Prince Yormie Johnson, a Liberian warlord turned politician who became infamous for the 1990 footage of him drinking beer as the then-president was tortured nearby, has died at the age of 72.
As one of the key figures in the two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said he should be prosecuted for war crimes, although he was never brought to trial.
But as a senator since 2005, he has been highly influential in Liberian politics, supporting the last three successful presidential candidates.
While some have celebrated his political role, others have viewed him as a symbol of the country’s struggle with responsibility.
“We see his death as a blow to many victims who were waiting for the senator to receive justice, given his role in the civil war,” human rights activist and campaigner for a special war crimes court Adama Dempster told the BBC.
An estimated 250,000 people have died in the conflicts, and many survivors of sexual assault and other attacks are left with lasting scars.
Johnson’s cause of death in the capital Monrovia has not been announced.
In a condolence message to his family, President Joseph Boakai – who supported Johnson in his presidential campaign last year – described him as “a figure who played a crucial role in Liberia’s complex historical evolution and, through his service in the Senate, contributed to the national discourse.” .
In 1990, rebel soldiers from Johnson’s Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia captured President Samuel Doe and were then filmed, in the presence of their leader, mutilating him (cutting off his ear) before killing him.
The warlord later expressed regret for what happened but, as quoted by AFP news agency, justified his role in the war by saying he was “defending my country, my people, who were being led to the slaughterhouse as if they were chickens and goats, by the Doe regime”.
He also said he changed and later became a pastor at an evangelical church.
As a politician, he was praised by his constituents in Nimba Province for working to improve their lives.
But he also caused controversy.
In 2021, Johnson was sanctioned by the US for alleged involvement in so-called pay-for-play financing, where he allegedly personally benefited from the distribution of government funding to various ministries.
He was also accused of selling votes in several elections for personal gain, leading to criticism from some of his allies.
But Wilfred Bangura, a former leading official in Johnson’s Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, said he was “politically very important and strong” and only changed alliances when he saw people turning away from him.
While he is certainly revered and mourned by many in his home country – where he was seen as a hero and liberator – people elsewhere believe he should not have to pay for the crimes he committed during the civil war.
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