Monrovia, Liberia – Former warlord now a politician, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, has been officially declared deceased at the age of 72. The cause of death is still unknown.
Before his death was made public, Johnson, who has served as the senator representing Nimba County since 2006, allegedly returned from his home county on Wednesday. With his passing, a complicated and divisive legacy that spans decades of Liberian politics, conflict, and peace comes to an end.
Johnson was born in Tappita, Nimba County, on July 6, 1948. He first gained recognition as an officer in the Liberian National Guard, which subsequently changed its name to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
Following military training in the US and Liberia, Johnson joined General Thomas Quiwonkpa as an aide-de-camp. His loyalty to Quiwonkpa and subsequent exile after a failed coup against President Samuel Doe characterized his early career.
Johnson reached the height of popularity during the First Liberian Civil War. He first joined Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) before founding the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), a breakaway organization.
His men seized, tortured, and killed Liberia former President, Samuel K. Doe in September 1990; the incident was filmed on camera and extensively publicized. The explicit video solidified his standing as one of the most notorious individuals in the tumultuous history of Liberia.
After the INPFL dissolved and Johnson was exiled to Nigeria in 1992, he experienced a significant change. T.B. Joshua, a well-known Nigerian preacher, helped him convert to Christianity while he was there and make peace with Samuel Doe’s family. In 2004, when the country was beginning to heal from the Second Liberian Civil War, he returned to Liberia.
Johnson entered politics with success and was elected to the Senate in 2005. He developed a solid following in Nimba County in spite of his violent history, using his clout there to maintain his position as a major figure in Liberian politics. Among the political groups he founded and led were the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) and the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP).
Despite his support for Nimba County during his time in the Senate, Johnson was no stranger to controversy. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2021 for suspected corruption, which included selling votes for money. Johnson was re-elected to the Senate in 2023, demonstrating his continued political significance in spite of these charges.
Reactions to his death have been divided as word has spread. Others saw him as a reminder of Liberia’s chaotic and violent history, while others saw him as a hero who stood up for the rights of Nimba County.
The legacy of Prince Johnson, who personified both the intricacies of peace in Liberia and the atrocities of war, is probably going to be just as divisive as the man himself.
His passing creates a void in the political scene of Nimba County and casts doubt on the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, which he headed right up until the end of his life.
His colleagues in the legislature and former Liberian president George Manneh Weah are among the prominent individuals who have paid his family a visit and expressed their sympathies.
Because the late senator from Nimba County was heavily associated with the War and Economic Crimes Court, several Liberians believe the court’s formation will take a while.
