In the early hours of the morning (On April 12, 1980, 17 non-commissioned officers and soldiers from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) stormed the Executive Mansion in Monrovia, and President William R. Tolbert Jr. of Liberia was overthrown by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe. This event marked the end of 133 years of political dominance by the Americo-Liberian elite and the beginning of indigenous rule under a military junta.
Accounts of Tolbert’s death vary; some reports suggest he was killed in his bed, while others state he was found and shot in his office. He was reportedly shot three times in the head.
Following the takeover, Samuel Doe announced the formation of the People’s Redemption Council (PRC), with himself as chairman and head of state.
Along with President Tolbert, 27 other supporters and security personnel were killed during the initial fighting and buried in a mass grave.
The coup was driven by deep-seated resentment from the indigenous majority against the Americo-Liberian minority, who controlled most of the country’s wealth and political institutions.
Unpopular agricultural reforms and a proposed increase in the price of rice had led to the 1979 Rice Riots, severely damaging Tolbert’s credibility.
Coup leaders cited “rampant corruption” and the government’s failure to handle the people’s affairs as primary reasons for the takeover.
Ten days later, on April 22, 1980, 13 high-ranking officials from Tolbert’s administration—including his brother Frank and Chief Justice James A.A. Pierre—were publicly executed by firing squad on a beach in Monrovia.
The PRC suspended the constitution, dissolved political parties, and released political prisoners previously jailed by Tolbert.
While initially popular with the indigenous population, Doe’s regime eventually became authoritarian and ethnically divisive, contributing to the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War in 1989.
Samuel Doe justified his 1980 coup by accusing President William Tolbert and his administration of several systemic “excesses” that marginalized the indigenous population.
Doe cited widespread government corruption and “misuse of public offices” as a primary reason for the takeover.
The Tolbert regime was accused of gross violations, specifically the “ruthless suppression” of peaceful protestors during the 1979 Rice Riots, where over 100 people were killed.
Doe targeted the Americo-Liberian elite’s 133-year monopoly on power, accusing Tolbert of using family ties (such as the business practices of his brother, Stephen Tolbert) to “gobble up” businesses and marginalize native entrepreneurs.
This was a formal charge used by Doe’s People’s Redemption Council to justify the subsequent public execution of 13 senior cabinet members.
Doe highlighted the vast disparity where a small minority (roughly 7% of the population) controlled 60% of Liberia’s GDP, effectively excluding the indigenous majority from political and economic participation.
