Published: June 30, 2025
ZWEDRU, Grand Gedeh County, Liberia — Former rebel commander-turned-evangelist Joshua Milton Blahyi has criticized former President George Manneh Weah for what he called a “disgraceful failure” to give the late President Samuel Kanyon Doe a dignified reburial during his six years in office.
Blahyi, once one of Liberia’s most feared warlords known as “General Butt Naked,” praised President Joseph Nyuma Boakai for finally interring Doe and his wife, the late First Lady Nancy B. Doe, in their hometown of Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
Speaking on a live Facebook podcast, Blahyi said the people of the Southeast have no reason to resent Boakai, who he credited with correcting a longstanding national oversight.
“The Southeast has no reason to be angry with Boakai,” Blahyi declared. “The man we called our father, President Doe, should have been given this respect long ago. President Weah, who called himself Doe’s son, had six years to do it and failed.”
Blahyi Praises Boakai, Accuses Weah of Betrayal
Blahyi accused Weah of betraying the memory of Samuel Doe — a figure he often referred to as his political father — by failing to initiate a formal reburial during his presidency.
“President Boakai has done what a true son of Liberia should do,” Blahyi said. “He has brought closure, respect, and honor to the Doe family and the Southeast.”
The former warlord hailed Boakai’s leadership, calling the reburial a long-overdue gesture of national reconciliation and dignity.
A National Moment of Healing
The reburial of former President Doe and burial of First Lady Nancy Doe took place in Zwedru and drew a massive crowd that included the Doe family, senior government officials, religious and traditional leaders, and citizens from across Liberia and the diaspora.
In a statement released on the Executive Mansion’s Facebook page, President Boakai described the occasion as more than a funeral — calling it “a defining moment for unity and healing.”
“This is a time to reconcile with our history, to heal from our wounds, and to remember with respect and purpose,” Boakai said. “We cannot build a prosperous Liberia on broken foundations. Our future depends on unity, on confronting the past through truth, forgiveness, and a shared commitment to progress.”
Thousands Gather to Honor Doe
The ceremony was widely seen as a symbolic act of reconciliation, particularly for the Southeast region, which has long felt excluded from national decision-making. Despite his polarizing legacy, Doe remains a powerful figure in Liberian political memory, especially in Grand Gedeh County.
Many described the ceremony as long overdue and emotionally significant for a family and region still seeking closure decades after Doe’s assassination during the civil war.
Blahyi Accuses Weah of Promoting Division
Blahyi didn’t stop at criticizing Weah’s failure to rebury Doe. He went further, accusing the former president of allegedly using Montserrado County District No. 10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah to sow division and chaos in Liberia.
“Instead of honoring his so-called father, Doe, Weah spent his time empowering people like Yekeh Kolubah to insult and disrupt this country,” Blahyi said. “But God has exposed them all. The same Southeast they tried to use is now standing with Boakai because of the truth.”
He alleged that Weah used divisive tactics and controversial political surrogates during his time in office, all while ignoring symbolic national acts that could foster unity.
From ‘General Butt Naked’ to Preacher
Blahyi remains one of Liberia’s most controversial figures. As “General Butt Naked,” he led the so-called Naked Base Commandos — a militia of child soldiers who fought unclothed under the belief that ritual nudity made them invulnerable to bullets.
His brutal record during the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996) includes acts of cannibalism, human sacrifice, and the widespread use of child fighters. Thousands are believed to have died at the hands of his forces.
In recent years, Blahyi has reinvented himself as an evangelist and advocate for peace. He now leads ministries that focus on rehabilitating former combatants and drug addicts, and uses his platform to call for justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
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