By Our Staff Writer
President George Weah, who is Standard Bearer of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has open a front into gutter politics with his fierce weekend attack on opposition politicians, including one of his former political benefactors, ALP leader Benoni Urey, describing him as a “killer and thief”.
The Liberian leader was speaking in Monrovia on Saturday at the launch of the campaign for CDC’s Senatorial and Representative Candidates in the July 8, 2019 Bi-election in Montserrado County, but Mr. Weah has come in for strong criticism.
The President, who in early June vowed that anyone insulting/ridiculing him “will not walk the streets freely,” did not sell the platforms of his candidates (Ms. Paulita Wie-Senate, and Abu Kamara-House) but launched an all-out person attack on the opposition
From both members of the Liberian public and a large section of the Liberian media, President Weah’s utterance has been seriously criticized as being inappropriate and counter-productive to spirit of his planned July 17 national dialogue roundtable conference.
Mr. Urey, who was once his financier and political allie in his Congress for Democratic Change, was branded by President Weah as a corrupt man and a killer during the Liberian civil war which ended in 2003.
“This is a man that has never won anything, he supported his brother I defeated him, get ready tightened your belts, there is no way the Ureys can win election in Montserrado County because they are wicked people. We are cockroaches but they are killers, we are cockroaches, they are thieves,” President Weah said.
In a vain attempt to draw a line between his party’s capacity and his post as President, Weah said: “I came here to make fuss today… In fact, that’s why I came with my own cars and not government cars… I want to speak like George Weah and not President Weah,” he said.
But prominent Liberian student leader and political activist, Martin Kollie went to the Social Media Network, Facebook to debunk this assertion by saying: “ Weah thinks he’s still leading a political party (CDC) and not a country (LIB). No wonder why he is miserably failing. SAD TIMES.”
The Spokesman for the organizers of the June 7, 2019 peaceful anti-government protest in Monrovia and vocal Radio Talk show host, Henry Costa described the President’s utterance as “madness”.
By Monday morning, Mr. Urey’s daughter, Telia Urey who is the ALP Representative in the Montserrado County District #15 Bi-election who President described as “little girl”, bounced back sharply on the Costa Show on the local Roots FM to lash out at the Liberian leader, saying that he was demeaning her and trying to instill fear in her.
“For the past two nights, if have not slept well because I am in fear. When you have the President telling his people that we are wicked, that we are killers, that we are thieves, telling his people, flog that little girl, we don’t know what that means. It could mean – physically flog me! I don’t know what it means but we all saw what happened to Geraldine Doe-Sheriff here, they were throwing petrol bombs at her house, you understand what I mean?” Ms. Urey said live on radio.
“You’re trying to demean me? You’re trying to bully me? You’re trying to scare me from being involved in the process? You cannot intimidate me, George. I know where I stand, I know what I am going to do, I know what I want, I will never be intimidated by your,” Ms. Telia Urey asserted.
For her, President Weah does not have his “thinking cap” on.
“You need to put your thinking cap on, look at the people who made you a winner, focus on improving their lives, focus on developing this country and that’s when we will clap for you and say, yes, Gbehkubeh that winner. Now, you’re not.”
The CDC Standard Bearer and current President back in 2005 ran on the ballot of the party in his first Presidential election as a high school dropout, something which caught a lot of public attention.
In his speech at the CDC Bi-election campaign rally last Saturday, President Weah attacked the Liberty Party’s Vice Chairman and Senatorial candidate, Diarus Dillon, who he said was a 9th grade student and not fit to occupy the Senatorial position.