Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: My Two Escapes From Death

Refusal to Legitimize Samuel Doe

• 🎯 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf refused to take her senatorial seat after winning, along with her party, to avoid legitimizing Samuel Doe's administration.
• ⚠️ She believed the elections were rigged, despite Doe's attempt to appear legitimate with a narrow victory margin.
• 🚨 Sirleaf highlighted Doe's atrocious actions, including killings, looting, and stealing from the treasury.

First Escape from Death

• 🔑 After the coup, ministers were disemboweled and executed, but Sirleaf, as the only female minister, was spared direct killing due to a prevailing sentiment against killing women in Liberia at the time.
• 🩸 She narrowly escaped gang rape by soldiers, witnessing another young woman suffer this fate and holding her through the night.
• 🤝 Sirleaf successfully intervened to secure the release of her brother, who was among those captured, though 13 other cabinet members were executed.

Imprisonment and Second Escape

• ⛓️ Under Samuel Doe, Sirleaf was imprisoned for approximately 8 months after refusing her senatorial seat, having been sentenced to 10 years in a prison from which people typically did not return.
• 🌍 Her release was secured through international pressure, galvanized by her sister, friends in the West, and agitating women in Liberia, despite initial US pressure for her to accept the position.
• ✈️ Following her release, Sirleaf left Liberia again.