PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Congress for Democratic Change in the USA (CDC-USA) issued a forceful condemnation Wednesday of what it described as the violent suppression of a peaceful protest in Monrovia, Liberia, calling for the immediate release of detained demonstrators and urging international caution against planned police actions.
In an official statement dated December 17, 2025, CDCUSA Chairman Yahaya Talata Sheriff accused security forces under President Joseph N. Boakai’s administration of carrying out “violent and unlawful actions” against citizens lawfully exercising their constitutional right to assemble. The protest, organized by the civil society group the Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND) and led by Hon. Mulbah K. Morlu Jr., was focused on grievances including widespread insecurity, allegations of corruption, a collapsing healthcare system, and the decline of the University of Liberia.
The statement highlighted the arrest and detention of numerous named individuals, including Fred D. Weah and Tukee Swaray, labeling their detainment as a “grave abuse of state authority” without legal justification. The group invoked Article 17 of Liberia’s Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and petition. Further alarming the organization are reports of an earlier arson attack on the STAND office and claims that Liberia National Police (LNP) officers discharged live ammunition at the residence of Morlu. The CDC-USA demands the unconditional release of all those detained and calls for an end to the “pattern of intimidation against civil society.”
The statement also includes a direct caution from the CDC-USA to the Liberia National Police, urging them to abandon what it terms an “unconstitutional plan” to arrest the protest organizers, as outlined in the LNP’s own press release earlier on Wednesday. That LNP release condemned acts of violence it said occurred during the protest, which it stated “undermined public order and endangered lives.” The police named Mulbah Morlu, Alvin Wesseh, and Archie Pompom as persons of interest, requesting they report to Central Police Headquarters for questioning. The LNP warned that failure to comply would compel police “to exercise its statutory authority to effect arrest.”
The contrasting narratives set the stage for heightened tensions, with the CDC-USA framing the event as a constitutional crisis and the LNP asserting its duty to investigate criminal violence. The U.S.-based group concludes that Liberia’s democracy is being “undermined by repression, intimidation, and abuse of state power,” insisting that respect for the rule of law is a non-negotiable obligation for the Boakai administration.