Former Liberian President Warns against Tyrants

Former world footballer of the year and ex-president of Liberia, George Weah, has warned Africans of the danger of electing tyrants as presidents.

George Weah, who presided over his country between 2018 and 2024, spoke at the ongoing 2026 annual conference of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

“And let me be plain about something else because it is often more dangerous of the two threats to democracy. The danger is not only that soldiers might seize power in the night or that a defeated candidate might refuse to leave office,” Weah told the participants.

“It is also that a leader who arrives in office through free and fair elections can, over time and often gradually, come to govern like the very dictators that the ballot was meant to guard against, leaning on the judiciary until it bends to his will and strong-arming the legislature until it becomes an echo chamber rather than a check on his power. A tyrant with a certificate of return is still a tyrant,” Weah warned.

Arguing that democracy is reliant on an unbent judiciary, Weah urged those in the legal profession to remain a shield against executive overreach.

Weah stated, “Democracy does not survive on the strength of elections alone.. What holds up? What keeps the roof from collapsing on the people inside it? Our institutions,”

Citing government officials, Weah noted that coup plotters are not the only threat to democracy in Africa. He argues that the actions of government officials that affect the independence of the judiciary also threaten democracy in the continent.

On judicial autonomy, Weah noted, “We have seen nations where the judiciary’s own budget must first pass through the executive it is meant to hold accountable. A court decision must mean what it says without any political permission”

Source: MRA