- Hundreds of victims, survivors and advocates demonstrated at the war crimes court office, temporarily disrupting operations, before moving to the Capitol Building to demand passage of legislation establishing the court.
- Prince Toles, chairman of the House Committee on Claims and Petitions, pledged to bring the matter before plenary Tuesday. Protest organizers said House leaders reinforced that assurance during a subsequent meeting.
- The protests came as Liberia approaches its November 2026 target for establishing a National Anti-Corruption Court, while legislation for that court and the War and Economic Crimes Court remains unresolved.
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives
Hundreds of victims and survivors of Liberia’s civil wars, joined by justice advocates, protested Thursday outside the government office overseeing the establishment of a war crimes court, temporarily disrupting operations, before descending on the Capitol Building, where a senior lawmaker pledged to bring long-delayed legislation before the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The peaceful demonstrations drew people with disabilities, rural women, elderly victims and survivors, young people, and traditional and religious leaders. For hours, protesters gathered outside the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, holding placards demanding justice. One read: “REAL PEACE IS NOT THE SILENCE OF GUNS. REAL PEACE IS DISPENSING JUSTICE AND ENDING IMPUNITY. WE CALL ON THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATURE TO GIVE THE PEOPLE JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY NOW…”
“What’s going on wrong? We are suffering,” said Korpo Dennis, president of the Women in Peacebuilding Network, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her cheeks. Addressing Jallah Barbu, the office’s executive director, Dennis questioned why President Joseph Boakai had not raised the issue at the United Nations General Assembly, as she said he had promised. “He na come, we can hear nothing. We want answer today or else, we will sleep on this street.”
The demonstrations underscored mounting frustration over Liberia’s failure to establish a court to prosecute atrocities committed during its civil wars, more than two decades after the fighting ended. Despite repeated government commitments and extensive consultations, competing bills remain before lawmakers, leaving uncertain when the country will begin prosecuting those accused of some of its worst wartime crimes.
Dennis’s organization was among the women’s peace groups widely credited with helping pressure Liberia’s warring factions to end the conflicts. Her emotional appeal reflected the disappointment of victims and survivors who have spent years campaigning for accountability, only to see successive governments struggle to translate commitments into legislation.
Barbu told the protesters he remained confident that Boakai had not abandoned his commitment to establishing the court. Pressed for answers, he unsuccessfully attempted to reach House Speaker Richard Koon by telephone.
Barbu also contacted James Verdier, the speaker’s chief of staff, who assured the demonstrators that the legislation would be approved. But the assurances failed to satisfy the protesters, who moved to Capitol Hill to press lawmakers directly.
Kula Fofana, Boakai’s press secretary, did not respond to a request for comment on the protesters’ concerns.
At the Capitol, the demonstrators renewed their demand for action, challenging lawmakers over the delays and questioning why the legislation remained unresolved despite years of public campaigning.
“It has taken us too long,” said Jeremiah D. Cooper, a member of the Group of 77, an organization representing people with disabilities. “If these people cannot pass this bill, then my question to you is: Who brought you here? Who made you people come here?The same Liberian people who voted for you are the same Liberian people demanding that you pass certain documents in the interest of the country. You people say you will not do it. Why?”
But the gathering soon exposed another source of disagreement: whether the proposed court would prosecute both war crimes and economic crimes.
Prescilla A. Cooper, a Montserrado County representative and member of the House Committee on Claims and Petitions, told the protesters that a joint legislative committee tasked with harmonizing the competing bills had agreed to proceed with legislation establishing a war crimes court, leaving economic crimes to be addressed separately.
Prince Toles, chairman of the committee, sought to calm the protesters, assuring them that the legislation would establish a War and Economic Crimes Court. His statement appeared to contradict Cooper’s account of the committee’s decision, leaving its final position unclear.
“We signed it in 2024 (the joint resolution). We signed it 5G. But this one, we will give it 20G,” Toles said, referring to the Legislature’s earlier support for establishing the court. “If people did not rob the system, all of us would have lived better. I want to tell you that we are with you.”
He then made a specific commitment.
“We will bring this matter before plenary,” Toles said. “But if they ask us to bring a paper signed by the different stakeholders, I will just propose that you draft something for us temporarily. Bring it here tomorrow (Friday), then I will put it on the floor on Tuesday.”
Plenary, the full membership of either legislative chamber, is its highest decision-making body. Toles’s pledge does not guarantee a vote or passage of the legislation Tuesday.
After the exchange, House leaders invited protest organizers to a meeting.
Peterson Sonyah, executive director of the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association, one of the country’s leading victims’ and survivors’ organizations, said participants emerged encouraged by the assurances they received.
“We feel a little bit relieved that it will work,” Sonyah said by phone. “We are impressed with the discussion. We are planning to be there on Tuesday.”
The protests came as Liberia approaches a significant deadline in its plans to establish the courts.
Under a 36-page roadmap submitted to President Boakai in July 2025, the court office projected that the National Anti-Corruption Court would be fully operational by November 2026, followed by the War and Economic Crimes Court in November 2027.
With November approaching and legislation establishing both courts still awaiting approval, the timetable faces uncertainty. The roadmap also envisaged that both courts would conclude their trials by 2031, with the war crimes court subsequently transitioning to a residual mechanism to handle outstanding matters.
The renewed pressure comes as Liberia prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in December, a moment justice advocates say will draw fresh international attention to the country’s unfinished efforts to address its wartime past.
In earlier reporting, transitional justice expert Aaron Weah raised concerns about the implications of continued delays for Liberia’s international standing and its efforts to consolidate peace and accountability.
Public opinion surveys have shown substantial support for establishing the court.
A FrontPage Africa/New Narratives survey of 1,150 people across 11 counties found that 91 percent supported establishing the court, while 89 percent said they would not vote for lawmakers who opposed it.
The survey was not conducted using scientific sampling methods. Only 4 percent of respondents said they were aware of consultations by lawmakers on the proposed court.
The legislative process has been complicated by six competing proposals concerning the establishment of the courts.
They include a 2021 War Crimes Court bill submitted by the Liberian National Bar Association; a separate proposal from a coalition of civil society organizations led by the Independent National Commission on Human Rights; and two bills introduced by Senate President Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and Senator Joseph Jallah, one for a War Crimes Court and another for a Special Economic and Corruption Crimes Court.
The remaining two bills were prepared by the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, proposing a War and Economic Crimes Court and a separate National Anti-Corruption Court. President Boakai subsequently forwarded both proposals to the Legislature.
The senators’ proposals drew criticism from leading justice advocates, who warned that provisions concerning the courts’ jurisdiction and appeals procedures could weaken accountability for wartime atrocities.
In June, more than 40 members of the House of Representatives participated in a two-day technical deliberation in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, organized by the court office and its partners to examine the proposed legislation.
At the gathering, constitutional lawyer Tiawan Gongloe urged lawmakers to prioritize the court, describing accountability for wartime atrocities as an unfinished national obligation.
Separately, the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions began consultations on the six competing bills in June, seeking to resolve disagreements over the appointment of senior court officials, prosecutorial independence and the appeals process.
The Senate committee had outlined a timetable for harmonizing the proposals, with further consultations and hearings planned before the end of the legislative session.
Neither chamber approved the legislation before lawmakers departed for their constituency break.
The Legislature was scheduled to return October 9, but a dispute over lawmakers’ benefits disrupted the House’s reopening. Regular House business resumed October 13.
Thursday’s demonstrations came 13 days after the scheduled return, with victims, survivors and advocates demanding that lawmakers move beyond consultations and assurances to legislative action.
For Sonyah and the other organizers, Tuesday will provide the next test of those assurances. They intend to return to the Capitol to see whether the promised action materializes — and whether the legislation presented will address both war crimes and economic crimes.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union. The funders had no say in the story’s content.