less than considered one of them, who was reportedly unwell on the time, was pressured right into a police automobile. Away.
The person was seen being forcibly pulled right into a automobile and brought away by police as different protesters fled the scene. Residents expressed frustration, saying the federal government nonetheless has the facility to help them reasonably than deal with them harshly.
“President Boakai, we voted for you, and you might be treating us like this,” one feminine protester was heard shouting as she crossed the street to flee police.
Nonetheless, a number of protesters had been arrested by riot police and brought away, and in a couple of minutes, visitors circulate was restored, however many declare they’re nonetheless preventing to get someplace to remain.
In the meantime, because the protest continued, a bunch comprising members of the Johnson household, accompanied by the group chairman and different affected residents, was seen on the Civil Regulation Courtroom on Monday looking for authorized redress over the eviction.
In an interview with journalists, the group stated that they had gone to court docket to file a invoice of knowledge to find out why an eviction was ordered, regardless of their declare that that they had prevailed within the case. They stated the invoice of knowledge has been formally submitted to the Civil Regulation Courtroom.
The petition requests a assessment of the case file and seeks clarification on how an eviction was carried out in a matter reportedly determined in 2023.
Nonetheless, the invoice of knowledge is at the moment earlier than the Civil Regulation Courtroom, and the events say they’re awaiting the court docket’s response within the coming days.
