Monrovia – When Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf turned over the affairs of state in Liberia after two successive six-year terms in office, to President George Manneh Weah, in January 2018, it marked a historic first for Liberia in 75 years.
The last time a sitting President stepped aside to allow a democratic transition, was in 1944 when President Edwin Barclay retired to be replaced by William V.S. Tubman.
Although Barclay would try to run against Tubman in 1955, he only received 1100 votes – and died a few months later.
Tubman went on to rule Liberia for 27 years, becoming one of the longest serving head of state on the African continent.
Bad Omen – From Roye to Doe
Over the course of the country’s rugged 174-year history, much of the transitions have been marred by coup d’etats, civil war – and that unexplained, yet controversial demise of President Edward James Roye in 1872.
Varying accounts indicate that Roye was killed on February 11 or February 12, 1872. Another account suggests that he drowned on February 12, 1872, while trying to reach a British ship in harbor.
Roye’s death was preceded by a controversial move in 1871, when he tasked Spencer Anderson, then the speaker of the House of Representatives, with negotiating a new loan from British financiers. Anderson secured $500,000 under strict terms from the British consul-general, David Chinery, but was heavily criticised and eventually arrested.
Anderson was apparently tried the following year for his part in securing the loan. He was found not guilty, but he was shot to death while leaving the courthouse.
Roye was removed from the presidency on October 26, 1871, in what some allies called a coup d’etat. The circumstances surrounding his removal from office, however, remain murky to this day.
Roye was jailed for several months following his ouster and soon died under equally mysterious circumstances. His unpopular loans with Britain as well as fears from the Republican Party at the time that he was planning to cancel the upcoming presidential election were among the reasons for his forced removal.
Exactly 109 years later, Liberia would endure a similar fate when Master Sargeant Samuel Doe and a band of low-ranked military officers ended decades of Americo-Liberian rule with the topple of President William R. Tolbert on April 12, 1980.
Tolbert, was vice president and had succeeded Tubman, who died at a clinic in London, following post-operative complications from prostate gland surgery at the age of 75.
Following Tubman’s death in 1971, Tolbert succeeded him as president.
Although it was a peaceful transition, Tolbert’s succession continued the unpopular trend of one-party state which was unsettling for some Liberians. Nevertheless, the peaceful transition seemed to signal political stability at the time, which was remarkable in an Africa where olitical turmoil was the norm. The country, Africa’s oldest, was effectively a one-party state, with civil liberties being limited and the judiciary and the legislative branches were subservient to the executive branch.
A year prior to Tolbert’s demise, on April 14, 1979, Tolbert’s minister of agriculture, Florence Chenoweth proposed an increase in the subsidized price of rice from $22 per 100-pound bag to $26. Chenoweth asserted that the increase would serve as an added inducement for rice farmers to continue farming instead of abandoning their farms for jobs in the cities or on the rubber plantations. Political opponents criticized the proposal as self-serving, pointing out that Chenoweth and the Tolbert family operated large rice farms and would therefore realize a tidy profit from the proposed price increase.
The Progressives Alliance of Liberia called for a peaceful demonstration in Monrovia to protest the proposed price increase. On 14 April about 2,000 activists began what was planned as a peaceful march on the Executive Mansion.
The protest march swelled dramatically when the protesters were joined en route by more than 10,000 “back street boys” causing the march to quickly degenerate into a disorderly mob of riot and destruction. Widespread looting ensued with damage to private property estimated at over $40 million. At least 41 demonstrators were killed by shooting.
The incident set fire to the powder. During the following year, riots and demonstrations shook the country. Tolbert tried in vain to restore order by arresting the opposition leaders, but his attempts were unsuccessful and the disorder increased. Tolbert’s credibility was severely damaged by the Rice Riots.
In March 1980 Tolbert ordered the banning of the PAL, and had Gabriel Bacchus Matthews and the rest of the organization’s leadership arrested on charges of treason.
In the early hours of 12 April 1980, 17 non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia led by Doe launched a violent coup d’état announcing the
The group entered the Presidential palace and killed Tolbert, whose body was dumped into a mass grave together with 27 other victims of the coup. A crowd of angry Liberians gathered to shout insults and throw rocks at the bodies. Tolbert’s body was later moved to a spot in Monrovia’s Palm Grove Cemetery, not far from the bodies of those killed in the Rice Riots.
Future President Survives Coup
By the end of the month, most of the cabinet members of the Tolbert administration had been put on trial in akangaroo court and sentenced to death.. Many of them were publicly executed on 22 April at a beach near the Barclay Training Center in Monrovia. Only four Tolbert cabinet heads survived the coup and its aftermath; among them was the Minister of Finance, and future president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
Doe, like Tolbert would stay in power for nearly a decade, surviving multiple coups before an eventual civil war which claimed his life on September 9, 1990.
Doe’s reign was marred by reports of massive killings, corruption and greed. His death was supposed to marked the end of the civil war ignited by Charles Taylor, a former Director General of the General Services Agency who fled Liberia, arrested in America and mysteriously escaped a Boston prison to launch a civil war. Instead, Doe’s death triggered new wave of fighting a sparked multiple rebel groups, each preying on the vulnerabilities of a nation, in quest for power.
After multiple periods of interim government, Sirleaf was elected President in the 2005 Presidential elections, becoming the first woman head of state, not just in Liberia, but on the continent of Africa.
Sirleaf’s reign was marred by both criticisms and applause. Domestically there were some who say she did little to fight corruption, push gender issues and allow those in her circle to get away with impunity. On the global scene, Sirleaf was the darling of the international community, credited with helping Liberia secured millions of dollars of foreign investment and debt relief while establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to probe corruption and heal ethnic tensions.
“I have never seen her happier. The burden of carrying Liberia through war, peace, democracy and development is with others. And she has found a rhythm as an elder statesman and building the next generation of African women leaders. For the first time since I have known her, she is no longer restless.”
Riva Levinson, Who Has Known and Worked with the former President for more than two decades
Post-Presidency Kicks off With a Prize
When Sirleaf stepped down at the end of her two terms in office, it didn’t take long for her to receive the coveted Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership.
Named for its creator, the British-Sudanese BT engineer turned telecommunications billionaire Mo Ibrahim, the prize carries an award of $5m paid out over 10 years and then $200,000 each year for the rest of the winner’s life. To qualify, African heads of state have to have left office during the last three calendar years, having been democratically elected and served their constitutionally mandated term.
The Prize Committee found that, confronted with unprecedented and renewed challenges, Sirleaf demonstrated exceptional and transformative leadership by taking over a country that was devastated and broken by 14 years of civil war, and was later struck again by the Ebola crisis. “Throughout her time in office, she staunchly maintained her priorities and her determination to succeed on behalf of the people of Liberia. Over the last decade, Liberia was the only country, out of 54, to improve in every category and sub-category of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. She courageously embraced opponents and fought for generational change, and paved the way for her successor to follow.”
For Sirleaf, the award was a triumph not just for her but for others as well. “As the first woman to receive the award, it is my hope that women and girls across Africa will be inspired to reach for their true potential, to navigate the challenges, break through barriers, and to pursue their dreams.”
When she’s not busy fulfilling speaking responsibilities that comes with the Prize, Sirleaf spends most of her time these days on her farm – or offering updates on her post-presidency work through the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Presidential Center.
Sirleaf has also been busy with the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development, founded in 2018 to be a catalyst for political and social change across Africa by helping unleash its most abundant latent power — its women.
The EJS Center aims to amplify the voice of women and girls in all spheres of life by increasing the representation of women in public service leadership roles in Africa. Through a unique blend of programming, advocacy, archival research, and museum exhibitions, the EJS Center seeks to become a premier institution dedicated to advancing and sustaining women’s political and social development on the continent.
Through its work, the EJS Center envisions more voices heard, talents unleashed, and leaders launched that prioritize the aspirations of women. Its mission is to champion women’s ascension to the highest levels of leadership and challenge systemic barriers to girls’ and women’s advancement. As the first democratically elected woman president in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf led Liberia from 2006-2018. Having been recognized internationally for her leadership, Sirleaf is passionate about supporting the next generation of women in public life across the continent.
Coinciding with Sirleaf’s 83rd birthday this week, women leaders from across the African continent will gather for the Amujae Leadership Forum in Monrovia Convened by the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development.
The Forum will address the theme of “Building Resilience” during uncertain times.
The women taking part in the Forum are part of the Amujae Initiative, the EJS Center’s flagship program. The initiative prepares women to excel in the highest echelons of public leadership and bring other women along. Drawn from a diverse range of personal and professional backgrounds, the Amujae Leaders include members of parliament, a governor, a mayor, and several government ministers from 16 countries across Africa.
Sirleaf’s complicated legacy has not been shattered by what she still considers her most overwhelming achievement, sustained the post-war peace and ushering the transition from one democratically-elected government to the next.
The former President trumpeted as much in a 2018 Deutsche Welle interview: “In a few months’ time, we can say proudly that we have had 15 consecutive years of peace. And we’ve also [furthered] the protection and promotion of freedoms, Liberia’s civil society, Liberian people generally. The media for once had full access and full liberties to take part in society, to criticize, to comment, to pass judgement – sometimes to even be irresponsible. Having been devastated for so long, I think what we were able to accomplish in terms of returning the economy to growth, rebuilding institutions and rebuilding infrastructure gave them hope that the future will be secured.”
Finding Her Rhythm
Despite those achievements. Sirleaf believes she fell short in some aspects of her presidency. “I had hoped that we would build the road that would have connected all of our political subdivisions to each other, so that there would have been freer movement of goods and services and people across borders. We did some but we didn’t complete. We also would have liked to have brought more electricity, thereby enabling us to add value to our commodities. We brought back electricity, but not at the pace and the extent that our plans called for. We had all the plans, we had the agenda, but these things don’t happen right away.”
Life after the presidency for Sirleaf has been fairly normal on a continent known for seeing past leaders overthrown, arrested, languishing in jail or even in exile.
These days, Sirleaf’s Twitter profile reads: Former President, Republic of Liberia, advocate for women, grandmother of 12 and a local farmer, a life aptly summed up by Riva Levinson who has known and worked with Madam President for more than two decades. “I have never seen her happier. The burden of carrying Liberia through war, peace, democracy and development is with others. And she has found a rhythm as an elder statesman and building the next generation of African women leaders. For the first time since I have know her, she is no longer restless.”