NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – Mulbah Morlu, Chairman of Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND) and lead organizer of the July 17, 2026 “Lead or Leave” protest against the government of Liberia has claimed that armed officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) have surrounded his residence following Friday’s “Lead or Leave” protest in Monrovia.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Mr. Morlu alleged that the police action was ordered by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in retaliation for the anti-government demonstration.
He accused Inspector General Gregory Coleman of using the police to intimidate him instead of pursuing those allegedly connected to the country’s reported US$19 million cocaine case.
Morlu further claimed that the firearm displayed during Friday’s protest had been taken from a plainclothes police officer whom he alleged had infiltrated the demonstration posing as a STAND supporter while carrying a loaded weapon.
According to him, members of STAND’s crowd control team disarmed the individual without violence and intended to hand the weapon over publicly in the presence of international partners, civil society organizations, religious leaders and the media.
The STAND chairman also accused the government of attempting to silence him because of his criticism of the administration over alleged drug trafficking.
He alleged that police were targeting his residence rather than pursuing those responsible for the reported US$19 million cocaine shipment.
He further claimed there were plans to assassinate him, although he provided no evidence to support the allegation.
The Liberia National Police has not publicly responded to Morlu’s latest claims regarding the alleged deployment of armed officers around his residence.
Background
The latest allegations come less than a day after the Liberia National Police declared Morlu “armed and dangerous” following Friday’s protest on Capitol Hill.
The police said Morlu was in possession of a firearm taken from one of its officers during the demonstration and ordered him to surrender the weapon immediately.
The LNP also instructed officers not to confront Morlu alone and warned that lawful measures would be taken to recover the firearm if it was not returned.
Morlu, however, has maintained that the weapon was seized from a plainclothes officer whom he claims had infiltrated the protest to provoke violence.
The police dispute that account, saying the firearm belongs to one of its officers. Both sides have maintained conflicting versions of the events.
