Liberia’s former President William Tolbert is being given a symbolic reburial, 45 years after his murder during a coup, with his body thought to have been discarded in a mass grave.
Ten days after the president’s assassination, following swift trials by a sham court, 13 members of his cabinet were stripped of their rights, bound to stakes, and executed by firing squad on a beach near an army barracks in Monrovia.
The remains of all 14 individuals remain unaccounted for, but each is set to receive a state funeral at a ceremony with attendance from President Joseph Boakai and other officials. This occasion is considered a step toward reconciliation and part of the nation’s effort to confront its violent history.
The coup on April 12, 1980, which brought 28-year-old Sgt. Samuel Doe’s takeover ended more than a century of political control by the minority Americo-Liberians, descendants of freed black slaves who migrated from the US in the 1800s.
Tolbert’s nine years in office were characterised by increasing dissatisfaction over ethnic disparities.
His overthrow triggered a prolonged period of turmoil in Liberia, culminating in two catastrophic civil wars that concluded in 2003.
Doe himself was violently killed by rebels in 1990. His reburial in his hometown happened just last week, under the president’s orders.
Until now, the 14 individuals executed in 1980 have been commemorated with a tombstone engraved with their names, which former presidents have honoured yearly. However, when this tombstone was excavated earlier this year, no human remains were discovered, leaving their fate uncertain.
The families of each victim will receive a Liberian flag in recognition of their public service, accompanied by a 21-gun salute.
In 2006, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to collect testimonies regarding the atrocities perpetrated during the conflicts.
In 2009, the TRC released a list of individuals recommended for war crimes prosecution, but no further action was taken. While no one has been tried in Liberia, some offenders have faced convictions in other nations.
