By: Journalist Archie Ayouba Boan
The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) could face a major setback in its preparations for its 22nd Anniversary and Militant Day celebrations after Zwedru City Mayor Rita Kai Massaquoi declared that the party has not been granted permission to use a site it has already begun clearing for the event.
The disputed venue is located around the historic Tubman Palace area, adjacent the 50-50 Business Center in Zwedru, where CDC partisans have reportedly commenced cleanup activities in anticipation of the planned celebration later this month.
Speaking on the matter, Mayor Massaquoi said the CDC leadership failed to follow established city government procedures required for obtaining public space for events.
According to the mayor, organizations seeking to host public programs within the city must first engage the Finance Department of the Zwedru City Government to make the necessary arrangements before any venue can be approved.
“Before any group can use a city location, there are procedures that must be followed,” Mayor Massaquoi explained. “You have to meet with the finance department, make the required arrangements, and then the city government determines whether that location is available or has already been booked by another party.”
She accused the CDC Anniversary Committee, headed by Sampson Bossoe Williams, of bypassing those requirements and proceeding with activities at the site without official authorization.
“They were never granted permission by the city government to host their program at that venue,” the mayor stated. “Instead, they went ahead, hacked the area, and started cleaning the site without following the proper channels.”
The mayor further clarified that while the CDC leadership submitted a letter notifying her office of the planned anniversary celebration in Grand Gedeh County, the communication did not constitute approval to use the proposed venue.
“Writing the mayor does not automatically give you permission,” she said. “I am not the only person running the city government. There are chains of command and protocols that have been put in place, and those procedures must be respected.”
A letter dated June 3, 2026, signed by Sampson Bossoe Williams, Chairperson of the CDC’s 22nd Anniversary Celebration Sub-Committee, informed the mayor that the party had selected Zwedru as host of its upcoming Militant Day and Anniversary celebrations.
The communication described the letter as a formal notification of planned activities and expressed hope for the cooperation of county authorities during the celebrations.
However, city authorities maintain that notification is not equivalent to authorization, particularly regarding the use of public facilities and event grounds.
The standoff now raises questions about whether the opposition party will be forced to secure an alternative venue for the event or seek to regularize its arrangements with the city government before the scheduled celebrations.
Efforts to obtain the CDC’s side of the controversy were unsuccessful. Repeated attempts to reach Anniversary Committee Chairperson Sampson Bossoe Williams through his official WhatsApp account and telephone contacts did not yield a response as of publication.
