Boakai’s War on Opposition? Kemayah, Broh, and Others Walk Free, Speak Out

Monrovia, Liberia: Celebrations broke out at Monrovia Central Prison on Thursday, June 26, 2025, following the release of several high-profile opposition figures.

Among those freed were former First Lady Thelma Duncan Sawyer, ex-GSA Director Mary Broh, former Foreign Affairs Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, and others affiliated with the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).

The officials had been arrested, indicted, and imprisoned over claims of allegedly committing the following crimes, theft of Property, Economic Sabotage, Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Facilitation, Misapplication of Entrusted Property and Misuse of Public Money, Property or record, respectively. 

Details leading to them allegedly committing these crimes indicates that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 4, A.D. 2023, donated to the Government of the Republic of Liberia, (29, 412), 25kg bags of rice valued at USD$500,000. And after the said donation, the rice was placed into three (3) separate warehouses as follows: warehouse # 1 GSA - 11,200 bags of rice; warehouse #2 NDMA – 12,292 bags of rice; warehouse #3 NDMA – 5,920 bags of rice = 29,412, (25kg bags). According to the Ministry of Justice and the Asset Recovery Task Force, the individuals supra allegedly diverted, siphoned, and embezzling the Saudi Arabian donation of 29,412 bags of rice. 

Speaking to reporters minutes after his release, former Foreign Minister Kemayah called the charges “a disgraceful political maneuver intended to silence and shame opposition leaders.”

“This is not justice. This is persecution dressed up in legal robes,” Kemayah said firmly. “But we’ve stood for the rule of law before, and we stand by it now—even if it’s being used as a weapon against us.”

He accused the Boakai-Koung administration of launching a targeted campaign to dismantle the reputations of opposition leaders under the guise of anti-corruption efforts.

“You can jail our bodies, but you cannot jail our commitment to Liberia,” Kemayah declared. “If we are guilty, let the courts decide. But if we’re innocent, let this be a wake-up call for the nation.”

Kemayah, who also leads the Movement for Economic Empowerment (MOVEE), said the group remains determined to play a role in shaping Liberia’s future, regardless of what he called ongoing intimidation.

“We will not be broken,” he added. “We will rise, we will speak, and we will redeem this country.”

Also released were former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Rufus Neufville, ex-Deputy Commerce Minister Jemima Wolokollie, and CDC Montserrado County Youth Chairman Prince Saryon. All had been entangled in similar allegations surrounding the rice scandal