-Warns Against “Old Man Beggar in New Clothes”
Brewerville, Montserrado County — Bishop Kortu Brown has urged Liberians to pursue a genuine third political alternative ahead of the 2029 elections, warning that any new movement must offer real change rather than a rebranded version of the old political order.
Brown made the call as debate over Liberia’s next national leadership intensifies amid growing dissatisfaction with the governing Unity Party (UP) and the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), which he accused of delivering “ineffectual governance.”
“I believe the call is worth exploring, given the increasing appetite for transformational development, accountability and national healing,” Brown said. “There is a need for a genuine and open national conversation on the subject, with the aim of strengthening governance, the rule of law and comprehensive development.”
But the bishop cautioned that a third lane must be authentic. “A third political lane must be a real third lane. It can’t be ‘the same old man beggar in new clothes,'” he said.
Brown recalled Liberia’s political history in the 1980s, when similar promises amounted to nothing more than “the same 6 and 7 Books of Moses.”
“People sang and danced but were greatly disappointed. Divisions, killings, invasions and civil war ensued,” he said.
He warned that pursuing political change without genuine cause wastes ordinary Liberians’ time, noting that many welcomed the civil war without understanding “the real package of destruction that would follow.”
“Pursuing political moves without genuine causes has been part of the reason why ordinary people still yearn for something else politically,” Brown said. “Liberians must be sincere with themselves. They must mean it when they say they want real change.”
The bishop stressed that the credibility of those behind the Third Lane movement will determine whether Liberians embrace it.
“Liberians will not buy an empty third lane. Otherwise, people will not follow,” he said. “It can’t be a contest of political rivals who are dissatisfied with one another, or people who want to take revenge against one another, or to fool one another.”
He called instead for “a new line-up of sincere and professional Liberians who are genuinely interested in promoting the political, economic, social and religious causes of the ordinary people.”
Brown acknowledged that UP and CDC remain powerful “brand names with big followers,” but observed that Liberians remain “politically thirsty” — a sign, he said, that the demand for genuine alternatives persists.
The bishop’s intervention adds a prominent religious voice to the evolving debate over whether a credible third force can emerge ahead of the 2029 elections.
