He Promised Me Death: Businessman Eugenurs Karl Accuses Mayor Koijee of Orchestrating Arson, Threats, and Deadly Smear Campaign

By Desmond Gbeleh Wion
Senior Reporter

Monrovia, Liberia: Eugenurs Karl, a young Liberian entrepreneur, says his life is under severe threats after refusing to join the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and support President George Manneh Weah in the 2023 elections. Speaking to Democracy Watch from a hidden location in rural Liberia, Karl blamed Monrovia Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee for orchestrating a sustained campaign of threats, violence, and public defamation that forced him into hiding for the safety of his life.

Karl recounted that the trouble began on December 24, 2022, when Mayor Koijee paid an unexpected visit to his business—Eugenurs Karl’s Corner, a once-thriving hub that offered barbing and beauty services, mobile phones, sneakers, cosmetics, and operated a popular traditional savings scheme known as Susu.

“He told me he admired my business and the respect I had among young people,” Karl said during the interview. “Then he asked me to support President Weah and promised to give me a big waste management contract in return.”

Karl says he politely declined the offer, explaining that he wanted to stay out of politics. But the Mayor wasn’t ready to take no for an answer. When Koijee returned a few weeks later on January 29, Karl said the tone had changed.

“He told me I was pretending to be neutral but was actually supporting the opposition. He said if I didn’t get on board, he would send his boys to destroy my business.”

According to Karl, Koijee also accused him of employing a gay man, James Smith, at his salon—a charge that carried dangerous weight in a country where anti-LGBTQ sentiments run high.

“He threatened to expose me as someone promoting homosexuality,” Karl recalled. “That kind of rumour in Liberia can get you killed.”

On July 26, 2023, Karl’s business was burned to the ground by unidentified armed men. His cousin, Peter Davis, was sleeping on the premises and died in the fire. A security guard, Joseph Swen, barely escaped.

“I immediately reported everything to the police, including the threats from the Mayor,” Karl said. “I also wrote to the fire service to investigate. But nothing happened other than the police and fire service issuing reports.”

Instead of justice, Karl said he was met with more attacks. Associates of the Mayor reportedly began spreading rumours that Karl himself was gay and that his success came from support from LGBTQ groups abroad. The false claims, he said, caused panic and anger in his community.

“People started asking for their Susu money back. I was called all kinds of names. Mothers said I was corrupting their children. James Smith and I had to go into hiding,” he said.

In August, the attacks escalated. Smith fled Liberia for Turkey on August 22. Two days later, Karl’s house in Logan Town Community was set ablaze.

“I ran for my life,” he said. “I left Monrovia, and I’m now hiding in the countryside for the safety of my life.”

Karl now lives in rural Liberia, seeking safety and stability after months of fear. He says his life has been destroyed not because of anything he did wrong, but because he refused to let politics hijack his business.

“I loved my country. I worked hard. I helped people save their money. But standing up for my right to stay neutral almost cost me my life,” Karl said.

Repeated attempts by Democracy Watch to get a response from Mayor Jefferson Koijee’s office were unsuccessful.

Karl says the justice system in Liberia is failing to protect him. His story, now told in a hiding place in rural Liberia, paints a chilling picture of what can happen when political power is used to silence, intimidate, and destroy.