HEARTTALK NETWORK | SPEAKING FROM THE HEART
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 · Monrovia, Liberia
Liberian women’s groups are scheduled to hold a three-day fast and prayer program in Monrovia from Wednesday, November 4, through Friday, November 6, to press for legislative action on proposed laws establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court and a National Anti-Corruption Court.
The gathering is scheduled for the Fish Market and Women Prayer Grounds on Tubman Boulevard under the theme “United in Prayer for Peace, Unity, Healing, and Transformation of Liberia through the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court and the Anti-Corruption Court of Liberia.” The program details were reported by FrontPage Africa, citing an organizing committee concept note dated October 26.
Broad coalition behind the gathering
According to the report, a 21-member organizing committee includes the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia (OWECC-L), the Liberia Women Mass Action for Peace, the Women in Peacebuilding Network, WONGOSOL, Liberia Muslim Women for Peace, the National Council of Churches, the Muslim Council of Liberia, the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia, the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association, the Press Union of Liberia and youth and community organizations.
Organizers say the program will combine fasting, prayer, worship and reflection, with sessions focused on victims, peace, reconciliation and the responsibility of national institutions to advance accountability. Their stated aim is to build public awareness and encourage women to take an active role in pressing for the proposed courts.
A site with a powerful history
The choice of the Fish Market carries particular historical meaning. The area was a gathering place for women involved in the 2003 Mass Action for Peace, when Christian and Muslim women held daily sit-ins and demonstrations calling for an end to Liberia’s civil war.
The new gathering draws on that history of women’s civic mobilization, but its immediate focus is the passage of legislation and the creation of institutions intended to address impunity and strengthen accountability.
Two proposed court bills were submitted in May
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai submitted two proposed bills to the National Legislature in May 2026: one to establish a War and Economic Crimes Court and another to establish a National Anti-Corruption Court. The Executive Mansion said the proposals were transmitted to legislative leaders for deliberation and enactment.
The proposed courts have not been established by the submission of the bills. Legislative approval is still required before either institution can be created. The official announcement of the bills is available through the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission’s publication of the Executive Mansion announcement.
Separately, Cllr. Jallah A. Barbu, head of OWECC-L, told The Liberian Investigator on October 27 that he had been informed that lawmakers would not take up the War and Economic Crimes Court bill until January 2027. That is Barbu’s account of information relayed through the House Speaker’s office; HeartTalk has not located a formal published legislative timetable confirming the date.
What the gathering can—and cannot—do
The three-day program is a civic and religious advocacy event. It does not itself enact legislation or establish either court. The next formal steps remain with the Legislature, which must consider and pass the proposed bills.
For victims, survivors and communities seeking accountability, the central questions include whether lawmakers will advance the bills, how the proposed institutions will be financed, and what safeguards will protect judicial independence, witnesses and due process.
HeartTalk Network will continue tracking the legislative process and the work of organizations advocating for justice. Our recent report on a legal-aid clinic’s account of pretrial releases also examines a related part of Liberia’s justice system: the release of 63 pretrial detainees in Monrovia during October.
Sources: FrontPage Africa, November 4, 2026; Executive Mansion announcement on submission of the two bills, May 2026; Executive Order No. 164, May 3, 2026; The Liberian Investigator, October 27, 2026.
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