By Lincoln G. Peters
Atty. Siaffa Bahn Kemokai II, a veteran of the University of Liberia’s campus-based political party, the Student Unification Party (SUP), has raised fundamental questions about the legitimacy of Liberia’s independence, while arguing that the country was historically founded to marginalize its indigenous population, claiming that the true context of Liberia’s founding remains deliberately obscured.
Speaking on Monday, November 17, 2025, during the Veteran Day Homecoming organized by SUP on the University of Liberia’s Main Campus, Atty. Kemokai II challenged the narrative of Liberia’s independence.
“How can independence be declared when the supposed granting power, the United States was unaware that independence had even been claimed?” he asked. “How can we call it a republic when it was structured as a class-based society designed to marginalize the indigenous majority? They created a republic for a few, not a nation for all.” he added.
He referenced a pivotal moment in Liberia history, October 20, 1970 when, after more than a century of political exclusion and one-party rule, the formation of the Vanguard Student Unification Party marked the beginning of a grassroots struggle for true independence.
According to Kemokai, SUP was founded by the sons and daughters of ordinary Liberians who fought for political emancipation and economic freedom. “This is the history they refuse to teach in our schools,” he lamented. “Comrades, if you do not know this history, you MUST know it. The leadership of SUP is under a historical and philosophical obligation to teach this truth.”
Clarifying the capacity in which he spoke, Kemokai emphasized that he was not representing any government or diplomatic institution. “I speak today not as a government official or diplomat, but as a veteran of SUP and a former Speaker of the University of Liberia,” he said. “If you insist on seeing me as a diplomat, then I am a radical diplomat.”
He added, “Monday is the first working day of the week, yet we are all here—because when the Party calls, we must answer before the gods of Massacracy become angry.”
Kemokai concluded his address with a call to reflection and action. “As we revisit our past, I ask these questions not to confuse you, but to sharpen your revolutionary consciousness. How did African liberation leaders inspire a movement here on this campus? Why did revolutionaries from across Africa rest, strategize, or pass through this intellectual ground? Why do reactionaries fear SUP even when it is not in state power? And most importantly: What is the responsibility of this generation, now that technology, misinformation, and global manipulation pose new ideological wars? We must reflect, comrades. No generation is exempt from the duty of struggle.”
