Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has formally apologised on behalf of the state for the horrors and suffering inflicted during the country’s two devastating civil wars, marking a significant moment in the nation’s long-delayed path towards reconciliation.
Speaking at a reconciliation ceremony in the capital Monrovia on Saturday, Boakai expressed regret for the atrocities committed between 1989 and 2003, a period of extreme violence that claimed an estimated 250,000 lives and left deep psychological scars across the West African nation. The wars were marked by massacres, rape, mutilation, and the recruitment of child soldiers.
“On this historic occasion, I offer a formal apology on behalf of the state,” Boakai declared. “To every victim of our civil conflict, to every family broken, to every dream shattered, we say: We are sorry.”
It was the first time a Liberian president has publicly and officially apologised, despite a 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report recommending such a gesture. According to Aaron Weah, director of the Ducor Institute for Social and Economic Research, the apology represents a major step in addressing Liberia’s violent past.
Boakai’s address followed his attendance at recent state memorials for two former presidents: William Tolbert, who was assassinated in a 1980 coup, and Samuel Doe, who was tortured and killed in 1990 during the early stages of the first civil war. These ceremonies, part of a wider national reconciliation initiative, are being seen as a signal of Boakai’s commitment to transitional justice.
The 2009 TRC report also urged the creation of a war crimes tribunal to hold perpetrators accountable. However, successive governments failed to act on that recommendation, partly due to the political clout held by former warlords.
In May 2024, Boakai took a pivotal step by signing an executive order to establish the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court. The body has been tasked with laying the groundwork for a future tribunal to try those responsible for war crimes.
“There is hardly a Liberian family that has not been touched by the pain, the violence, and the injustice that have haunted our nation,” Boakai said, reiterating his government’s intent to implement key recommendations from the TRC.
Weah described the recent events — including the memorials and Boakai’s apology — as “several weeks of transitional justice in Liberia” and “actual deliberate actions” towards meaningful change.
Boakai also admitted the Liberian state had failed its people during the years of conflict. “The state could have done better but was used as an agency,” he said. “We must do everything we can to make sure that it never fails you again.”
