–Hotel Africa Residents Plead as Gov’t Eviction Threatens Their Children’s Education
Ma. Miatta Gbolly’s five children are among hundreds of other children in the Hotel Africa area on the verge of dropping out of school. They face this fate if a government eviction, scheduled for the end of this month, takes effect. The affected children are among their parents who are in their thousands from three communities: The Villa, Blessed Road, and Pre Fab.
By Jerromie S. Walters/wjerromie@gmail.com
Hotel Africa was once a major hotel on Liberia’s western coast, located in the northern Monrovia suburb of Virginia. The communities that sprang up around it took its name. Now, thousands of individuals live there, many having returned after the hotel was shut down following Liberia’s civil war. Some residents, like Ruth Vai, have resided in the area since 1992.
In May 2025, the Liberian government announced it would reclaim and redevelop the property. On October 9, 2025, the Ministry of Public Works mandated that all squatters leave the 393.2-acre land by October 30, 2025. The residents acknowledge that the land belongs to the government. However, they say the eviction notice came as a shock.
They fear it will disrupt their children’s education, reverse their lives, and cause widespread homelessness. Many say they have nowhere else to go. The eviction will also result in unemployment, as the communities host schools, clinics, and other facilities that employ people. Despite several engagements, the government says its decision is final.
At a meeting on October 10, 2025, at the Unity Conference Center, officials informed residents that there would be no compensation. The eviction letter, signed by Zoning Inspector Eunice S. Cooper and approved by National Zoning Inspector Stephen Kamara, warns that defiance will attract penalties. It makes no mention of compensation or relocation support.
Threat to Children’s Education:
Zuanah Boima Gibson is the founder and principal of the Go-Ye Elementary and Junior High School. It is the only school in the Blessed Road Community and one of several in the Hotel Africa area. Gibson says the school enrolls about 300 students yearly and has been operating for almost seventeen years. Having lived in the area since 1979, Gibson acknowledges the property belongs to the government.
Yet, he believes a reconsideration of the timeline is essential. “It’s government own responsibility for its citizens. They have to think twice and see what they are able to do. It’s not about what they are saying, but who they are saying it to.” According to UNICEF, Liberia has one of the world’s highest levels of out-of-school children. An estimated 15 to 20 percent of children aged 6–14 are not in class. Just over a third of pre-schoolers have access to early childhood learning programs.
Only 54 percent of children complete primary education. For those who are enrolled, many are overage. UNICEF says the vast majority of Liberia’s students are older than the appropriate age for their grade, putting them at high risk of dropping out. The government’s eviction decision is now expected to be a contributing factor to this crisis. It could lead to more out-of-school children or students falling further behind. The eviction news has already caused some students in the affected communities to refuse to attend school.
Their reason is that they will be evicted soon. “The children are out and say they can’t come to school,” Gibson said. “The children don’t want to come to school because they say ‘they coming move us’.” He added, “It will hurt us. Now parents are disappointed and myself. As you can see this facility… it costs me a lot but now the government is asking us to leave this place at all costs. I can’t say no because this is a government facility.”
Miatta Gbolly, an elderly resident since 2000, shared her story in agony. “My husband passed off four years ago. I have been struggling with the children. All of them are in school. I have already registered them and I have paid tuition for them.” She sells charcoal to survive and support her children in school. Ma. Miatta says she felt “frustrated” when she heard about the eviction. “If the government takes me from here, I will be nowhere to be found. I will be frustrated. My children will end up going on the street. They don’t have anyone else. Only me, and I am struggling.”
According to her, the situation could turn tragic if the government insists they leave by the deadline. She broke down in tears. “He (the president) should prepare to bury me and my family (children). Me especially! He should prepare to find a casket for my children to bury me.” The Solid Rock School, which her children attend, was also marked for demolition. Considering these dire effects, educator Zuanah Boima Gibson implores the government to rethink its decision.
“Let God touch the mind of the authority (government), to see how they can handle this so that their people can’t die for nothing because frustration will result in death and extra hardship that we can’t handle.”
Gibson added, “It’s not only me. Parents are also disappointed. They are not only disappointed but they are frustrated. We want for the government to maturely handle this issue because it has a big effect on its citizens. It has an effect on the residents around here, student population… it has a big effect on us.”
Zuanah Boima Gibson says the decision will also affect him financially. It threatens to take away all he has worked for, especially the school and church, which he estimates to be worth about one hundred thousand dollars. Gibson settled in the area through his father, who worked as security personnel at the Hotel Africa. He also worked as a carpenter helper during the hotel’s construction and continued until its closure. “When the hotel closed, I decided to put some time into this (school). It’s an elementary and junior high school with a church. We have served here for almost seventeen years since this institution was established.”
Instructors at the institution are also on the verge of losing their jobs and properties. Like Gibson, other residents are appealing for more time. Mariama Sheriff admits the property belongs to the government. But she pleads for an extension to avoid disrupting her children’s schooling. She explained: “We can’t fight the government so we are just appealing to the government because our children are in school. I have four living children, all of them are in school and I don’t have anywhere to start from.”
As a single mother, she detailed her ordeal, “I don’t have any man. I can go do house-girl (maid) work to support my children.” She added: “Anywhere I go la money behind it and I don’t have anything. Today my children walked to go to school. I’m just appealing to the government and the leaders to help us.” Mariama Sheriff has resided in the area for about ten years. Esther Lello, a resident since 2014, joined the appeal.
“Please help us to extend our time because the time that they gave us is very short. We have already put our children in school and all the little money we have we spent it on our children.” She added, “We love development and we are not against development but let the president help us.” Ruth Vai, a resident since 1992, owns a major property in the area. She says she feels “bad” about the news. “I am feeling bad because where my children and I have to go? That’s what I am thinking about. I don’t have money.”
Calls for Proactive Policy and Compassion:
In reaction to the notice, Representative Bernard Blue Benson of District #17, Montserrado County, criticized the government’s approach. He argued that waiting decades to reclaim land is a flawed strategy that shatters lives. He called for a more proactive policy to prevent future crises. “Government must be more proactive in protecting their properties from any encroachment other than waiting on the last minute or after over 50 years as in recent situation,” Rep. Benson stated.
He pointed to other settlements as examples. The 540 Community behind the EJS Center and the Chicken Soup Factory Community are state-owned lands developed with public utilities. “Those are 100% Government-owned properties that have been paved, electrified with running water by the same Government, and then in the end you ask them to move after you’ve made it their home after over 50 years… WRONG!” he exclaimed.
Using the Hotel Africa eviction as a cautionary tale, the lawmaker warned other settlements on government land. He added, “From what I’m seeing it’s better to put all these communities on notice. Don’t wait for the last minute and shatter lives as in the case of Pre Fab Community.”
Placing Emphasis on the time:
Patience Kamara has lived in the Blessed Road Community for about ten years. “I don’t have anyone or anywhere that i am depending on. The news shocked me so I don’t know what to do. I’m only appealing to the government to feel sorry for us.” In Blessed Road, she pays $LD600 monthly for rent. This is far lower than the cost of a single room elsewhere in Monrovia. Relocating to a rural community would severely disrupt her children’s schooling.
If the government sticks to its decision, she says, “I will just be in the street because I don’t have any family in Monrovia here to help me and my children with place. We will just go on some of these market kitchens and be there. If they tired seeing us maybe they will carry us to our home towns.” Currently, two of her six children are already out of school due to financial constraints. She pleads for the government to reconsider its decision. “I cried the first day the people told me the news,” she added.
Abraham D. Varney is the Youth Chair of the Blessed Road Community. He says, “The information is so frustrating because some of us have spent our entire life here. We take this place to be our home and we have nowhere to go but we can’t stand in the way of development.” He urged the government to aid them through an extension or compensation. If this is not considered, he foresees homelessness. “The government just need to try to do some for the people because right now in our community the people are stranded. Some people have nowhere to go.”
Oretha Quaqua, a resident for over ten years, gave her view. “They started marking last month. Public Works big man (Minister) said they are not compensating us. They are not relocating us. We should take our zincs from over the houses. So where the government expecting us to go? During the past administration, individuals affected by government projects like the RIA Road and Congo Town overpass were compensated.
“If the government is taking us from here, where they want us to go? In the street? Some of us have our children going to school here, where they expect our children to go? People have registered their children. Where they expecting us to go?” The 2025/2026 academic year commenced in September and runs until June. She continues, “I am not prepared and our children are in school so we are asking the government to give us time.”
Acknowledging Illegality, Proposing a Solution:
Myers Chedar, a former representative aspirant, acknowledged the human toll of the eviction. However, he emphasized the illegality of constructing homes on public land without authorization. “In as much this situation is sad and frustrating, there is no justifications or lawful claims for building illegally on public or government land,” Chedar stated.
He proposed a legislative solution to mitigate the impact. “The best approach now as the Lawmaker is to direct the District support or development funds to compensate the affected dwellers working with the relevant governmental Institutions and Committees.”
According to the Ministry of Public Works, more than 500 structures, including churches, schools, and mosques, have been marked for demolition. Howbeit, the Ministry of Public Works has begun the demolition of homes and business places along the route that leads to the Hotel Africa.
The affected residents, through Blessed Road Community Youth Chair Abraham Varney say they have conducted a census in the area (The Villa, Blessed Road, and Pre Fab)and would present it to the Legislature on Thursday, October 23, 2025. The residents also intend to stage a peaceful assembly at St. Paul Bridge in the coming days, as another means of getting their plight to the government and other stakeholders.
In 1979, Hotel Africa, then Liberia’s largest, hosted the Organisation of African Unity conference. The conference was led by President William R. Tolbert, Jr., the group’s chair at the time. Months later, he was overthrown by Samuel Doe. During the Liberian Civil War, many pilots of Russian and Ukrainian origin stayed at the hotel.
In the 1980s, the hotel was owned by British-Liberian businessman Michael Doe. On 5 August 1990, the INPFL kidnapped the manager Doe, two Lebanese, and two Liberians at the hotel. They later murdered Michael Doe by throwing him off a fourth-floor balcony. A South African consortium once planned to invest US$100 million to renovate the historic hotel for a 2009 international women’s colloquium.
