MONROVIA – Lower than six months after profitable a Senate seat backed by one of many nation’s strongest political alliances, Nimba County Senator Samuel G. Kogar has launched a public offensive towards Vice President Jeremiah Koung — sending shockwaves by way of the Motion for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) and exposing a deep and harmful fault line forward of Liberia’s 2029 presidential race.
By Selma Lomax
[email protected] & Jaheim Tumu, [email protected]
This rift, lengthy brewing beneath the floor, has now exploded into the open. The once-robust alliance — solid beneath the shadow of the late political titan Prince Yormie Johnson — is unraveling sooner than many anticipated. And the implications might reshape the nation’s political panorama.
Vice President Jeremiah Koung’s meteoric political rise has all the time been intently tied to the legacy of his mentor and political godfather, Johnson. Vice President Koung, a former senator, discovered himself thrust into the nationwide highlight following Johnson’s loss of life in 2024.
Because the second most populous county in Liberia, Nimba holds a novel place in nationwide politics — each as a vote-rich area and as a kingmaking powerhouse in presidential contests. Management over its political equipment is a prize each presidential hopeful would covet.
On this context, Vice President Koung was extensively considered because the late Johnson’s pure successor. His endorsement of Kogar within the 2025 senatorial by-election was not only a present of political power however a public try to affirm his management over Johnson’s political property — the MDR, and by extension, Nimba.
And on the floor, it appeared to work. Senator Kogar’s win — aided by Vice President Koung’s vigorous campaigning throughout Nimba’s 9 districts — was hailed as a consolidation of MDR’s dominance within the county. The narrative was that Vice President Koung had cemented his grip, making ready for a 2029 bid launched from a place of homegrown power.
However that story appears to now be falling aside.
In a shocking reversal, Senator Kogar took to the BKS on-line platform over the weekend, launching a direct assault on Vice President Koung and accusing him of authoritarian management throughout the MDR. Senator Kogar alleges that Vice President Koung — who, notably, will not be a registered member of MDR — is working the get together like a private fiefdom, sidelining senior members and subverting inside democracy.
“I’m from this get together, and let me make it clear that we’re not blind to what’s occurring,” the Senator declared. “We don’t care whether or not you stand inside or outdoors the get together — I’ll stand firmly with MDR.”
The flashpoint seems to be Vice President Koung’s position in handpicking Kortor Kwagrue as MDR’s candidate within the current District 5 by-election, a seat vacated by Senator Kogar. Senator Kogar reportedly had one other candidate in thoughts, however was reportedly ignored — a transfer he interpreted not simply as political overreach however as an effort to neutralize his rising affect within the county.
The animosity has solely grown since. Senator Kogar has accused the Vice President of marginalizing him in nationwide decision-making, together with reportedly blocking his suggestions for appointments beneath President Boakai’s Unity Occasion-led authorities. “If the Vice President desires to deal with me like a bag boy, I gained’t agree,” Kogar mentioned pointedly.
These aren’t simply inside get together squabbles — they’re political tremors that would upend nationwide calculations.
Vice President Koung is extensively rumored to be eyeing the presidency in 2029. With President Boakai but to substantiate whether or not he’ll search re-election, the race is quietly however clearly underway. On this early pre-campaign stage, regional strongholds matter greater than ever — and Vice President Koung’s presumed management of Nimba was speculated to be a significant pillar of his platform.
However that assumption now appears precarious. The general public fallout with Senator Kogar alerts that Nimba is now not a unified bloc behind the Vice President. And that appears to be a severe political drawback.
Senator Kogar isn’t any minor determine. A 3-term former consultant and now senator till 2033, he is among the most skilled politicians within the area — and crucially, he isn’t up for re-election in 2029. This implies he can function freely, unburdened by rapid electoral calculations. Within the high-stakes sport of presidential politics, Senator Kogar might grow to be both a kingmaker or a spoiler.
And the political winds might already be shifting.
Whispers of Senator Kogar’s potential alignment with the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) — led by former President George Weah — are rising louder. Posts welcoming Senator Kogar into the CDC’s orbit have begun circulating on social media, stoking hypothesis that he could also be tapped as Weah’s working mate for 2029.
Such a transfer could be seismic. It could fracture the Nimba vote, traditionally influential in presidential elections, and weaken Vice President Koung’s home-county benefit — probably fatally so.
On the coronary heart of this battle is a deeper query of What turns into of the MDR?
Initially created because the political instrument of Johnson, the MDR has all the time functioned extra as a personality-driven platform than a structurally democratic get together. With Johnson gone, the vacuum has left two competing claimants, together with Vice President Koung, who seeks to inherit Johnson’s affect; and Senator Kogar, who claims seniority, legitimacy, and ideological dedication to the get together’s founding rules.
Senator Kogar has now publicly referred to as for reforms inside MDR, denouncing what he calls “political techniques designed to divide and dominate.” However whether or not reforms are even attainable in such a tense environment is uncertain. The get together is clearly adrift — with out its founder, with out inside consensus, and now, with out unity.
Ought to the cut up widen, the MDR dangers irrelevance. Its id and path are being contested not by grassroots debates or coverage variations however by uncooked political rivalry between two formidable males with conflicting visions.
The Kogar-Koung rift additionally poses a problem for President Joseph Boakai. His fragile coalition, which introduced collectively disparate political actors in 2023, now finds itself internet hosting inside battles that would derail its agenda. Senator Kogar’s allegations that his affect is being blocked from throughout the coalition — significantly relating to appointments — might put stress on the president to intervene or threat alienating key regional actors.
At a time when the Boakai administration is struggling to consolidate public belief and implement reforms, infighting amongst his high allies might complicate governance. Nimba, removed from being a supply of stability, is rising as a political minefield.
Vice President Koung’s personal response has been subdued — a minimum of publicly. In a short assertion to FrontPageAfrica on Tuesday, Prince Gbeiu, Chief of Workers within the Workplace of the Vice President, appeared puzzled by Senator Kogar’s accusations.
“Why does Senator Kogar imply he isn’t a bag boy? I don’t perceive,” he mentioned, defending Vice President Koung’s political expertise. “This vp… has huge data on management, particularly coming from the extent of Consultant, then Senator, and now Vice President.”
However silence might not be a ample technique. Vice President Koung’s popularity as a relaxed and calculating operator is being examined. His potential to handle battle, reconcile inside disputes, and preserve regional loyalty is now beneath scrutiny — and should in the end outline his viability forward of 2029.
The rift between Senator Kogar and Vice President Koung is greater than a private feud — it’s a proxy battle for the way forward for Nimba, the id of the MDR, and the path of Liberia’s 2029 elections.
What started as a unified political motion beneath the banner of the late Johnson is now splintering beneath the load of ambition and distrust. And in a rustic the place political loyalties are sometimes fluid and alliances transactional, the following 4 years might see additional realignments that few anticipated.
