Prelate Kortu Brown Cautions Politicians -Bishop Fears ‘Beggar in New Clothes’

MONROVIA – The 2029 race is three years off, yet the search for alternatives has begun. Bishop Kortu K. Brown has joined the debate over a “third lane.” It would run beyond the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and the Unity Party (UP). He welcomes the idea but sets a hard condition. A new lane cannot be “the same old man beggar in new clothes.” The cleric recalls the 1980s, when celebration gave way to division, killings and civil war. His warning targets political rivals who repackage old grudges as reform. The larger question is whether Liberia can produce a movement led by sincere professionals. Voters, in his words, remain “politically thirsty.” THE ANALYST reports.

Bishop Kortu K. Brown has said Liberia needs a “real third lane” in national politics, warning that any new political alternative must not be “the same old man beggar in new clothes.”

In a statement issued in Brewerville, Montserrado County, on October 12, 2026, the cleric noted that as the political debate for national leadership in 2029 continues, there are suggestions for a third lane to pursue governance in Liberia.

According to Brown, the suggestions stem from the reported ineffectual governance performance of the former ruling party, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), and the current ruling Unity Party (UP). He stated that the call is worth exploring given the increasing appetite for transformational development, accountability and national healing in the country.

Brown called for a genuine and open national conversation on the subject, with the aim of strengthening governance, the rule of law and comprehensive development. “However, a third political lane must be a real third lane,” he cautioned.

Lessons From the 1980s

Brown recalled that it was “the same 6 and 7 Books of Moses” in the 1980s, when people sang and danced but were greatly disappointed. Divisions, killings, invasions and civil war ensued, he noted.

The cleric argued that it does not make sense to institute political change without a genuine political cause, describing such an effort as a waste of the time of the ordinary people of Liberia.

“Liberians welcomed the civil war but didn’t know the real package of destruction that would follow,” he observed.

According to Brown, pursuing political moves without genuine causes has been part of the reason the ordinary people still yearn for something else politically. He urged Liberians to be sincere with themselves and to mean it when they say they want real change.

No ‘Empty Third Lane’

“Liberians will not buy an empty third lane. Otherwise, people will not follow,” Brown declared. He stressed that the people making the call for the third lane matter, insisting that it cannot be a contest of political rivals who are dissatisfied with one another, or of people who want to take revenge against one another or to fool one another.

Instead, the bishop maintained, a third lane must be a new lineup of sincere and professional Liberians who are genuinely interested in promoting the political, economic, social and religious causes of the ordinary people.

“UP and CDC are now brand names with big followers. However, people are still politically thirsty,” he concluded.