David Roosevelt Johnson (died October 23, 2004) was a
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
n who led a rebel group during the country's
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. He was not a member of the
Krahn
The Krahn are an ethnic group of Liberia and Ivory Coast. This group belongs to the Kru language family and its people are sometimes referred to as the Wee, Guéré, Sapo, or Wobe. It is likely that Western contact with the Kru language is the p ...
ethnic group he fought for, however his wife was Krahn.
Biography
A former teacher, Johnson joined the rebel group
United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy The United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) was an anti-rebel group that participated in the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996).
ULIMO was formed in May 1991 by Krahn and Mandingo refugees and soldiers who had fought in th ...
(ULIMO) soon after the war began. ULIMO split into two factions in 1994:
(ULIMO-K) led by
Alhaji G.V. Kromah and the
United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Johnson faction (ULIMO-J), which was led by Johnson.
Johnson had 6 sons in Liberia. Jotham, his eldest, would take care of the rest of his brothers while Johnson had been on rebel missions. Nigel, Justin, Rob, Hye and Igor had lived without knowing much about their father, as Johnson had hardly been home to care for them.
Fighters loyal to Johnson triggered the first major violation of the
Abuja Accord in December 1995, resisting
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 ...
deployment around the
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
mines near
Tubmanburg
Tubmanburg, also known as Bomi and formerly known as Vaitown, is the capital of Bomi County in Liberia. It lies in the Bomi Hills northwest of Monrovia and was an iron ore and diamond mining centre until it was largely destroyed in the First Liber ...
. He was dismissed from the ULIMO-J leadership in early 1996.
Like many involved in the Liberian civil war, Johnson was known to use mercenary fighters to further his causes. One notable example was his funding of Joshua Milton Blahyi, commonly known as
General Butt Naked
Joshua Milton Blahyi (born September 30, 1971), better known by his nom de guerre General Butt Naked, is a Liberian evangelical preacher, writer and former warlord best known for his actions during the First Liberian Civil War. During the con ...
. The General commanded a brigade of drunken or otherwise intoxicated young teenage boys who would fight naked or in women's clothing because of a belief that it would protect them from bullets.
In September 1998, Taylor's government accuses Johnson of plotting a coup
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. Johnson's faction in Monrovia was attacked by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Charles Taylor's security forces, resulting in
brutal clashes that saw most of his followers being killed. He managed to flee to the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
and Taylor demands that the Americans turn him over for what he guarantees will be a fair trial. But Washington says the assault at the embassy gate makes that promise unreliable.
where another shootout occurred as Taylor's fighters attempted to prevent him from finding sanctuary on the embassy grounds. Johnson, his son, and his few surviving followers were allowed into the embassy, however, where they were protected by U.S. guards until being evacuated to
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
.
He eventually relocated to
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. He was charged with
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
and convicted in absentia, in April 1999. He died in 2004 in Nigeria, following a protracted period of illness.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Articles at the New York Timeswith Roosevelt Johnsonby Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Roosevelt
2004 deaths
Krahn people
Liberian expatriates in Nigeria
Liberian rebels
20th-century Liberian people
21st-century Liberian people
Year of birth missing
Place of birth missing