MONROVIA – Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh has directly confronted the wave of politicized attacks on the Clar Weah City of Hope Academy, urging Liberians to separate accountability from partisan agendas and prioritizing the welfare of vulnerable children caught in a high-profile legal dispute.
“I became interested in the Clar Weah City of Hope Academy only recently when I saw videos of Liberian children in blue uniforms and also read that the Asset Recovery Team had taken the Academy to court, seeking documents to verify its funding sources and donor list,” Senator Konneh wrote on Thursday, February 6, 2026, reflecting on his visit to the institution earlier that Monday, February 2.
Konneh said his decision to visit the academy was prompted not only by media reports but also by actions taken by his colleague, Senator Nathaniel McGill, who had publicly raised concerns on the Senate Floor about the project. “I wanted to understand it fully, so I decided to visit the Academy and the Asset Recovery Team before forming an opinion,” he explained.
The senator conducted a fact-finding mission to the academy on Monday, February 2, 2026, meeting former First Lady Clar Marie Weah, staff, and students. “Until then, we had not met. I wanted to see the situation firsthand,” he said, emphasizing that while no institution is perfect, he was impressed by the care and environment provided to the children.
Konneh described the City of Hope as a fully equipped, model institution. “Politics aside, a lot of thought went into building this academy. I saw a fully equipped orphanage with modern classrooms, professional teachers, one student per desk, a computer lab, library, clinic staffed by two nurses with children’s medicines, playground, swimming pool, dormitory with clothes and shoes, kitchen providing three balanced meals daily, theater, and a caring, well-supervised staff and security,” he wrote.
He hailed the City of Hope as a blueprint that could be replicated regionally across Liberia to address the needs of orphans. “I saw a model academy worth replicating across the country on a smaller scale, perhaps regionally, to care for orphans. I thank the former First Lady for her warm welcome, honest talk about her foundation’s work, and her commitment to the children and staff,” Konneh added.
Although he had not yet met with the Asset Recovery Team (AREPT) due to a scheduling conflict, the senator expressed his expectation to meet them and confirmed that Madam Weah assured him of her foundation’s full cooperation with the court process.
Central to Konneh’s defense is the welfare of the orphaned children enrolled at the academy. “They are Liberian-born, orphaned, and vulnerable, and they deserve our collective protection. My visit to the City of Hope was for them, to ensure they are safe and cared for,” he emphasized.
Konneh also confronted political critics within his own Unity Party who questioned his visit. “Some of my Unity Party friends are not about my visit, and understand why. A nation where nothing is shared, admired, or commonly understood, and where everything is politicized, becomes a collection of factions rather than a community,” he said, directly challenging the culture of partisan obstruction.
“Politics should not blind us to children’s welfare. People will always differ in their political views, but doing what is right ultimately prevails. Politics has done more harm than good to our country, as evidenced by how we have torn apart good things built by people we disagree with politically,” Konneh wrote.
He urged Liberians to rise above partisanship and allow the legal process to run its course without harming the children. “Let us listen to the better angels of our nature and allow these children to live in peace while the court resolves the matter flagged by the Asset Recovery Team,” he concluded.
The legal scrutiny at the center of this debate involves the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT), chaired by Cllr. Edwin K. Martin. The team filed a writ of Subpoena Duces Tecum on November 21, 2025, before His Honor Roosevelt Z. Willie, Resident Circuit Judge of Criminal Court A, compelling the Building Material Center (BMC) to produce construction contracts, payment vouchers, checks, receipts, bills of quantities, and other financial documentation tied to the City of Hope project.
The Clar Hope Foundation, launched by former First Lady Clar Marie Weah on June 4, 2018, pledged to support vulnerable Liberians, including children, women, youth, and the elderly, through initiatives spanning education, health, gender equality, and economic empowerment. The City of Hope was conceived as the foundation’s flagship multi-purpose complex designed to shelter, educate, and rehabilitate orphans, street youths, and underprivileged women.
Konneh’s intervention signals a confrontational but principled stance against the politicization of social projects. He challenged lawmakers and critics to assess the academy on its merits rather than through the lens of partisan rivalry, framing the debate as one of ethical responsibility rather than political scoring.
In doing so, the senator implicitly criticized the culture of attacking initiatives built by political opponents, suggesting that such actions endanger Liberia’s social progress. By placing the welfare of children at the forefront, Konneh has reframed the City of Hope controversy from a mere court case to a moral confrontation between political opportunism and civic duty.
As the case unfolds before the courts, Senator Konneh’s voice stands as a confrontational call for Liberians to prioritize the safety and education of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, challenging both the political establishment and the Asset Recovery Team to balance accountability with the humanitarian imperative.
