Prince Y. Johnson was a towering Liberian politician, or warlord. The perspective around him divided public opinion in his life just as in death.
Johnson was pronounced dead on November 28, at a hospital in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, after he reportedly fell during bath at his residence. He was aged 72.
In some ways the former warlord was an enigmatic figure, with an interesting background that began as a military officer, transitioning to a warlord, then a politician, a religious leader and a development advocate.
His death has divided the nation, with his critics rejoicing in the demise of a man they called a demon, while his supporters mourned the loss of a saviour.
Johnson’s public career started as a member of the Liberian National Guard, which later became the Armed Forces of Liberia, in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant. He has been described as strict, and sometimes draconian and a disciplinarian.
It was during the First Liberian Civil War that Johnson came to the limelight, at least at the international stage, when in 1990, filmed himself directing his men who tortured and later killed the country’s first indigenous President, Samuel K. Doe.
Johnson joined the war as a member of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), founded by the former President Charles Taylor.
The Liberian civil war lasted from 1989 to 2003, with a brief interruption between 1997 and 1999. Between the two wars, an estimated 150,000 to 250, 000 people were killed.
Taylor’s NPFL began the war in the name of fighting corruption and maladministration. But it ended up involving multiple factions representing all sorts of interests – regional as well as ethnic.
Those who saw Johnson as a hero, viewed his atrocities as revenge for the death of their loved ones under the Doe rule.
Taylor’s forces eventually overran the county’s capital city and ceased power. But before that, Johnson formed a breakaway faction – the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), after falling out with Taylor due to ideological differences.
The INPFL forces were accused of committing numerous human rights violations in the course of the three years of the first leg of the war it lasted. Johnson was forced into exile in Nigeria after his group was disbanded in 1992.
The Liberian war spilled over into neighbouring Sierra Leone, which also went through 11 years of civil unrests.
But unlike Sierra Leone, which tried people considered as bearing the greatest responsibility for the atrocities, Liberians never had the chance. To date, it is a scar that often threatens to re-erupt. And Johnson was a large part of the reason for this.
The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission report recommended that Johnson, among other warlords, be tried for his role in the atrocities. With his death, some Liberians bemoan the fact that he has escaped justice, becoming the second high-profile former warlord to do so, after Alhaji G. V. Kromah, who died in 2022.
But for others, there was little possibility that Johnson could ever have faced justice even alive, given the vast sway he held on the Liberian political scene.
Johnson returned home from exile in 2004, a year after the war was declared over. He contested in the first post-war elections in 2005 and won a Senatorial seat in his home County of Nimba, which he occupied up to his death, becoming a highly influential lawmaker in the process.
Fondly referred to as the 'political godfather of Nimba County,' Johnson has used every means available to him, from politics to religion, to development initiative to frustrates efforts to establish a war crimes court.
He argued that such a move would destabilise the nation that only needed reconciliation. He also cited amnesty provisions in the Accra Peace Agreement as protecting him and others from prosecution.
In 2010, he founded the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP) party, from which he was expelled in 2014 during a power struggle. He went on to establish a new party, the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) in 2016.
Johnson unsuccessfully contested for the presidency twice (in 2011 and 2017). But he played major role as kingmaker in all four elections, including the last one in 2023.
Johnson was the longest-serving member of the Senate in post-war Liberia. So influential was he in the House that he served in various position, including as Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, and Chairman on Internal Affairs, Governance and Reconciliation. He was also a long serving member of the Abuja-based ECOWAS Parliament.
A statement from the Upper House of the legislature quotes its leadership describing Johnson’s death as “an irreparable loss.”
Johnson made sure to make use of this influence to oppose efforts to establish a war crimes court by forming alliances with political parties that have always emerged winner in the presidential race.
Nimba County, located in the east-central part of Liberia, is one of the vote-rich parts of the country and has been instrumental in deciding the winner of the presidential race in the last four elections.
From Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to George Weah to the current President, Joseph Boakai, they all came to power promising justice for war victims.
In Weah’s first term, he formed an alliance with his party, but they parted ways in the run-up to the last election, with Johnson joining forces with Boakai. The current Vice President, Jeremiah Koung, a close ally of Johnson, got his position as a result of that agreement.
Vice President Koung led a high profile government delegation to the Johnson Family home after news of his death emerged.
“Senator Prince Y. Johnson’s passing is a loss to his family, his constituents, and our nation,” President Boakai was later quoted in a statement.
The Boakai administration has made the biggest progress yet toward formation of the war crimes court, with the passing of legislative instrument and appointment of court officials. But the fate of the institution remains in doubt over financial concerns.
Prince Johnson also used religion to establish himself in the hearts of Liberians. It was during his stay in Nigeria that he reportedly became a Christian.
On his return home, he formed the Chapel of Faith Ministries, which is located in Paynesville, where he resided. He served as lead pastor of the church and often use his sermons to discuss political issues.
Johnson also owned several educational institutions, including the PYJ University, through which he provided opportunities for Liberian youths. All of these helped reshaped his public image from a warlord to a politician, religious leader and development advocate.
Johnson’s influence on the Liberian political landscape attracted criticism from the international scene, including human rights groups who were particularly unsettled about his opposition to the establishment of a war crimes court.
In 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Johnson for his alleged involvement in corruption. They related to his alleged participation electoral fraud involving vote buying.
