Monrovia, (EFE).- 35 years after the assassination of Liberian President Samuel Kanyon Doe (1986-1990) Liberia held a state funeral, as part of the reconciliation process in the African country following its violent past.
The ceremony took place on Friday in the Town Hall of Zwedru, the capital of Grand Gedeh County (southeast), about 12.4 miles from Doe’s hometown Tuzon.
Two coffins wrapped in the national flag were transported by a truck through the streets of Zwedru: one symbolically for the former president, whose body is still missing, and the other contained the remains of his wife, Nancy, who died in May last year.
The President of Liberia, Joseph Boakai, attended the ceremony and declared a national mourning this week, from Tuesday to Friday.
“This is not just a burial; it is a moment of national reflection, a time to reconcile with our history, to heal from our wounds, and to remember with respect and purpose,” said Boakai, who served as Minister of Agriculture in Doe’s government.
“The civil conflict that followed his tragic death inflicted deep scars. But through God’s grace, we have enjoyed peace for over two decades,” the president emphasized.
Born on May 6, 1951, Doe was a politician and military leader who served as the 21st president of Liberia from 1986 until his assassination in 1990.
The leader led a coup d’état in 1980 that overthrew President William Tolbert, becoming the first non-American-Liberian leader of Liberia.
Doe suspended the Constitution, assumed the rank of general, and established a provisional military government, with himself as the de facto head of state.
He dissolved the Executive in 1984 and attempted to legitimize his regime with a new democratic Constitution and general elections held in 1985.
Doe won the elections with 51% of the votes, although proceedings were marred by widespread allegations of fraud.
The Doe government was characterized by authoritarianism, corruption, favoritism towards his ethnic group, Krahn, and the persecution of the Gio and Mano ethnicities, especially after surviving a coup attempt in 1985, which generated growing opposition to his regime from the population and the United States.
The First Liberian Civil War began in December 1989 when the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), opposed to Doe and led by Charles Taylor, invaded Liberia from Ivory Coast to overthrow him.
The following year, Doe was captured and executed by the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a splinter group of the NPFL led by warlord Prince Johnson.
In a video that caused worldwide shock, Johnson observed his fighters mutilate and torture Doe to death, while he calmly drank a beer. EFE
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