By: Laymah Kollie
MONROVIA, Liberia – Montserrado County Senator Saah H. Joseph has asked the Liberian Senate to formally recognize the Sapo (also spelled Sarpo) people as one of the country’s recognized ethnic groups.
In a communication to Senate President Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and his colleagues, Senator Joseph described the Sapo’s exclusion from the official list as an “administrative lapse” rather than a constitutional position. He noted that no law lists Liberia’s commonly cited 16 ethnic groups. He said recognition has developed through administrative practice, censuses, and school materials.
To support the request, the Senator cited a July 11, 1989 Executive Mansion communication under the late President Samuel K. Doe that kept the name “Sapo Community” for a settlement and was addressed to a “Sapo Governor.” He also said the 2008 national census counted the Sapo as a distinct group under ethnic code 16. In addition, he pointed to a Ministry of Education civic textbook that lists them among Liberia’s ethnic groups.
Senator Joseph further referred to the Supreme Court’s December 18, 2025 ruling in Sapo Community v. Central Bank of Liberia. He said the Court recognized the community’s legal standing and held that becoming a tribe in Liberia is “not a legal question,” leaving recognition to the Legislature and the Executive. He also cited Article 5(a) of the 1986 Constitution, which calls for national unity regardless of ethnic differences.
The Senator said the Sapo meet international standards for indigenous peoples under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), citing their distinct language, traditional governance, ancestral land around Putu Mountain and self-identification.
He asked the Senate to invite the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) to explain the group’s omission from the “sixteen ethnic groups” publication and to consult Sapo traditional leaders. He also asked the Senate to consider a Joint Resolution recognizing the Sapo and directing government agencies to update official records.
He further proposed that future recognition requests meet set criteria: a documented language, traditional leadership, ancestral land ties, and community consensus.
“Recognition costs nothing; exclusion costs us our national unity,” Senator Joseph wrote.
The communication was read in plenary and forwarded to the appropriate committee for review.
