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MONROVIA, Liberia (CHATNEWSTV) — Prince Johnson, a former Liberian warlord turned senator who played a key role in the country’s devastating civil wars, died Thursday at the age of 72, officials confirmed.
“Yes, we lost him this morning. He passed away at Hope for Women [health center],” said Wilfred Bangura, a senior official in Johnson’s Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction party.
Johnson, infamous for his involvement in the brutal 1990 murder of then-President Samuel Doe, later transitioned into politics and served as Liberia’s longest-tenured senator.
“Senator Johnson was the longest-serving senator,” said Siaffa Jallah, deputy director of press at the Senate.
Hailing from the northern region of Nimba, Johnson gained notoriety during Liberia’s first civil war when a video captured him calmly sipping beer as his fighters tortured and executed Doe. The event marked one of the most violent episodes in a conflict that spanned 14 years, leaving an estimated 250,000 people dead and the country’s economy in ruins.
After the war, Johnson reinvented himself as a preacher at an evangelical church, where he garnered a loyal following. His popularity in Nimba helped cement his influence in Liberian politics.
Johnson remained a divisive figure in Liberia. He vehemently opposed the establishment of a war crimes tribunal to address atrocities committed during the civil wars, a stance that drew criticism from human rights advocates.
