The Supreme Court of Liberia has entertained arguments in an appeal filed by the Sarpo people, who insist that their exclusion from the redesigned L$1,000 banknote is not only unjust, but unconstitutional.
The redesigned note, released in 2021, features cultural masks representing sixteen Liberian ethnic groups.
The Sarpo tribe, despite being officially recognized in government records and lending its name to Sapo National Park, is the lone group left out.
The Sarpo Community says the omission wounds their dignity and erases their centuries-old identity from a national symbol meant to unite all Liberians.
Their lawyers argued that the exclusion violates the Constitution’s guarantees of equality, due process, and national integration, as well as Liberia’s international human rights commitments.
The Civil Law Court earlier dismissed the case, ruling that the Sarpo people suffered “no injury” and that the Central Bank owed them “no duty.” But the community appealed, saying the trial judge made improper factual findings and shut the courthouse doors prematurely.
In their amended brief, the Sarpo insist that the lower court had clear jurisdiction to hear their claim, that they unquestionably have standing, and that their exclusion is an act of cultural discrimination that cannot stand under Liberian or international law.
At the heart of the matter lies a simple but powerful question: Should any Liberian tribe be absent from a national symbol that claims to represent the whole nation?
For many Sarpo descendants, the case is not about currency, it is about visibility, respect, and belonging in a country they have helped shape for generations.
“We are Liberians,” one of the lawyers representing the Sarpo Community commented outside the Temple of Justice, noting that their story deserves to be heard.
The Supreme Court’s decision, when delivered, is expected to have far-reaching implications not only for the Sarpo Community, but for how Liberia defines unity in its national symbols.
