Brownie Jeffery Samukai Jr. is the former
Minister of National Defence of
Liberia. He took office on January 16, 2006, as part of
President
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Automobiles
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Monro ...
's
Cabinet.
In the 1980s, he worked within the Liberian
Ministry of National Defense
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. In 1986-87 he was working within the G-4 Branch of the AFL.
In 1991, according to biographical details issued at a 2007
U.S. Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...
briefing, he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Defence for Operations.
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...
A Discussion with Liberia's Defense Minister Brownie J. Samukai, Jr.
May 11, 2007 The biographical details said that he 'was responsible for reestablishing civilian control over the Liberian army and established an urban response team to counter urban terrorism.' He served in this position until 1994.
In 1993 and 94, he served as commander of the 'Black Berets,' a paramilitary police force in the
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...
enclave of
Amos Sawyer's Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU). The
International Crisis Group also notes that the Black Berets also fought alongside
ECOMOG
The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...
at times, notably during
Charles Taylor's 1992 assault on Monrovia ('Operation Octopus'). 'They and the AFL were accused of killing some 600 civilians in the June 1993 Camp Carter massacre, which, testimony at the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission has indicated, was perpetuated by Taylor's NPFL fighters, who may have orchestrated it to put blame on the
Armed Forces of Liberia
The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Tracing its origins to a militia that was formed by the first black colonists in what is now Liberia, it was founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, and r ...
.'
He served as Director of the Liberian National Police from 1994–95 and Deputy Minister of State for Administration from 1995 to 1997.
In 1998 he served on the AFL Restructuring Commission, where he was listed as a retired Colonel of the AFL in private business.
From 1999 to c.2004-05, he served as a security officer with the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, initially with
UNTAET
The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), ( pt, Administração Transitória das Nações Unidas em Timor Leste), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades long East Timorese cri ...
in East Timor, and then from 2000 with
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
and the UN Department of Safety and Security in Tanzania. Responsible for refugee resettlement in Tanzania.
On 27 January 2022, Samukai, with associates, was convicted and ordered imprisoned for embezzlement:
[; exact $537,828.15 figure from linked FrontPageAfrica story.]
The Supreme Court of Liberia has handed down two-year prison sentences to former defence chief Brownie Samukai along with deputies Joseph Johnson and James Nyuman Ndokor after they failed to return U.S.$1,1 million worth of stolen money from a government pension account. The funds were stolen from the Armed Forces of Liberia pension account during the mandate of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Monro ...
when Samukai headed the defense ministry. The three men were ordered by the court to pay U.S. .. 537,828.15within six months but failed to do so.
References
External links
Interview with Brownie Samukai Jane's Defence Weekly
''Jane's Defence Weekly'' (abbreviated as ''JDW'') is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman who ...
, 14 January 2008
Ministry of Defence*Selma Lomax
Liberia: Supreme Court Orders Brownie Samukai and Co-Defendants Jailed FrontPageAfrica, last updated Jan 27, 2022.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samukai, Brownie
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Defence ministers of Liberia
University of Liberia alumni
Place of birth missing (living people)