On September 9, 1990, Liberia’s President Samuel Doe, accompanied by a contingent of about one hundred men, visited the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) headquarters in Monrovia, a security mission initiative established by ECOWAS to address the escalating civil war in Liberia.
Doe went to visit General Arnold Quainoo, the ECOMOG force commander, a Ghanaian military officer and diplomat, at the Freeport of Monrovia to seek protection from the rebel forces fighting his government at the time.
Upon his arrival, Doe and his men were disarmed by the group guarding the ECOMOG commander. Doe was then escorted to meet the commander in his office, while his men waited outside.
Shortly after, Prince Yormie Johnson, the leader of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL)—a faction that had splintered from Charles Taylor’s NPFL rebel group—arrived with his heavily armed troops. A fierce confrontation erupted between Johnson’s men and those loyal to Doe. Johnson’s forces overpowered Doe’s men, who had already been disarmed.
Rebel Leader Captures Samuel Doe
After hearing gunshots outside, Doe voiced his concern to Quainoo, who reassured him that everything was fine
Later, Johnson and his men entered the office where Doe was and captured him. Reports indicate that Doe’s soldiers, who had accompanied him to the ECOMOG headquarters, were gunned down by Johnson’s men. However, the ECOMOG peacekeepers guarding Quainoo were not harmed.
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The INPFL rebel leader then took the Liberian President to his military base.
What followed was a 12-hour ordeal of torture inflicted on Samuel Doe, which was recorded on tape. The video showed Doe pleading with Johnson’s men to stop the torture while Johnson watched. Doe, who had been stripped of his clothes, was nearly naked.
As Doe was brutally beaten and manhandled by Johnson’s men, Johnson lounged in a chair, drinking canned Budweiser beer and ordering them to cut off Doe’s fingers and ears.
Johnson often erupted into loud laughter whenever Doe cried out in pain.
Liberia’s President executed
Doe was eventually murdered after being shot. Later, his body was displayed naked in the streets of Monrovia. The incident caught the attention of the international community after the video went viral across Africa and other parts of the world.
After Doe’s death, civil war erupted in Liberia, lasting for many years.
Following his exile in Nigeria in 1992, Prince Johnson transitioned from being a warlord to a politician and became a devout Christian. He converted to Christianity and reconciled with the Doe family.
He returned to Liberia in 2004 after the end of the Second Liberian Civil War and was elected to the Senate of Liberia in 2005.
Years later, Johnson participated in the reconciliation process regarding Samuel Doe’s death.
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In 2009, he appeared before Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), where he discussed his role in the civil war and the circumstances surrounding Doe’s death. However, he refused to provide detailed information, stating that both his family and Doe’s family had already reconciled and forgiven each other.
He emphasized that revisiting the details of Doe’s death would reopen old wounds, which both families had agreed to move past.
Johnson passed away on November 28, 2024, after suffering complications from diabetes.
Samuel Doe’s death remains one of the most brutal killings of an African leader. However, some argue that he suffered a fate similar to that which he inflicted on Liberian President William Tolbert in 1980. Tolbert was assassinated during a coup led by Doe.
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