Blitz Bureau
MONROVIA: Liberian former warlord-turned Senator, Prince Johnson, has died at the age of 72, according to africanews.com.
Born in the northern region of Nimba, Johnson was seen drinking a beer in a video as fighters loyal to him killed then-President Samuel Doe in 1990.
Doe’s death triggered two civil wars that claimed some 250, 000 lives, said the news portal report. During the conflict, Johnson was a prominent militia leader. It said. He was later forced into exile in Nigeria, before returning to his home country in 2004.
Johnson never voiced remorse over his actions, insisting he had protected civilians who, he said, were ‘led to the slaughterhouse, as if they were chickens and goats, by the Doe regime’. Johnson ran in the 2017 presidential election, garnering more than 8 per cent in the first round. He also became a Senator, a role he would occupy until his death.
