By Olando Testimony Zeongar
MONROVIA – Contrary to an announcement by the Executive Mansion in Monrovia that Liberian president George Weah was off to London, the United Kingdom, to attend the coronation of King Charles, III, Smart News Liberia has learnt that the Liberian leader’s name is not on the official guest list of attendees expected at the 6 March 2023 coronation ceremony.
The Executive Mansion, in a statement released to the press on Tuesday, announced that President Weah, a retired footballer, had left the country on the same day for London, the UK, at the invitation of the Government of the United Kingdom.
But, the royal ceremony’s official guest list, which Smart News Liberia is privy to, does not contain the name of the Liberian head of state.
Even though, the Liberian presidency had announced Tuesday that President Weah was poised to have joined other world leaders for King Charles and Queen Camilla historic coronation ceremony slated to take place on Saturday, 6 May 2023, at Westminister Abbey, in London, the complete guest list of foreign heads of state confirmed to attend the historic occasion, as has been seen by Smart News Liberia, does not bear the name of the Liberian leader.
Approximately 2,000 individuals are expected to attend Saturday’s coronation ceremony, as invitations have long been sent out, and confirmations have begun to be announced, with President Weah of Liberia seemingly not being among those officially invited, Smart News Liberia has learnt.
The British royal family, including King Charles’s sister, Princess Anne; his son, Prince William; and daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales; Prince George, his grandson; who will be a page of honor at the coronation, it’s guaranteed, will all be in attendance at the occasion, Smart News Liberia has reliably learnt.
Smart News Liberia has also gathered that King Charles, III other son, Prince Harris, will attend; but the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will not be at the ceremony.
A long guest list which includes members of Queen Camilla’s family; UK leaders, including British MPs, and peers; British Nobility; and foreign heads of state, intensively viewed by Smart News Liberia, does not at all contain the name of President Weah of Liberia.
On the guest list, Smart News has seen, there are just three African leaders whose attendance is confirmed; Senegalese president Macky Sall; Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe; and Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles.
Another mention of any confirmed guest from Africa is on the list of Foreign royals, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Lady Julia, who are Ashanti royals from the Republic of Ghana, Liberia’s longtime ally.
So far, world leaders, whose attendance at the coronation ceremony have been confirmed are: Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada; Mary Simon, Governor-General of Canada; and Andrzej Duda, President of Poland; Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament; Amina Jane Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations; Borjana Krišto, the chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh; Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus; Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Dame Froyla Tzalam, Governor-General of Belize; Cornelius A. Smith, Governor-General of the Bahamas and his wife, Clara Smith.
Additionally, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, will not be in attendance, but U.S. First Lady Jill Biden will lead a delegation to the coronation; Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, will be in attendance; and both David Hurley and Chris Hipkins, Governor-General of Australia and Prime Minister of New Zealand respectively, will be at the ceremony.
Other heads of state to be in attendance at the coronation include Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of New Zealand, and her husband, Dr. Richard Davies; Christopher Luxon, leader of the opposition in New Zealand; Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan; Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany; Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy; Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President of India; Han Zheng, Vice President of China; Michael Higgins, President of Ireland and his wife, Sabina Higgins; Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach of Ireland; Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Louise Araneta-Marcos, President and First Lady of the Philippines; Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, and his wife, Linda Ramkalawan; Mario Abdo Benítez and Silvana López Moreira, President and First Lady of Paraguay; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union Commission; and Charles Michel, European Union Council President.
The rest are: Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas; Michael Pintard, leader of the opposition in the Bahamas; Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea; David Vunagi, Governor-General of Solomon Islands; Võ Văn Thưởng, President of Vietnam; Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; Alexander Van der Bellen, Federal President of Austria; Archbishop Joan Enric Vives i Sicília, Co-Prince of Andorra; and Narayan Prakash Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal.
Weah’s taking government money and not attending is nothing new. As Senator, he routinely, took money to attend ECOWAS functions and never “footed” there. Never. And when he returns, he never files report. Everybody at the ECOWAS parliament knew him for that. This is a shameless individual. Totally shameless.