By Jefferson T. Koijee
There are moments in history when a man is not attacked simply because of what he has done, but because of what he represents to ordinary people. I have painfully come to understand that reality over the last several years of my political journey.
For nearly two years now, I have remained away from my homeland while continuing my academic pursuits abroad amid political circumstances, sanctions, propaganda, and relentless public attacks carefully designed to destroy not only my political future, but my very humanity.
Many people only see the surface of public life: the speeches, the crowds, the headlines, the controversies. Very few see the lonely internal battles the weight of exile, the sting of false accusations, the agony of watching others rewrite your story while you are still alive.
I was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky framework under allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, yet the painful contradiction remains: for nearly three years, despite endless claims of stolen wealth, hidden properties, and secret bank accounts at home and abroad, not one verified property has been legally presented as mine, not one foreign bank account has been proven, not one empire of wealth has been shown to the Liberian people.
Because the objective was never truth.
The objective was character assassination.
I was viciously targeted and manufactured into a public monster because many feared my God-given grace and my unusual connection with young people and the most vulnerable communities across Liberia. What frightened them was never money it was influence.
It was the emotional bond I built with struggling ordinary people who saw hope in my journey. Those who painted themselves yesterday as defenders of justice and morality now occupy some of the highest positions in government under the Boakai and Koung regime, while our nation watches a different reality unfold.
Since I left public office, Liberia has witnessed increasing allegations of human rights violations, mysterious killings, insecurity, and extrajudicial actions, in many ways worse than the very things we were accused of in our six years of leadership. Yet the loudest voices from civil society who once condemned everything have grown strangely silent while the nation bleeds. Where are the so-called defenders of justice today?
Where are the moral voices that filled the airwaves? Where are those who conspired politically with today’s leaders to destroy reputations and mislead our people?
But Yahweh Almighty is watching.
Throughout this journey, I have availed myself because I believe truth does not fear investigation. But instead of fairness, the hatred only intensified. One of the deepest, most painful realities has been my children. For nearly three years, my children have suffered the emotional punishment of growing up without the full presence of their father because of politics.
The public sees headlines; families live the pain.
Even my only personal property in Montserrado became a casualty of this hostility. On August 23, 2025, during the demolition of the CDC National Headquarters where my property was located, it was destroyed under state supervision.
To deepen public suspicion, there were even desperate attempts to falsely link weapons to the residence. Yet after all the naked pretense,nobody asked: where is the evidence, where were those alleged weapons taken, where was the prosecution? Because once again, the goal was not justice, but humiliation and political destruction.
And yet, through fire, betrayal, exile, and persecution, I have learned what may be the greatest lesson of my life: the mastery of self is the greatest gift God can give a man. A man may lose position, comfort, reputation, or even temporary freedom, but once he conquers bitterness, fear, anger, revenge, and hopelessness within himself, no external attack can permanently destroy him.
I have reflected.
I have questioned God in my darkest hours. But I have also grown spiritually stronger. I now understand that some storms are not sent to break a man, but to reveal the strength hidden within him.
Though many tried to bury me politically, I still believe, by the grace of Yahweh Almighty, that history will separate truth from propaganda. Political power is temporary. Propaganda is temporary.
Hatred is temporary. But truth survives generations. No matter how painful this journey has been, I refuse to surrender my soul to bitterness. Because in the end, the greatest victory any man can ever achieve is not the conquest of others, but the mastery of himself.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” – Genesis 50:20
“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty.” – Lao Tzu JTK.
About the author:
Mr. Jefferson Tamba Koijie is former Lord Mayor of Monrovia. He is an advocate, activist, and an adept believer in social justice. He writes frequently on political and social issues and enjoys great deal of respect from his followers. He is one of the cardinal voices in the diaspora shining light on homeland’s political malaise.
