The breakout of the death news of Nimba County Senator and ex-warlord Prince Y. Johnson on Thursday, November 28, 2024, has sparked mixed reactions in the country with expressions of sadness, happiness and ambivalence.
Many, especially citizens of Nimba, took to social media to express their sympathy over the death of the fallen lawmaker who was generally considered the Godfather or Hero on Nimba County, but for some, it was a reflection of the alleged atrocities committed by late Jonson against them or families while he led a revolution the saw the killing of Late President Samuel K. Doe.
Still for others, it was the concern of justice, the fact that they would have preferred to see the senator alive to face justice with conversations now ongoing for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court in Liberia to prosecute perpetrators of heinous crimes committed against humanity during the Liberia civil war.
Once a rebel leader, Johnson played a prominent role in the First Liberian Civil War where as an officer in the Armed Forces of Liberia, he allied himself with Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebel group when it launched the First Liberian Civil War in 1989 to overthrow President Samuel Doe.
Due to a rift with Taylor, Johnson soon formed an NPFL splinter group, the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), which captured, tortured and executed Doe in 1990.
Following continued clashes with Taylor and the pro-Doe ULIMO group, the INPFL was disbanded and Johnson was forced into exile in Nigeria in 1992, where he converted to Christianity and reconciled with the Doe family.
Johnson returned to Liberia in 2004 following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War and was elected to the Senate of Liberia in the 2005 Liberian general election. He founded a political party, the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP) in 2010, before being expelled from it in 2014.
He then founded a new party, Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) in 2016. He was thereafter re-elected to the Senate in 2014 and 2023. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for President in 2011 and 2017, respectively finishing in third and fourth place in the first round.
Meanwhile, several prominent individuals and groups including ordinary Liberians have been expressing sympathy to the bereaved family since the passing of the lawmaker.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Vice President Jeremiah Koung, embattled Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, controversial Majority Bloc Speaker Richard Koon, former President George Manneh Weah, amongst several other dignitaries have paid visits to the home of the late senator in Paynesville.
Meanwhile, the Liberian Senate has sent a message of condolence to the bereaved family of the late Senator Johnson. Senator Johnson died last Thursday morning at the Women of Hope Hospital on the A.B. Tolbert road in Paynesville, suburb of Monrovia. A Senate Press Release quotes the leadership of the Senate as describing the death of Senator Johnson as not only a blow to the Liberian Senate but the Country at large, noting, his death is an irreparable loss.
Prior to his death, the late Nimba County Senator, Prince Y. Johnson served four Legislatures, including the 52nd 53rd, 54th and 55th in various capacities. Late Senator Johnson who was the current longest serving Senator, during his tenure served as Chairman of the Senate Committee, on Security, Intelligent, and Veteran Affairs, and Chairman on Internal Affairs, Governance and Reconciliation and a long serving member of the ECOWAS Parliament based in Abuja, Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Liberian Senate in its mournful remembrance of the fallen Senator, suspended its Thursday, November 28, 2024 plenary sitting to convene tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3, 2024. “May his contributions to our Nation be remembered, and may his charitable legacy inspire future generations,” the Senate said.
