Liberia, Monday, was greeted with unhappy reports about the worsening state of health of Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, a renowned politician and legal luminary. There were some who mistaken the critical nature of the situation for his death, but as the hours turned, such heartbreaking news did not come as doomsayers had thought it. Thanks to a horde of religious centers where throngs of Liberians have gathered seeking divine miracle for a true son of the soil who has labored so much for the good of the nation and its people. As The Analyst has found out, the prayers and supplications to the Most High to salvage Cllr. Brumskine continue amongst his family, church members, friends, supporters and partisans of Liberty Party (LP), while his condition remains critical.
The Country nearly stood still Monday as whispers passed from person to another and as social media scavengers speculated about the near-terminal nature of Liberty Party strongman Charles Walker Brumsine’s illness. In fact, there were those who posted on black fields acting like they were on top of the news and that the ace Liberian lawyer had passed away.
Much of the speculations got some aura of clarity when Executive Committee of Cllr Brumskine’s Liberty Party issued a statement confirming the worsening state of the sickness and calling for prayers to restore him to normalcy.
“The Executive Committee of Liberty Party through the office of the Political leader, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, informs its partisans, well-wishers and the general public that its former political leader and former Standard-Bearer, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, is not well and is seeking medical treatment abroad,” said a statement signed by the Political Leader Senator Younblee Kangar.
The statement continued: “As the party seeks the special grace of God upon our founding father for healing, we make a special request to all partisans and the general public to remember Cllr. Brumskine in their prayers.”
There was spontaneous acceptance of the Liberty Party prayer request by swarms of Liberians who began using personal and institutional altars to crave God’s intervention for Cllr. Brumskine’s speedy recovery.
The Facebook version of the request attracted tons of responses—Liberians from all walks of life offering prayers and “get well” messages.
“Where everything else fails, God NEVER. Pray with me,” an Executive of the Liberty, Musa Hassan Bility, wrote on his Facebook page.
A former LP executive, Israel Akinsanya, said, “May the lord lay his healing hands on you!!”
“He’s still alive but in critical condition, please remember him in prayers,” wrote a LP partisan, who added, “Father take complete control of your son Cllr. Brumskine.”
Another wrote: “You are a great leader and God is on your side. You will not die, but will live longer to fulfil the plans of God for your life to impact this Nation. Get well Soon Cllr. Brumskine in Jesus name.”
Anthony Cooper, an apparent admirer of Cllr. Brumskine also wrote: “If getting ill was your way of making us realize your value in the in our respective lives, your target has been achieved. Please get well and come back soon. No sickness is strong enough to survive in the body of the strongest true friend, mentor and a great leader. I wish, as your loyal supporter, that you feel better. I hope, as your colleague, that you stop feeling weak. I pray, as your friend, that your sickness quickly ends.
“Your treatment is one thing that you can’t lead. Your sickness is one thing that you can’t order around. Your recovery is one thing that you can’t put a deadline to. Your health is one thing that you can’t value in numbers. Get well soon our Leader and mentor CWB. May the weakness of God be your Strong, and the Strength of the Lord be your might! Wake up we need you now!!!!”
Gifty B. Loves Jesus Tarr: “Father in the name of Jesus, let your healing power fall upon Mr. Brumskime. We still need him Lord.”
Aaron A. Kollie: “Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, please intervene in cllr Charles W. Brumskine illness, rest your healing hands upon him right now Amen!!”
As a further demonstration of concern and affection, scores of Liberians on the social media replaced their personal profile photos with Cllr. Brumskine’s photo.
A family source told The Analyst as we went to press last night that his condition was extremely critical needing persistent prayers from friends and family members.
Charles Walker Brumskine is a prominent Liberian lawyer, politician and statesman. He was born 27 April 1951.
He is also the senior partner of Brumskine & Associates, a leading Liberian law firm.
He is founding Standard Bearer of the Liberty Party, contesting the 2005 presidential election. He came third in those elections.
Brumskine was educated at the University of Liberia where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1973.
He then attended Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law where he was awarded a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1981 and passed the Liberian bar.
The LP Strongman earned a Master of Laws degree from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas the following year.
Brumskine became politically prominent in the 1990s when he became President pro tempore of the Senate.
By 1999, however, he and Taylor parted company and he fled the country after being threatened by Taylor’s supporters.
He returned to Liberia in 2003 with plans to run in the scheduled 2003 presidential election. However, Taylor’s resignation that year and the installment of a two-year transitional government led to the elections being cancelled.
In 2004, Brumskine began campaigning for the 2005 presidential elections as a member of the Liberty Party.
Like most of the other candidates, he promised to bring reconciliation to the country following its political turmoil, and improve the economy and infrastructure.
What made him unique was the strong religious message in his campaign. Ultimately, he received nearly 14% of the vote, 6% less than the second-place candidate, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and therefore he was not able to participate in the runoff.
Due to his popularity in the first round, he could have significantly influenced the run-off had he endorsed either candidate. He decided not to endorse Sirleaf or her opponent, George Weah, in the runoff.
In 2010, he announced his plans to challenge Sirleaf in the 2011 presidential election. On 20 January 2011, Brumskine announced that Bong County Senator Franklin Obed Siakor would be his running mate in the 2011 presidential election.
Soon after the announcement, some Liberian political analysts believed that the merger of Bassa County’s Charles Brumskine and Bong County’s Franklin Siakor would pose trouble for Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s re-election bid.
It was also argued that Brumskine’s pairing with Siakor delivered a fatal blow to other opposition political parties that might enter the race for President, as the race was thought likely to come down to Brumskine and Johnson-Sirleaf.
However, Winston Tubman was the most popular of Johnson-Sirleaf’s opponents, and the third-place finisher in the contest was Prince Johnson.
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