Gbarnga, Bong County – Saturday’s dramatic reconciliation between Senator Prince Okay. Moye and Consultant Josiah Marvin Cole on the 2025 United Bong County Affiliation within the Americas (UBCAA) conference in Kentucky was not only a symbolic act of unity between two longtime adversaries. It was, by each political metric, a seismic shift within the county’s political panorama — one which positioned Senator Moye within the strongest place of his political profession and dealt a heavy blow to what remained of his native opposition.
By Selma Lomax | [email protected]
For over a decade, Senator Moye and Rep. Cole have stood on reverse sides of Bong County’s political spectrum. Their rivalry dated again to 2017 when Moye, then a Consultant, supported businessman Orando Zarwolo in opposition to Cole in District Three. Rep. Cole gained that election, and three years later returned the favor by backing then-Senator Henry Yallah in opposition to Senator Moye within the 2020 senatorial race. This time, Senator Moye emerged victorious.
The feud escalated within the run-up to the 2023 basic elections. With the Unity Get together rising as a severe challenger to the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Senator Moye grew to become a key opposition determine, finally successful the put up of Bong Legislative Caucus Chair after the Unity Get together took the presidency. Cole, a CDC stalwart, resisted his management, calling Senator Moye “divisive” and withdrawing from the caucus.
However all that animosity appeared to soften away Saturday evening when, earlier than a crowd of tons of of Bong County natives within the diaspora, Rep. Cole publicly reconciled with Moye in a second that surprised many and drew thunderous applause.
“If we have now the identical alternative to turn out to be President of Liberia, I’ll step apart and permit you to go,” Rep. Cole mentioned as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Moye, each males beaming. “I wish to personally attraction to Senator Moye, my brother and buddy, that the individuals of the US of America from residence and overseas have touched my coronary heart, and at the moment I let go of the whole lot I’ve ever held in opposition to you,” he added, his voice cracking with emotion. “Senator Moye is the senior senator of Bong County. I’ve made one solemn vow and dedication: I’ll by no means, till I depart this Earth, communicate in opposition to Senator Moye in public.”
These phrases, coming from a person lengthy seen as Senator Moye’s strongest rival, had been greater than a private reconciliation. They represented a political submission, a relinquishing of resistance, and a transparent sign that Senator Moye now holds unmatched political capital in Bong County.
Consultant Eugene Kollie, one other vocal Senator Moye critic and member of the CDC, echoed the sentiment. “I wish to be a part of this reconciliation course of. I’m calling Senator Moye the daddy of Bong County,” Rep. Kollie mentioned. “We are going to work collectively any longer.”
For Senator Moye, the second was each emotional and strategic. Visibly moved, he responded with a tone of statesmanship. “I wish to make this dedication that no day I’ll go public in opposition to Rep. Cole. If I’ve points with him, I’ll choose up the phone and name him,” Moye mentioned. “Rep. Cole and myself have large potential. If we harness it collectively, we will develop Bong County.”
The reconciliation was not spontaneous. Senator Moye had been laying the groundwork in personal. Earlier than arriving in the US, he reportedly instructed Junior Senator Johnny Kpehe to achieve out to each Rep. Cole and Rep. Kollie to arrange them for a public reconciliation.
Amongst these visibly emotional was Bong County Superintendent Loleya Hawa Norris. “That is what we’ve been praying for,” she mentioned. “This second proves that unity is feasible. It provides us hope for improvement, for collaboration, for a greater Bong County.”
Senator Johnny Kpehe, one of many key facilitators behind the scenes, mentioned, “That is what I had hoped for – a united Bong County Legislative Caucus. There’s a lot we will obtain as a county after we are united. I wish to recognize Representatives Eugene Kollie, Marvin Cole, and our senior Senator Prince Moye for placing apart their variations.”
Consultant Moima Briggs Mensah of District Six, one other caucus member, shared her pleasure on social media. “My deepest because of my brothers Sen. Prince Okay. Moye, Rep. Marvin Cole, and Hon. Eugene Kollie for this highly effective second of reconciliation. I’m actually in tears. That is the Bong County we’ve been eager for,” she posted. “To the United Bong County Affiliation within the Americas (UBCAA), President Karmon, Dr. George Toto, Superintendent Hawa Norris and everybody who performed a job, thanks for believing within the dream of peace and unity. Your efforts made this second attainable. At present, we made historical past.”
She continued, “We’ve confirmed that One Bong County isn’t only a dream however it’s alive. It’s actual. And it’s ours. At present is a cheerful day. One Bong. One Folks. One Future. Cheers to each proud citizen of Bong County at residence and within the diaspora. On behalf of the caucus members residence, we await you guys to have a house celebration.”
Pleasure Scott, one other Bong County native, added, “I’m overwhelmed with feelings proper now. My deepest because of my brothers Sen. Prince Okay. Moye, Rep. Marvin Cole, and Hon. Eugene Kollie for this highly effective second of reconciliation. I’m actually in tears. That is the Bong County we’ve been eager for.”
Although the emotional and symbolic resonance of the occasion was overwhelming, its political implications are much more vital. With Rep. Cole and Kollie now providing assist — or a minimum of pledging neutrality — Senator Moye has successfully dismantled the inner opposition that when loomed over each main transfer he made within the county.
This political shift leaves Consultant Edward Karfiah, of the Folks’s Unification Get together (PUP), more and more remoted. Karfiah, who completed second within the 2023 senatorial race behind Johnny Kpehe with over 54,000 votes, was closely backed by each Rep. Cole and Rep. Kollie. With out their assist, any future senatorial ambition Karfiah harbors for 2029 turns into a lot tougher to comprehend.
If Senator Moye chooses to contest for re-election in 2029, his path can be clear. By Rep. Cole’s personal admission, he won’t marketing campaign in opposition to Moye, and with Rep. Kollie praising him publicly, Moye would stroll into the race with assist from each the CDC and the newly established Residents Motion for Change (CMC), led by Rep. Cole.
Past that, he already instructions loyalty from key legislative allies, together with Senator Johnny Kpehe, who earned over 78,000 votes in 2023 — the very best in Bong County’s senatorial historical past — Representatives Prince Koinah (Unity Get together), Robert Womba (Unity Get together), Moima Briggs Mensah (Impartial), and others. That lineup represents one of the crucial formidable coalitions within the county’s trendy political historical past.
The prospect of such overwhelming bipartisan and impartial assist makes any severe problem to Senator Moye in 2029 virtually inconceivable. However his ambitions is probably not restricted to Bong County. Inside nationwide political circles, there may be rising hypothesis that if President Joseph Boakai decides to not search a second time period in 2029, Senator Moye may turn out to be a major candidate for the vice presidency underneath a possible Unity Get together ticket led by Jeremiah Koung.
Such a Koung-Moye pairing can be each politically and geographically strategic. It could steadiness the Unity Get together’s energy between Nimba and Bong — two key vote-rich counties — and would symbolize a generational shift in Liberian politics. Senator Moye, along with his years of legislative expertise and now a near-total political consolidation in Bong, would carry invaluable electoral power to a nationwide ticket.
On the native stage, the reconciliation has already begun to yield guarantees of higher governance. Bong County has lengthy suffered from a scarcity of coordination amongst its legislators, stalling infrastructure initiatives and delaying budgetary disbursements. A united caucus, led by a now politically untouchable Senator Moye, may lastly unlock the county’s improvement potential.
Nonetheless, not everyone seems to be satisfied that this new unity will final. Some residents and political commentators on social media had been skeptical. “They’re simply pretending,” one commenter wrote. One other warned, “This reconciliation gained’t final.”
Regardless of the skepticism, the influence of Saturday’s reconciliation can’t be understated. It has reshaped the facility dynamics in Bong County, established Senator Moye because the central political determine with cross-party attraction, and opened the door for a brand new period of unity-driven management.
Whether or not he stays within the Senate or strikes to the Govt Mansion, Senator Moye is now in a commanding place. He didn’t should defeat his enemies within the subsequent election — they bowed to him in public, with phrases and gestures that symbolized give up, unity, and political reverence.
