MONROVIA – On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) held a press conference at the Party’s headquarters in Congo Town, Monrovia. Vandalark R. Patricks, a political prominent commentator, provided a sharp critique of the event, highlighting several ironies and contradictions that he believes undermine the CDC’s credibility.
Patricks pointed out the CDC’s mention of Joshua Blahyi, also known as “Butt Naked.” The party described Blayee as a confessed criminal who murdered people in cold blood and labeled him a threat to democracy. They criticized the current administration for forming an alliance with him during the 2023 election.
“The part of the CDC Press Conference that got me laughing yesterday was the issue of Joshua Blayee aka ‘Butt Naked’,” Patricks wrote. “CDC described him as a confessed criminal who murdered our people in cold blood. The party also mentioned that Butt Naked was a complete threat to our democracy, but the Rescue Mission activated his wickedness by forming an alliance with him during the 2023 election.”
Patricks highlighted the irony in this criticism, given the CDC’s own history. “When CDC was in power, it hired terribly known war criminals to hold live press conferences to threaten our democracy, poor Liberians, and public officials who disagreed with former president Weah and the party’s clandestine operations. President Weah said nothing and did nothing. Isn’t this an inherent contradiction?”
Patricks acknowledged that while the CDC raises a valid point about the threat posed by individuals like Blahyi, the party itself lacks the moral authority to speak on such matters. “The point stressed by the CDC is a valid one, but the party lacks the moral rectitude to speak on this matter. At this point, we hope the Rescue Mission takes cognizance of previous and current human rights abuses and bring justice to the victims by prosecuting the perpetrators.”
Another claim from the CDC that Patricks found laughable was their boast about promoting press freedom. “The CDC also boasted about promoting press freedom in its statement yesterday. Lol. In 2019, we watched a hurrying display of brutality when the party’s bandits, thugs, and punks chased peaceful students at the University of Liberia who had peacefully assembled at the U.S. Embassy near Monrovia to complain about the Weah-led government for abusing power and mass state-looting.”
He recalled that pro-CDC protesters attacked and humiliated the students. “Pro-CDC protestors went on the scene, grabbed, and tortured the students, including Christopher Walter Sisulu Sivili, and publicly stripped the young man for demanding accountability—something the CDC enjoyed for 12 years while in opposition. Did Weah prosecute the perpetrators? The answer is a resounding no!”
Patricks concluded by asserting that the CDC should remain silent on these grave matters. “The CDC should be very quiet by now. It doesn’t have the moral authority whatsoever to speak on these grave matters because it abused every aspect of democracy, accountability, and human rights when it recklessly governed and ransacked our integrity institutions that once protected the tenets of our democracy and state coffers.”
Vandalark R. Patricks’ critique highlights the hypocrisy and contradictions in the CDC’s recent criticisms of the current administration. Their own governance was characterized by significant abuses and failures, undermining their credibility on issues of democracy, accountability, and human rights.
