Grief walks beside us this May 6, turning a day of celebration into one of solemn reflection. For on Saturday evening, we lost Cletus, a follower and friend of D’Tweah since their University of Liberia days. More than a friend, he was a brother and confidant. And in the march of public service, he became Chief of Staff to D’Tweah — walking beside him through the thick and thin of policy and politics.
Today, then, is not merely the birthday of D’Tweah. It is a moment of silence, a breath held in reverence, a tribute colored by the ache of the loss of Cletus, a meek soul —and a friend to many. We begin in mourning because Cletus, who walked with D’Tweah through the most sacred valleys of his journey, cannot easily be forgotten. Cletus’s death dims the light of this day, but it also sharpens our reflection on the weight and meaning of loyalty, and the love that often goes unnamed in the corridors of selfless relationships.
Beneath the veil of grief, the journey continues. On this day, we do not simply celebrate 54 years in the life of D’Tweah —we bear witness to a man who has dared to be different. D’Tweah is far from perfect, but he is unequivocally real. Fiercely intelligent. Unapologetically Liberia’s finest intellectual alive. A survivor. A survivor who has endured some of the most vicious tools of lies and propaganda in Liberia’s recent political history. Purged in innocence, his conscience has always backed his convictions and confidence, even if no one understands him.
D’Tweah did not begin in marble halls, nor was he born into the luxury of inheritance. His beginnings were small. But it is precisely there, in the smallness — in the quiet classrooms of Tubman High and the University of Liberia, in the solitude of midnight studies, in the hunger of a young man who knew that books were his best sword — that the soul of his public life was formed. And like all who rise from the dust with nothing but their mind as a compass, D’Tweah emerged not merely with ideas but with clarity and profound focus. And with that focus, he has always thrived. As Minister of Finance and Development Planning, D’Tweah confronted a bleeding economy, plagued by inflation and shortfalls from the economic lag of the previous government.
He did not flinch. He presided over one of the most dramatic inflation declines in the world’s recent history —a rare feat of economic leadership in a fragile state, turning Liberia into a macroeconomic exception under his watch. He led Liberia’s economy through the worst days of COVID-19 with no scars. Despite his sacrifices as a noble public servant, his foes have unleashed the deadliest onslaughts to break him, but he has survived them all and is even more determined than ever to keep winning. Greatness is D’Tweah’s calling.
So today, we honor both men: one living, still laboring under the weight of history; one gone, having given his last breath to the labor of hope.
Happy 54th birthday to legend Samuel D. Tweah, Jr.
Farewell and thank you, Chief Cletus.
May your memory never leave the room.
