Violent coup of Liberia in 1980 and those who survived.
Violent coup of Liberia in 1980 and those who survived. Do you know that: Only four members of the Tolbert administration survived the coup and its aftermath; among them was the Minister of Finance, future President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and the Vice President Bennie Dee Warner? 10 years before 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 insta