Former Liberian President George Weah has warned African leaders against undermining democratic institutions, saying leaders who govern like dictators pose as much danger to democracy as military coup plotters.
Weah spoke on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he challenged political leaders across the continent to uphold democratic principles.
The former Liberian president said the threat to democracy goes beyond soldiers seizing power or defeated politicians refusing to accept electoral defeat.
According to him, elected leaders can gradually become authoritarian by weakening institutions meant to check their powers.
“It is also that a leader who arrives in office through free and fair elections can, over time and often gradually, come to govern like the very dictators that ballot was meant to guard against—leaning on the judiciary until it bends to his will and strong-arming the legislature until it becomes an echo chamber rather than a check on his power,” Weah said.
He added: “A tyrant with a certificate of return is still a tyrant.”
Weah stressed that elections alone cannot sustain democracy, arguing that strong and independent institutions are essential to protecting citizens and preventing abuse of power.
“Democracy does not survive on the strength of elections alone… What holds us up? What keeps the roof from collapsing on the people inside it? Our institutions,” he said.
The former president also raised concerns over growing interference in the judiciary across some African countries, warning that judicial independence must be protected from political influence.
He said coup plotters were not the only threat to democracy on the continent, noting that actions by elected government officials could equally weaken democratic governance.
“We have seen nations where the judiciary’s own budget must first pass through the executive it is meant to hold accountable,” Weah said.
He insisted that courts must be able to make and enforce decisions independently, without seeking approval from political authorities.
“A court decision must mean what it says without any political permission,” he said.
Weah’s remarks came as legal practitioners, political leaders and other stakeholders gathered in Port Harcourt for the NBA’s 2026 conference themed, “Beyond Limits.”
