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Political Hotfire

The Execution of the 13-Americo-Liberians by then Pres. Doe, was it justified, given the acute ongoing corruption under Pres. Weah and then Pres, Sirleaf?

41-years ago, in 1980, the then Samuel Doe was hailed by courts of public opinion and fully supported by huge indigenous Liberians who overwhelmingly approved the opened Liberian army revolt which was forcefully accompanied by an open public execution of 12-Americo-Liberians including their leader the then Pres. William Tolbert according to the violent army for rampant corruption and their grip on political power for 133-years since Liberia declared its independence in 1847.

The killing of fellow Liberians for unproven massive corruption, and their grip on power for 133-years from 1847-1980, was a politically laughable agenda in some quarters. Such a politically motivated agenda would have been challenged in modern-day Liberian courts of competent jurisdiction for three convincing rationales: First, by default, Americo-Liberian owned the land by declaring its independence, July 26, 1847, with no indigenous input. Second, the Americo-Liberians later recognized the indigenous after 57-years of the nation’s independence, in 1847. Thirdly, murdering the 13-Americo-Liberians was not legally justified by any stretch of political imagination.

During those 133-years, Liberia was very stable and peaceful. Other politically unacceptable variables made Liberia stable and peaceful in those 133-years. The first annoying variable is that the Americo Liberians limited their development only to coastal cities and towns and avoided the hinterlands where the bulk of the indigenous reside. Second, indigenous Liberians were not called Liberian citizens by the Americo-Liberians until after 57-years in 1904 when indigenous Liberians were officially called Liberian citizens.

Sources familiar with these annoying analyses revealed that after Doe seized power, he embezzled Tolbert’s 33,041 personally reserved gold karats, along with 21,000 pieces of diamonds and other valuables worth tens of thousands of dollars from the executive mansion. Doe didn’t stop there, he murdered hundreds and hundreds of other fellow innocent Liberians simply to keep his grip on political power.

Doe openly ragged the 1985 presidential and general elections and killed some of his opponents and chased hundreds and hundreds of innocent Liberians into exile. Something the Americo-Liberians did not do in their 133-year rule. In short, was the execution of the 13 Americo-Liberians truly and legally justified? Assuming Doe was still alive, should he be executed for all his atrocities and the rampant corruption during his 10-years of governance the answer is no. He could have been thrown in jail for a much longer jail time.

But Ex-Pres. Doe 10-year rule was more than the Americo-Liberian 133-years rule in a practical sense given its corrupt and brutal nature. Within the Americo-Liberian 133-years rule they did not introduce tribalism, they did not kill their opponents, they simply practiced corruption like any other governments in power and deprived their fellow citizens especially the indigenous some of the most needed development initiatives.

Since the execution of the 13 Americo-Liberians, Liberians under the then Presidents Doe, Taylor, Sirleaf and Weah have been denied basic social welfare facilities such as clean drinking water, electricity, improved education, affordable health care, improved economics, and decentralization of development across the 16-counties, but all we continued to witness is acute rampant corruptions and killing of innocent Liberians in their own country.

For example, the then President Taylor relocated the Central Bank of Liberia to his home in Congo town. All revenues collected from the Freeport of Liberia, Buchanan Ports, and Robert International Airport were reported directly in Taylor’s house, why then were the 13-Americo Liberians killed?

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The then Pres. Sirleaf’s government was marred with daily rampant corruption, the ritualistic killing of innocent Liberians whose murderers were not caught. Prominent government officials like Harry Greaves have been murdered in cold blood under the watchful eyes of the Pres. Sirleaf with no accountability. Foreigners continued to exploit the nation’s limited resources under the watchful eyes of the then Pres. Sirleaf, yet she did nothing. Why then did Doe execute the 13-Americo Liberians. Sirleaf’s regime increased more impoverished Liberians than any other time in the history of Liberia according to other sources.

No doubt, 41-years on, it is believed that rampant corruption is no longer rampant, it has rather become an acute epidemic across all sectors of the Liberian society ranging from a systematic intuitional broad-day-light stealing of government’s revenues, smuggling of limited resources, holding onto physical cash to briberies and sexual favor in schools for grades, etc, etc.

Arguably, three classic cases were not heard of during the 133-years of the Americo-Liberian dynasty in Liberia since Liberia gained its independence 176-years ago. The first classic corrupt epidemic case in post-war Liberia surrounds the missing billions at the Liberia Central Bank, involving the then Pres. Ellen Sirleaf’s son (Robert Sirleaf) was acquitted because of his status as the ex-President son according to one source. Up to the present, the L$2.645 billion is still unaccounted for under Pres. Weah government.

The second classic corrupt case involved the Former House Speaker Alex J. Tyler who and some other Liberians received a bribe of US$950.000 to influence and/or change procurement laws in favor of a company, he and others were set free by the Liberian government. Mr. Duannah Siryon, the Former MD, National Housing Authority embezzled US$80.000 and the Liberian government set him free.

Political Hot-Fire has not by any chance come across any of such horrible corrupt epidemic cases during the 133-years of the Americo-Liberian rule, except any Liberian can prove me wrong with opposite facts. These terrible corrupt scenes and many more other mal practices took place under the watchful eyes of Pre. Weah and ex-President Ellen Sirleaf in post-war Liberia under the indigenous Liberians dynasty. Should they be executed as the late Doe did to the 13-Americo-Liberians, certainly not?

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