Tweah Rallies Opposition Forces over ‘Weaponization’-Calls on International Community To Act

A former finance minister has recast Liberia’s sprawling drug inquiry as a partisan war rather than an ordinary criminal case. Samuel D. Tweah Jr. accuses the governing Unity Party of weaponizing prosecution to cripple the opposition. His appeal to Washington, Brussels and the regional bloc openly seeks to internationalize a purely domestic dispute. By declaring that 2029 is now, he presses allies toward confrontation rather than patience. The rhetoric raises the political temperature around a case authorities insist rests on evidence. It also exposes the opposition’s fear that legal pressure could fracture its ranks before the next vote. Whether the charge of framing withstands scrutiny remains the central, unproven question. THE ANALYST’s Lincoln H. Dalieh reports.

Former Minister of Finance and Development Planning Samuel D. Tweah Jr. has launched a blistering attack on the Joseph Boakai-led Unity Party (UP) government, accusing it of using the ongoing drug investigation to politically target members of the opposition and warning that Liberia’s democratic order is being placed at risk.

Tweah, a prominent figure of the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), made the assertions in a strongly worded social-media post following the arrest and questioning of former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor.

He described the latest development as further evidence of what he called the government’s “weaponization of political power.” Tweah said the action against Howard-Taylor represented “yet another confirmation that Liberia has ultimately returned to its darkest past.”

Calls Out International Partners

Tweah appealed directly to Liberia’s international partners, particularly the United States, the European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), urging them to take a stronger position on what he characterized as selective justice and political persecution.

He questioned why the government would pursue the former vice president while, in his view, “compromised members of the national security architecture” and members of the First Family remained free.

Tweah also questioned the role of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials in Liberia, asking why stronger pressure had not been applied despite what he claimed was their access to evidence. He warned that continued diplomatic engagement without stronger intervention risked emboldening what he called the “Boakai-Koung tyranny.”

‘Opposition Must Fight For Itself’

Beyond his criticism of the government and international partners, Tweah urged the CDC and other opposition forces to take greater responsibility for defending Liberia’s democratic space. “As opposition we have to do the fighting ourselves,” he wrote, adding that the opposition could not depend on the Americans and Europeans to fight on its behalf.

Tweah acknowledged what he described as weaknesses within the opposition, conceding that it had so far been “miserable” in confronting attempts to undermine it. But he declared that the situation had reached a turning point, insisting that “the buck stops here.”

CDC Mobilization Ordered

Tweah disclosed that the national chairman of the CDC had been mandated to convene a broad-based meeting of the party’s structures to respond to what he described as Liberia’s slide toward “lawless arbitrariness.” According to him, the gathering would bring together partisans, legislators, grassroots zonal leaders, youth and women leagues and other auxiliaries.

He said the meeting was intended to develop a coordinated response to what he considers the government’s abuse of political power. The announcement comes at a politically sensitive moment for the CDC, following the reported arrest of the former vice president.

Alleges Plot To Weaken CDC

Tweah went further, accusing the Unity Party of deliberately seeking to weaken the CDC ahead of future elections. He alleged that the UP believes it cannot defeat the CDC through a democratic election and has therefore resorted to “subterfuges,” including allegedly framing CDC officials in connection with the drug investigation.

He characterized the alleged strategy as “diabolical” and called on opposition supporters to resist it. The former minister did not provide publicly verifiable evidence in his post to substantiate his allegations of political framing or a coordinated government strategy against the CDC.

‘2029 Is Now’

Concluding his statement with a call for immediate political action, Tweah rejected the notion that the opposition should simply wait for the next presidential and legislative elections. “We cannot wait for 2029. 2029 is NOW,” he declared.

The Unity Party-led government has yet to publicly respond to Tweah’s latest allegations, and authorities have maintained that the drug investigation is a law-enforcement matter. As the investigation continues, his call for mobilization signals the potential for the controversy to evolve into a broader political confrontation between the governing party and the opposition.