Monrovia, April 18 -- But on April 22, for the first time in nearly two decades, Nimba heads into an election without its self-styled political godfather.

Johnson's death on November 28, 2024, has left a vacuum that no single politician has yet been able to fill. His departure from the scene has cracked open the county's tightly managed political structure and set off a scramble for dominance, an open contest not just for a Senate seat, but for control of Nimba's political future.

At the center of this realignment is Vice President Jeremiah Koung, himself a political product of Johnson's mentorship. Once viewed as Johnson's protege, Koung is now testing the waters to see whether he can step out of the shadows and into the godfather role...