Jefferson Tamba Koijee

Jefferson Tamba Koijee (born 7 September 1985) is a Liberian politician who served as Mayor of Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, from 2018 to 2024. He was appointed to the position by President George Weah. Koijee is a senior member of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and previously served as the party's Secretary-General.

During his tenure as mayor, Koijee oversaw municipal administration in Monrovia, including sanitation and urban management programs. In December 2023 he was sanctioned by the United States government under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

Jefferson Tamba Koijee was born in Monrovia, Liberia. He studied at the University of Liberia, where he was active in student politics and public advocacy.^[1]

Koijee later became involved in national politics through the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the political party founded by former footballer and Liberian president George Weah.^[1]

Koijee emerged as a youth leader within the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and became closely associated with party leader George Weah. He served in several roles within the party, including National Youth Chairman and later Secretary-General of the CDC.^[2]

Following the CDC's victory in the 2017 Liberian general election, Koijee became part of the party leadership closely aligned with President George Weah's administration.^[3]

In January 2018, Koijee was appointed Mayor of Monrovia by President George Weah.^[1] As mayor, he headed the Monrovia City Corporation and oversaw municipal programs related to sanitation, urban management, and public services in Liberia's capital city. He was among the youngest individuals to hold the office of mayor of Monrovia.^[1]

Investigative reporting and international media coverage described persistent sanitation challenges in Monrovia during Koijee's tenure as mayor. Rapid urban population growth and limited municipal capacity contributed to large accumulations of garbage across parts of the capital.^[4]

A 2022 report by Reuters described Monrovia as struggling with large quantities of uncollected waste, with dumpsites and roadside piles posing environmental and public health risks.^[5] The report noted that the city government cited financial constraints and inadequate waste-management infrastructure as major obstacles to addressing the problem.

The sanitation issue also became a point of diplomatic tension. In 2021 the Monrovia City Corporation responded to remarks by the United States ambassador criticizing the city's sanitation conditions, stating that comments about the mayor's speech had been taken out of context.^[6]

International development programs attempted to address the city's waste management challenges during this period. A World Bank–supported sanitation initiative aimed to expand solid-waste collection services in Monrovia and construct a new landfill at Cheesemanburg, though the project ultimately made only partial progress toward those goals.^[7]

On 8 December 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Koijee pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.^[8]

In announcing the designation, the Treasury described Koijee as the mayor of Monrovia and a senior leader in the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).^[8] The Treasury alleged that Koijee had a reputation for "stoking violence" and that he controlled "paramilitary-style organizations" associated with the CDC that "allegedly" recruited former combatants and recently released prisoners.^[8] The Treasury stated that "OFAC has reason to believe" Koijee instructed these organizations to violently disrupt demonstrations by government critics or political opposition.^[8]

The Treasury further alleged that Koijee and his supporters were involved in violence in connection with multiple incidents, including an opposition rally in July 2022, students who attended a memorial service for former Liberian president Amos Sawyer in March 2022, an anti-rape protest in August 2020, a student graduation ceremony in December 2019, and an opposition rally in November 2018.^[8] The Treasury also alleged that Koijee engaged in corrupt acts, including bribery, misappropriation of state assets for use by private political movements, and pressuring anti-corruption investigators to halt corruption investigations.^[8]

As a result of the designation, Koijee was added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list under the program tag "GLOMAG" (Global Magnitsky).^[9][10] OFAC's SDN guidance states that SDNs' assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.^[11] The Treasury's sanctions notice further states that, absent authorization or exemption, OFAC regulations generally prohibit transactions by U.S. persons (or within/transiting the United States) involving property interests of designated or otherwise blocked persons, and that entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons are also blocked.^[8]

The OFAC SDN entry lists Koijee's date of birth as 7 September 1985 and his place of birth as Monrovia, Liberia.^[9]

Koijee has denied the allegations underlying the designation; in reporting on his response, FrontPage Africa stated that he described the U.S. sanctions as a conspiracy and asserted that the accusations were false.^[12] Liberian media outlets reported the designation and summarized the Treasury allegations as part of their coverage.^[13][14]