Tweet
If you ever thought there was civilization in West Africa think again. This jungle bunny feasted on a child’s heart.
He said the sacrifices "included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat."
There had been numerous rumours of human sacrifices during the 1979-93 conflict but this is the first time anyone has admitted publicly to the practice.
Mr Blahyi, 37, is better known in Liberia as "General Butt Naked" because he went into combat with no clothes on, to scare the enemy.
He is now an Evangelist preacher, who prefers to use the name Joshua.
He was speaking to the BBC, after telling Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that his forces had killed 20,000 people.
Forgiveness
Mr Blahyi said he had first become exposed to killings in 1982 when, at the age of 11, he was ordained "the traditional priest of my tribe."
He explained that when a rebellion broke out against President Samuel Doe, he had to go to war on behalf of the president, as they were from the same Krahn ethnic group.
He fought against the militia of Charles Taylor, currently on trial for war crimes in The Hague.
As the traditional priest, he says he persuaded the "hesitant" political leaders of his faction to make a human sacrifice before going into battle.
"They asked me to do it in secret; but some of the sacrifices are supposed to be as a ceremony; so my boys and I made some of the sacrifices in the open."
Mr Blahyi did not say where they had found the children to be killed.
He said he thought that confessing to what he had done and asking for forgiveness could help heal the country's wounds.
"I have been looking for an opportunity to tell the true story about my life; and every time I tell people my story, I feel relieved," he said, drinking a bottle of tomato juice in the capital, Monrovia.
While asking for forgiveness, Mr Blahyi says he's ready for whatever the TRC decides to do to him. "I could be electrocuted, I could be hanged," he said. "But I think forgiveness and reconciliation is the right way to go." Yes, indeed, I bet he does.
However, and there is always an “However” we must not judge him too harshly because now he has found Christ and is an evangelical preacher. His past is behind him and, if he were to become an ex-negro, and a True Christian™ he could still find himself in the arms of Jesus.
Milton Blahyi, a former feared rebel commander in Liberia's brutal civil war, has admitted to taking part in human sacrifices as part of traditional ceremonies intended to ensure victory in battle.
He said the sacrifices "included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat."
There had been numerous rumours of human sacrifices during the 1979-93 conflict but this is the first time anyone has admitted publicly to the practice.
Mr Blahyi, 37, is better known in Liberia as "General Butt Naked" because he went into combat with no clothes on, to scare the enemy.
He is now an Evangelist preacher, who prefers to use the name Joshua.
He was speaking to the BBC, after telling Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that his forces had killed 20,000 people.
Forgiveness
Mr Blahyi said he had first become exposed to killings in 1982 when, at the age of 11, he was ordained "the traditional priest of my tribe."
He explained that when a rebellion broke out against President Samuel Doe, he had to go to war on behalf of the president, as they were from the same Krahn ethnic group.
He fought against the militia of Charles Taylor, currently on trial for war crimes in The Hague.
As the traditional priest, he says he persuaded the "hesitant" political leaders of his faction to make a human sacrifice before going into battle.
"They asked me to do it in secret; but some of the sacrifices are supposed to be as a ceremony; so my boys and I made some of the sacrifices in the open."
Mr Blahyi did not say where they had found the children to be killed.
He said he thought that confessing to what he had done and asking for forgiveness could help heal the country's wounds.
"I have been looking for an opportunity to tell the true story about my life; and every time I tell people my story, I feel relieved," he said, drinking a bottle of tomato juice in the capital, Monrovia.
However, and there is always an “However” we must not judge him too harshly because now he has found Christ and is an evangelical preacher. His past is behind him and, if he were to become an ex-negro, and a True Christian™ he could still find himself in the arms of Jesus.
Comment