By Stephen G. Fellajuah
Paynesville, Liberia, April 23, 2026 – Forty-six years after the violent coup that ended over a century of Americo-Liberian dominance, the nation gathered in solemn reflection to honor the memory of President William R. Tolbert Jr. and 13 senior officials of his administration who were killed during the upheaval, in a memorial ceremony marking the historic tragedy.
The event, hosted at the April 22nd Memorial Park on the grounds of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary along ELWA Road in Paynesville City, brought together families, loved ones, and well-wishers. Distinguished guests included the Ambassador of France, Isabelle Le Guellec.
In a special statement, Sister Yvette Chesson Gibson said the day stands as proof that the families have chosen a higher path of forgiveness and transformed pain into purpose, noting that their fathers were patriots.
She cited the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which concluded that the events constituted gross violations of human rights and egregious abuses of power. The TRC further affirmed that the killings were acts of summary execution carried out without due process, and warned that such actions undermine the rule of law and the very foundation of a democratic society.
“These are not just words; they are a warning, they are a call to conscience, they are a national obligation,” she firmly stated.
She added that it was in that spirit of patriotism, unity, and reconciliation that the memorial site was built, not only to honor the lives of their fathers, but to remind every Liberian that what happened on April 22, 1980, was a grave injustice, an act of political violence that violated both the Liberian Constitution and international humanitarian principles, and must never happen again to anyone, no matter who they are.
Organized by the April 22nd Memorial Group, in partnership with Gee Bee Production, the program also featured a special screening of the documentary, The Assassination of President William R. Tolbert, Jr., at the RLJ Kendeja Resort and Villas.
The date carries profound historical significance. On April 22, 1980, ten days after the coup that killed Tolbert, 13 senior officials of his administration were executed by firing squad on a Monrovia beach. Their bodies, along with Tolbert’s, were initially dumped into a mass grave at Palm Grove Cemetery.
In the early hours of April 12, 1980, a group of 17 low-ranking soldiers led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe stormed the Executive Mansion in Monrovia. Tolbert was reportedly shot three times in the head while in his bedroom.
Twenty-six supporters also died during the attack. The coup ended 133 years of uninterrupted rule by the True Whig Party, dominated by the Americo-Liberian elite—descendants of free and formerly enslaved Black Americans who founded Liberia in 1822. Power then shifted abruptly to the People’s Redemption Council, an indigenous military junta.
