Pressure Mounts on Liberian President Over Alleged Nepotism

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has vowed not to fire her sons despite accusations of corruption and nepotism. Two months of tension, including the resignation of Peace and Reconciliation Committee Chairperson Leymah Gbowee, have culminated in a call for the president's resignation.

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President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf addresses the U.S. council on foreign affairs.

  • Liberia:  'Ghadafi Style of Leadership' - Faith-Based Group Accuses Ellen

    The Informer, 21 November 2012

    The faith based media group Christian Media Center (CMC) has accused President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of introducing the late Libyan dictator Mohammed Gadhafi's style of leadership ... read more »

  • Liberia:  I'll Not Fire My Sons

    New Democrat, 14 November 2012

    President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in the Netherlands to receive an honorary doctorate degree last Friday, vowed not to sack her sons from her government despite widespread ... read more »

  • Liberia:  'My Family Faultless' - Ellen in Defense of Her Credentials & Family

    The New Republic Liberia, 5 November 2012

    Admitting to "systemic and endemic" corruption in Liberia, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf came in defense her integrity, insisting that she and her family had no fish to ... read more »

  • Liberia:  'No Hidden Agenda' - Robert Sirleaf Speaks Out - Demands Independent Audit

    The New Republic Liberia, 7 November 2012

    The embattled Chairman of the Board of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) has come in defense of his character, saying that he is performing a supervisory role to ensure a ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Robert Sirleaf Takes The Stand- Responds to Critics, Defends His Repute

    The Analyst, 7 November 2012

    The hullabaloo which has greeted the Liberian oil sector particularly centers on fears that returns from the country's newly discovered oil and gas would be clawed away by bigwigs ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Stop War of Words (editorial)

    The New Dawn, 7 November 2012

    Too many verbal attacks have been unleashed among key public officials here in the last two or three weeks, heightening tension within the government of Madam Ellen Johnson ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Nobel Laureate Criticizes Sirleaf

    The Analyst, 9 October 2012

    When critics growl that the Sirleaf administration has done poorly on the domestic front despite monumental strides in enlivening the failed state, the evidence often pointed to ... read more »

  • Liberia:  UP's SG - Robert Sirleaf's Appointment in Gov't Is Wrong

    Heritage, 22 October 2012

    The appointment of Mr. Robert Sirleaf into government positions by his mother President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is wrong, the Secretary General (SG) of the ruling Unity Party (UP), ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Ellen Breaks Silence On Laureate Gbowee's Resignation

    Heritage, 15 October 2012

    President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has expressed hope that resigned Peace and Reconciliation Committee's chairperson, Laureate Leymah Gbowee, will continue to work to make ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Ellen Remains Defiant

    New Democrat, 5 November 2012

    Johnson Sirleaf, in London for the UN high-level panel on the post-2015 development agenda acknowledged that corruption had become "systemic and endemic" in Liberia after decades ... read more »

  • Liberia:  'Hope Gbowee Will Change Her Mind' - Pres. Sirleaf's First Reaction to Leymah Gbowee

    The Analyst, 2 November 2012

    Since her fellow Nobel Laureate, Leymah Gbowee, tuned up the pitch of dissenting rhetoric against her administration, President Sirleaf has uncharacteristically remained taciturn ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Ellen Fires Back At Gbowee

    New Democrat, 2 November 2012

    Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has dismissed concern about corruption accusation from Leymah Gbowee, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with her last year, saying she is ... read more »

  • Liberia:  Ellen Suspends Son, Others

    The New Dawn, 21 August 2012

    President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has, with immediate effect, suspended 46 officials in her government, predominantly junior officers and county superintendents for failure to ... read more »



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  • Kennedy
    Nov 28 2012, 11:08

    The international community should now put pressure on this imperial dictator to fire her sons, cousins, sister, best friend, neices and all others who she has brought ot fill the governemnt. There are others both home and abroad who are suitable. Her family clan are so well educated let them find jobs in other sectors of the private sector. She wants to tell us that paying Binyah Kessely $15,000 a month for the Maritime is not corruption? How is he qualified for het job? His father founded the Unity Party of Ellen Johnson , that is his qualification.

  • nsayon2000
    Dec 2 2012, 22:21

    I will not fire my sons, “my family faultless”, yes, the president is right. No one wants you to fire your sons. This road is not strange to Liberian people. For family members to surround the president is a common practice in the political sphere of Liberia. Please leave old ma Ellen to enjoy her health trips. But still I am concerned about this precarious move by Ellen as it has the propensity to back fire. There is a new field, traditional known but has surfaced in businesses and government most recently. It is called ethics that deals with standards of right and wrong that prescribe what we ought to be, the way decisions are made and moral judgment. Having your sons directly reporting to you, or you as their direct supervisor is a conflict –of interest. Ma Ellen, we love you and that why we gave you a second term. Try to work on the roads, bridges, etc. We have not started auditing of your sons, but you came to their defense too hard. “Just do the right that is ethical and acceptable to people…..Worcester,MA

  • Kennedy
    Dec 10 2012, 11:31

    Well, according to transparency International. this is cause for celebration and to move Liberia up as a country that is fighting corruption. Go figure this one out!

  • TalkingAboutChange
    Nov 26 2012, 09:33

    Pres. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was on foreign soil (the Netherlands) when she said that she WILL NOT fire her sons. That statement in itself is an affront to every Liberian, educated and illiterate, alike. She basically said, I need to put my children in certain positions in order for me to protect my administration and prepare (groom) them to take over from me when I leave office --- Nonsense! Obviously, she DID NOT learn anything from the ultimate fate of her predecessors who practiced NEPOTISM and TRIBALISM. Personally, that is very, very sad for Africa's first female Head of State. As president of any democratic nation one has only one(1) task: Follow (or uphold) the law of the land to 'the letter', that is your oath. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has options; she needs to fire her sons and other immediate family members from her administration. The future of the Republic of Liberia and all Liberians as a collection is, by far, more important than any particular group of Liberians or one particular family like the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf family.

    One more noteworthy point of interest. The voice of the University of Liberia student community has ALWAYS serve as a Reliable Indicator for gauging the democratic status of every Liberian administration --- usually, if they start speaking against your administration, you'll ultimately fall. Beware!

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