The sudden celebration of Deputy Speaker Thomas P. Fallah by Unity Party partisans is as confusing as it is revealing. Once labeled a symbol of corruption and derisively nicknamed “Thief 5,” Fallah is now being hailed as a statesman — not because he’s changed, but because he has pledged “100% support” to President Joseph Boakai’s government.
Let’s be clear: Fallah, the current Deputy Speaker and Representative of Lofa County District #1, has long been a loyal member of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the very party now in opposition. In 2020, he ran on the CDC’s ticket in the Montserrado County senatorial race against the Unity Party–backed Darius Dillon. During that race, Fallah was harshly criticized for distributing large sums of money — mostly in the newly printed 500 Liberian Dollar notes — and was mockingly referred to by his critics as a “working ATM.”
Back then, Unity Party partisans had no kind words for Fallah. His wealth was seen as suspicious, and his campaign style was condemned as vote-buying. That’s when the name “Thief 5” stuck — a label suggesting he ranked among the top “rogues” in the government. He was the poster child for everything the Unity Party claimed to oppose: unaccountable, flashy, and unfit for higher office.
Fast forward to today: Fallah has been expelled from the CDC and has thrown his weight behind President Boakai. His reason? They’re both sons of Lofa County.
That’s all it took. No apologies, no accountability, no policy shift — just a shared county of origin and a political realignment.
Now, Unity Party supporters are clapping. The same people who once decried his conduct have gone silent on those past accusations. Fallah, it seems, has been baptized in the waters of partisan loyalty. Suddenly, “Thief 5” is no longer a rogue but a patriot.
This editorial is not about whether Thomas Fallah is corrupt or not. It’s about those who once swore he was — and now pretend they never did. It is about the hypocrisy of condemning a man while he’s on the other side, then praising him once he crosses over, not because he has changed, but because it’s politically convenient.
The Unity Party camp must answer a simple question: Is Thomas Fallah no longer “Thief 5” just because he supports President Boakai? Or was the label never about integrity, but politics?
If principles can be traded so easily for political alliances, what becomes of the fight against corruption and the promise of good governance?
Liberia deserves a better political culture — one where loyalty to country outweighs loyalty to party, and where integrity is non-negotiable, no matter whose side you’re on.
