The Tragic Execution of Liberian Foreign Minister C. Cecil Dennis by Firing Squad

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John 1:03 am on June 30, 2012

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Tags: c. cecil dennis, samuel doe liberia civil war africa asylum execution geopolitics huband helene cooper tolbert
The Beach and the Pole The Execution of C. Cecil Dennis, Jr.
by John Weghorst
Authors Note
There is quite a bit of false information out on web sites, other blogs and discussion boards regarding the coup and the executions. Over
the years, these inaccuracies have bothered me to the point of writing my own article or essay about the events of April, 1980 in
Liberia. The information below is true and pieced together from trustworthy sources and interviews. My sources are firm, taken from
former ministers and other eyewitness testimony which includes newspaper interviews, firsthand accounts of journalists and diplomats
and also from depositions taken from witnesses at a few Truth and Reconciliation Council hearings.
I am not from Liberia, but I have always been fascinated with the country and hope to visit someday soon.
Thank you for reading.
God bless Liberia.
***********************************************************************************************
The Executions of April 22, 1980 in Monrovia, Liberia
Who is Charles Cecil Dennis, Jr.?
Born 1931, Montserrado County, Liberia

Died April 22, 1980, Barclay Beach, Monrovia, Liberia
Mr. Charles Cecil Dennis was a well known and well respected Liberian political figure who was American educated and who served as
Secretary of State/Minister of Foreign Affairs under President William Tolbert from 1973 until the coup dtat by Samuel Doe on April 12,
1980. Along with other members of Tolberts Cabinet, he was promptly put on trial and executed later by firing squad ten days after the
coup. He was preceded as Foreign Minister by Rocheforte Lafayette Weeks and eventually replaced by Gabriel Bacchus Matthews.
How Did This Happen? What Were The Chain of Events?
In 1980, Samuel Doe was in charge of a beachfront security patrol near the Executive Mansion. Doe and his army friends grew up in
meager conditions, mostly living in huts, with nothing much to eat and attending school when they could. In the army, life was not much
better, just more wooden shacks with corrugated zinc rooftops. There was no electricity, no plumbing and no running water.
One day, after having a few beers, Doe and his soldiers playfully talked about overthrowing the government. It started out as a joke, but
they eventually decided that it would be quite easy. Despite what people say about conspiracies, the idea and cause of the coup was
just that spontaneous and simple. That is why it shocked so many people, including the American government. Nobody even knew who
Doe was in Liberia. He was not well known at all.
After the coup and contrary to popular belief, Cecil Dennis never attempted to take refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia. Dennis had
just arrived back in Liberia a few days before from an overseas trip. He, along with his brother and their families, were hiding at a
friends house trying to decide what to do. Dennis later made a few phone calls to various embassies including the U.S. asking about the
situation but later decided to turn himself in to Does Peoples Redemption Council (PRC). Later that afternoon, Max Dennis, a cousin
drove him to the Barclay Training Center army barracks as instructed by the radio broadcasts. Although Dennis was received in orderly
fashion, once there, he was arrested and locked up to await charges of corruption and a slew of other crimes placed on him by the
newly formed military junta. U.S. officials stated that a few of the other wanted Liberian officials like Justice Minister, Joseph Chesson,
did contact them asking about the situation, but none requested help or asylum. This would turn out to be an enormous mistake. As far
as the U.S. was concerned, this coup was coincidental in that it was an election year. In addition, Jimmy Carter and his administration
were planning the rescue attempt for the American hostages in Iran, which failed on April 25, 1980, three days after the executions. The
Americans were not going to intervene here in Liberia, at least not on a military level. The Americans did plead for leniency and due
process, something which Doe ignored.
It is said that A.B. Tolbert, who was William Tolberts son, was allowed refuge at the French Embassy, but Does men ignored diplomatic
immunity and demanded his transfer to PRC headquarters. Tourists, foreign visitors and other citizens all suffered too, as soldiers all
around Liberia raped, robbed and pillaged for several days following the coup. This was class AND ethnic warfare at its finest, but there
was also a bit of drunkenness and chaos thrown in for good measure. After over 130 years, this was simply a case of the haves versus
the have nots. People with no economic background stealing from others is basically all it was and this coup would be the beginning of
the end for Liberia. She would not recover for nearly 30 years.
While Detained
Burleigh Holder, Minister of Defense, who survived the ordeal described their treatment just after the coup while in custody and awaiting
trial or execution:
Within a few days of my imprisonment, sixteen of us, prisoners, were called out to dig holes in the grounds of the prison. I was told to dig a
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hole ten by ten feetwe were handed a shovel each rifles began firing all around me so close to my body that sand was thrown up onto
[me]By this time a crowd of at least four to five thousand people had gathered in the open field
around, all derisively gazing at the spectacleI was ordered to strip buck naked while digginga soldier advanced to the partial dugout and
emptied a potty of human feces into it, and he ordered me to eat itEach mouthful was mixed with sand, and I was forced to swallow it.
While detained and crowded together in their cells, the doomed ministers and officials seemed resigned to their fate. They had been
mistreated and starved for ten days. In the few videos that exist during their confinement, they all look like soulless and ghostly images,
forever regretting why they did not attempt to make a run for it. Worse than that, they had no news of what was happening to their
families, their wives and their children. One could only ask God to die in this type of situation, this type of Hell on Earth. Recent Truth
and Reconciliation Hearings have produced a witness from the prison who had run errands for the men, such as picking up money for
bribes for guards for better food and treatment, to delivering and retrieving notes to and from their families. This witness claims that one
note from Frank Tolbert was so long as to take up an entire roll of toilet paper. The witness had to flush it down the toilet though, due to
fear of being caught by another guard who may have seen the exchange.
The Trials
Frank Senkpenni (Sembeni? I have seen it spelled both ways), was an army colonel and the judge who presided over the kangaroo court
trials. He is seen in the famous video telling the defendants to keep it short with their answers. Most defendants tried to briefly discuss
their contributions to the Liberian people, as a clerk typed away on a typewriter taking their testimony and minutes. The court also asked
each man how many houses, lots and businesses they owned. Again, the haves versus the have nots in full effect, the indigenous
Liberians versus the Americo-Liberian. It was pure class struggle at its finest.
There is a strange photo showing Frank Tolbert, older brother of William Tolbert, laughing and enjoying a Fanta soda pop with soldiers
either before or after the courtroom proceedings. Frank must have been liked for his personality. Who knows what was going on there,
but he would be dead within days.
The Executions
Ten days later after the coup, and following a puppet show trial headed by a military panel of the PRC, Cecil Dennis and twelve other
government officials were taken to a beach, a block south of the Barclay army barracks west of the Executive Mansion, and murdered in
front of screaming crowds of jubilant indigenous Liberian citizens. It was a nightmarish scenario and the video is on youtube if you dare
to watch it.
Cecil Dennis faced death very bravely, staring at his killers while awaiting his fate. When he mouthed a prayer before being shot, a
soldier loudly shouted You lie! You dont know God! After the order to fire was given, his drunken executioner may have winged him but
the other bullets missed altogether, splashing into the Atlantic Ocean behind him. He was the only person still alive after the first barrage
of gunfire. Two more soldiers finally approached and sprayed Cecil with an Uzi and pistol at point blank range, hitting him in the face,
body and head, until he was deceased. Each man was later hit with 50 or 60 extra bullets by the drunken soldiers.
Oddly enough, after the execution, Doe called for Cecil Dennis to be brought to the Executive Mansion because Doe had questions
about certain foreign affairs. Cecil Dennis was already dead. Executed. In the days prior, Doe was shown the execution list but never
fully read the list of those to be executed. Either Doe was only semi-literate or obviously did not bother to read everything put in front of
him. The court recommended death for only three men: Chief Justice, James A.A. Pierre; Speaker of the House, Richard Henries; and
Frank Tolbert, President of the rubber stamp Liberian Senate. However, there was space on the page showing the remaining men below
as getting prison terms or other sentences. Regardless of whether he read the list or not, Doe may have simply said to kill them all to
avoid them starting a counter-coup. It could also have been a misunderstanding, especially since not enough poles were installed on the
beach to begin with and more poles had to be brought in later, further delaying the executions that day. This makes the entire story even
that more bizarre. Thus, that is west Africa for youand as always, simply bizarre.
The Others
Four men had to wait on the bus, while the first nine were being shot. P. Clarence Parker Jr., one of the four prisoners on the bus, smiled
and waved weakly to a reporter who had interviewed him in February. Parker had been one of the harshest critics of the corruption that
riddled the Tolbert government, but he had also been treasurer of the ruling True Whig Party and a millionaire paint manufacturer.
Parker, with the three others, walked quickly to a pole, faced the firing squad and smiled slightly before a single shot cut him down. As
the cheering civilians surged forward, the spectator soldiers sprayed all 13 bodies with automatic rifle fire, replacing their ammunition
clips as they emptied one after another.
A few of the other men executed that day included former Justice Minister Joseph Chesson; former True Whig Party Chairman E.
Reginald Townsend; former Chief Justice James A. A. Pierre and former Budget Director Frank J. Stewart. All died very stoically and
seemed resigned to their fate. There were several elderly men being killed that day, and one of them was Frank Tolbert. Frank was
President William Tolberts older brother. Mr. Tolbert was the smallest in stature and as his shaky legs gave out, he slouched as the
shots rang out and killed him. While still tied to the pole, his small frame was nearly sitting on the ground as he lay dying with drool
running out of his mouth. A foreign journalist stated that Richard Henries and Frank Tolbert had already died of a heart attack or had both
passed out somehow before being shot.
Conclusion
The deaths of these men came following a coup that ended a belated effort to reform an archaic system of government that had for too
long held on to century-old concepts that only the propertied should rule and have access to power. That system was swept away as
Liberia was thrust violently into 20th century Africa. Attempts at reform came too late and at an extremely high price.
Quite possibly the real reason all of the officials were killed was because Samuel Doe and the PRC decided that with their powerful
friends, connections and resources, these men could easily stage a foreign backed counter-coup. They may have been right.
The lack of sympathy shown by the Liberian people during the executions helped fuel the brutality of the coming Civil War. Charles
Taylors NPFL was supported by the likes of Sirleaf, Liberians in exile and people with a grudge against Doe and his cronies. In 1989,
the executions were by no means forgotten. The Civil War and the tribal grudges punished the Liberian people, and not by coincidence.
Karma was at work again in Liberia. Karma is very patient.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was Minister of Finance, states that she believes her survival after the coup was only because her mother
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gave Doe and his men a drink of water one day, either when they were kids or as soldiers. This is what Doe told her after the coup.
Knowing her own mother, she feels that this was probably true. They asked for water, and her mother, an Americo-Liberian woman in a
big house, gave them some water. The guys were thirsty and she was a kind person. That is the only reason she survived, it was that
simple. Other ministers survived for similarly simply reasons. One of Sirleafs relatives was locked up for months after coup, simply
because he laughed at Chea Cheapo, when he lost his seat in Congress after only serving one term. The PRC and Doe made many life
or death decisions on a personal level. That was that.
I have studied world politics for a long time, and this event is one of the most bizarre and surreal things that I have ever seen on video or
even read about. It seems that the world has forgotten about it, or maybe they just know how politics and coups can be in west Africa. It
is a real shame. If karma is a bitch, then it is hard to have sympathy for Samuel Doe and what eventually happened to him. It is very
fitting that he and his cohorts all died extremely violent deaths, as they were mostly killed by others involved in this coup, and in very
gruesome ways. In many ways, Does government was more corrupt and evil than Tolberts ever was.
In Memoriam
To honor him, a section of the Foreign Ministry Building is named after Cecil Dennis in Monrovia, Liberia. There are a few other places
and things in Liberia named after these other men. Since these murders occurred over 32 years ago, there have been several
ceremonies in Liberia and in the USA honoring Dennis and the other members of Tolberts cabinet who were murdered that day. It is a
very sad story and I feel very badly for the families and for the innocent people of Liberia. Their country has suffered so much since this
happened and it really NEVER should have happened. Doe ignored pleas from America and other Western countries asking to spare the
lives of these men.
Sources:
Wikipedia C. Cecil Dennis bio

The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
The Liberian Civil War by Mark Huband
Youtube video of the execution
Liberian Soldiers Taunt, Shoot 13 Former Leaders
Gerald R. Ford Memorial Library

TLCAfrica.com
The Advocates for Human Rights Human Rights Abuses During the Rice Riots and Doe Era
The Victoria Advocate. April 30, 1980. US Asylum Wasnt Sought By Liberians.
Photo Gallery
Cecil Dennis awaiting execution. This photo won a Pulitzer Prize.
Cecil Dennis with other Liberians saying

goodbye to President Ford in 1976
C. Cecil Dennis during

happier times
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C. Cecil Dennis (tall man in white) at the White House in 1976 with President Gerald Ford and
Liberian President William Tolbert
Zolu Jallah 7:19 am on January 29, 2013

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This was gruesome and I hope and pray our country will not go thru such a barbaric situation again. I pray for the souls of those who lost their
lives in the firing squad.
shariff ashanti 3:45 am on February 5, 2013
Thanks, but the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. Tolbert was lynched, crucified, for opposing US corporate interests. 300 CIA agents
in Monrovia (regional CIA hub) at any given time, plus the US Military Mission, and we didnt know?
Just Someone 4:07 pm on February 25, 2013

Thank you for putting together all the pieces of an episode in history that has largely been forgotten oustide of Liberia. Doe was welcomed to the
White House by Reagan not too long after this extrajudicial brutality was played out. Over the ensuing years, the US propped up Does corrupt
regime, arguably enabling the breeding ground of hatred that boiled over into two truly horrific civil wars.
John 12:20 am on August 21, 2013
Youre welcome, my friend.
Daniel 10:32 pm on September 24, 2013

It is said that when Cicil Dennis was on that hot bus at the beach, waiting for his execution, one of the elderly government officials was having a
difficult time, getting his legs together, to leave the bus for the firing squad. This is understandable and I will not mention his name. It was Cicil
who assisted him saying, Come on old man, it is our time. This is a testament to Cicils bravery and giving of himself right up to his death.
Understand that Old Man in Liberia is a term of respect. My father knew Cicil and I went to the American Cooperative school with his twin
boys. I was the dependent son of a foreign service officer during a two year tour in Monrovia between 1978-1980. I lived across the dirt road
from the house that was the French Embassy. Many very strange things happened during that time in my life there. Too many to mention, I have
contemplated writing a book about it. I was 16 years old. You are right John, there is little known and much false information about this history.
Time magazine even had gross errors on the topic shortly after it happened. Liberia was likened by the U.S. as good geographic location for the
V.O.A. or hub for C.I.A. information gathering. Ahh Liberia, 350 miles of golden sand and only two beaches that were barely swimmable do to
heavy under currents and rip tides. I am interested that you have not been to Liberia and have such an interest. Contact me if you would like to
discuss anything about this poor country that has been left behind.
John 11:11 pm on September 24, 2013
Thanks Daniel. I appreciate your kind words. Although I have read a lot about Liberia, I am most fascinated with the Tolbert administration,
during the 1970s. The 70s were a very cool time for me as a kid in Texas, and I love the few old photos that I have found of Liberia and
Monrovia from the 1970s. It was also the last decade of peace and stability that Liberia would have for some time. Please share some photos
or links if you have them.
Thanks again!
John
daniel 12:16 am on September 25, 2013
The 70s were a cool time for me too growing up in Fairfax, Virginia, Rome, Italy, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and of course Monrovia, Liberia.
Helene Coopers book The House at Sugar Beach is an excellent book if you have not read that already. Helene was a couple class grades
behind me at the A.C.S. I dont have many pictures but will see what I can dig up, wish we had smart phones back then. I remember passing
Tolberts mansion on the small school bus and remarking to my best friend Todd how weak The Presidents security looked. A couple of
soldiers with M-1 garands standing out side is all I remember being in sight. We discussed our tactics as 16 year old boys might jokingly do.
We had no idea. I do not think many people did aside from Samual Doe and his bold rag tag band of a few dozen soldiers. I feel the U.S.
government was as surprised as everyone, the V.O.A. had no idea what was stirring in the back yard so to speak. Anyway, that would be the
beginning of the end for Liberia and its surrounding neighbors. Not that Liberia did not have corruption or other large problems. But the
maiming and killing to follow made Liberia of the 70s much more favorable. The area has so much potential. It would be nice to visit someday.
John 12:19 am on September 25, 2013
Yes, Sir. I am dying to visit! Its more stable now, although a guide and hired car is probably desired, just due to street crime, etc.
angelique 8:32 am on December 20, 2013

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I just saw the footage of the beach execution in Liberia. The last time I saw it was when I was almost eight years old, watching it with my
parents, in London in 1980. I have never forgotten the impact of watching those men being executed. Especially Cecil Dennis. There was a
nobleness and dignity about him, and the way he faced death, and took such an onslaught of god only knows how many bullets. Even the
Faces of Death director Conan Le Cilaire (whose said the film crew braved the insanity on the beach in Liberia at great personal risk to
themselves) emphasized the way Cecil Dennis held on to life with such tenacity, that even in the face of taking so many bullets, he stood tall the
longest and was the last to die. Even in his last moments alive on that beach, his presence and spirit came through to me as child, and again
today. I could not help but be personally touched and extremely shocked and sad at what happened to him on April 22nd, 1980. It will live with
me forever.
John 9:34 am on December 20, 2013
It is truly heartbreaking Angelique. I cant imagine. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. This deserves to be remembered. No matter what.
Yours,
John
daniel 12:33 am on September 25, 2013

I hope you get to go there soon. Be careful at Sugar, or Coopers beach the current and undertows are killers. A guide and hired car is an
excellent idea. I was pretty adventurous and even back then things turned pretty ugly pretty quick but managed to pay my way out of it, money
belt might be wise, or I just ran like hell. A little dash went a long way back then. That would be a bribe. It seemed to speed up every service
you could think of, the diplomats were aware of it and passed the fact on to others when they arrived.
John 12:43 am on September 25, 2013
Daniel,
To bookend the Liberian saga, I sort of did a Sam Doe post as well.describing what happened to him on the last day of his life. There was a
lot of bad info out there, and thus I wanted to set the record straight. See link:
http://wonderland1981.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/the-last-day-on-earth-for-liberian-president-samuel-k-doe/
Tom 12:57 pm on November 19, 2013

A very interesting account.
I visited Monrovia just before and just after the executions. I clearly recall the poles in the sand at the beach.
While there before the coup I observed many people jogging. I mentioned this to a friend who said the people were told to get in shape for the
revolution .
While in Buchanan a longshoreman told me that Doe was a longshoreman also but felt he could make more money in the army.
John 3:05 am on November 21, 2013
Thanks Tom, that is great info about Doe and your experience in Liberia.
KMcclain 5:12 am on February 28, 2014

John, thanks for writing. My father is a survivor of that whole ordeal. He was Tolberts minister of Information. Johnny McClain. He has first hand
accounts for all the events you listed and one of the few ministers that survived that is still alive. After the coup, he went on to have a long career
at UNESCO and hes back in Sirleafs government as they remained friends.
John 6:14 am on February 28, 2014
Thank you for the update. That is good to hear.

John
koos kwaku 9:42 pm on August 5, 2014

Doe was heartless no wonder he was tortured and murdered cruely
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The Beach and the Pole The Execution of C. Cecil Dennis, Jr. | Won...

John 1:03 am on June 30, 2012

Born 1931, Montserrado County, Liberia

Wikipedia C. Cecil Dennis bio

Gerald R. Ford Memorial Library

Cecil Dennis awaiting execution. This photo won a Pulitzer Prize.

Cecil Dennis with other Liberians saying

C. Cecil Dennis during

Zolu Jallah 7:19 am on January 29, 2013

Just Someone 4:07 pm on February 25, 2013

Youre welcome, my friend.

Daniel 10:32 pm on September 24, 2013

angelique 8:32 am on December 20, 2013

daniel 12:33 am on September 25, 2013

Tom 12:57 pm on November 19, 2013

KMcclain 5:12 am on February 28, 2014

Thank you for the update. That is good to hear.

koos kwaku 9:42 pm on August 5, 2014

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