MONROVIA – The All Liberia Coalition Party (ALCOP) has strongly condemned the violent attack on citizens at Paynesville Red Light, criticizing the Liberia National Police for failing to protect victims during the incident. In a press statement released on Thursday, November 13, 2025, the party expressed shock over what it described as the police’s apparent reluctance to intervene while civilians were brutalized in public.
“ALCOP believes that said attack, as captured on live television, in the presence of the police demonstrates an apparent weakness or reluctance on the part of the police to provide adequate protection for the victims of such unwarranted mob violence,” the statement read. The party stressed that the incident stemmed from a land dispute between two families but emphasized that no civil disagreement justifies the brutal treatment of citizens.
The statement further warned that law enforcement’s failure to act against mob violence could be perceived as condoning hate crimes rooted in cultural or ethnic bias. “Such massive failure of the law enforcement agents to perform their duty and avert harm from being perpetrated against peaceful citizens by a violent mob will amount to a slavish acquiescence to a hate crime perpetrated against a people on grounds of cultural or ethnic bias,” the party said.
While acknowledging that citizens should not resist the enforcement of court orders, ALCOP insisted that enforcement must be carried out exclusively by the police. “For the police to pretend inability and demonstrate indifference, instead of stopping groups of violence-prone civilians from interfering with the police effort betrays the police’s actual decision to grant a license and lend credence to mob violence against a peaceful people,” the party’s statement added.
ALCOP revealed that its political leader, Hon. Alhaji Lusinee F. Kamara, Sr., had held a meeting with senior officials of the Executive Mansion to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, the party has called for calm and patience among Liberians, urging citizens to await the outcome of that discussion. “Whilst we await the outcome of said meeting, we are calling on our citizens to remain patient and calm,” the statement said.
The party also urged the Liberia National Police to arrest, detain, and prosecute all individuals involved in the televised flogging. “It is, indeed, shameful on the part of the police to allow thugs or gangsters to lay hands on Liberian citizens and brutalize them while such citizens are in the purported custody of the police,” the statement warned. ALCOP stressed that failure to act would set a dangerous precedent for law enforcement, allowing violence to override legal authority.
The press release highlighted the particularly egregious nature of the attack, which included the public flogging of several citizens, including an Imam. “The All Liberia Coalition Party is also deeply appalled by the complacency of the police in the public flogging of several citizens including an Imam,” it said.
ALCOP’s statement was signed by Musa MB Kenneh, Press and Propaganda Chairman, emphasizing the party’s firm stance on protecting citizens from mob violence and holding law enforcement accountable.
The party’s condemnation comes amid growing public concern over the capacity of the Liberia National Police to enforce law and order impartially and effectively, particularly in cases where violent mobs are involved.
With tensions high following the Paynesville Red Light incident, political observers say that the statements from ALCOP may further pressure the government to ensure accountability and restore public confidence in the country’s law enforcement agencies.
