In 1980, ten years before Liberian President Samuel Doe met his fate, he had presided over the public execution of members of the Cabinet he had overthrown. He overthrew William Tolbert to become Liberia’s first native president. Tolbert himself was shot while he slept either in bed or in his office.
Most members of his cabinet were arrested and tried for different crimes. There are videos of the trial. At one point, the judge tells the defendants to ‘Keep it short.’ He then found them guilty and recommended their execution. The gruesome execution was televised.
The ministers were marched through the streets as citizens lined up to jeer them. They were then taken to the public beach where they were ordered to stand next to the installed posts and remove their shirts. The men are tied upright to the posts. Soldiers then line up to form a firing squad.
After the first barrage of gunfire, only one man, Cecil Dennis, still stands. The others are dead, with their bodies slumping on the posts. Two soldiers shoot Dennis with an Uzi and a pistol. The firing squad continues firing, shooting the ministers at least 60 more times.
One of the people who survived the purge was Ellen Sirleaf, who later became President of Liberia. And the first ever female president of a nation in Africa. And the only one to exit office to a peaceful retirement since. While others were not so lucky. Samuel Doe was killed in action by a rebel faction led by Yommie Johnson, while Charles Taylor was to face the music at the International Criminal Court - ICC.
Sirleaf was Tolbert’s Minister of Finance; she believed she survived the firing squad because her mother had once given Doe and his men water to drink. And one good turn, the saying goes, deserve another.
Most members of his cabinet were arrested and tried for different crimes. There are videos of the trial. At one point, the judge tells the defendants to ‘Keep it short.’ He then found them guilty and recommended their execution. The gruesome execution was televised.
Samuel: Later to suffer worse fateThe ministers were marched through the streets as citizens lined up to jeer them. They were then taken to the public beach where they were ordered to stand next to the installed posts and remove their shirts. The men are tied upright to the posts. Soldiers then line up to form a firing squad.
After the first barrage of gunfire, only one man, Cecil Dennis, still stands. The others are dead, with their bodies slumping on the posts. Two soldiers shoot Dennis with an Uzi and a pistol. The firing squad continues firing, shooting the ministers at least 60 more times.
MonroviaOne of the people who survived the purge was Ellen Sirleaf, who later became President of Liberia. And the first ever female president of a nation in Africa. And the only one to exit office to a peaceful retirement since. While others were not so lucky. Samuel Doe was killed in action by a rebel faction led by Yommie Johnson, while Charles Taylor was to face the music at the International Criminal Court - ICC.
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