Former rebel general turned Evangelist Joshua Milton Blahyi alias "General Butt Naked" has established a paramilitary group ahead of the November 14, Presidential runoff vowing to protect Unity Party's (UP) votes by any means possible.
Blahyi who became famous in 1996 during Liberia's two decades long civil war, paramilitary group called "Rescued Soldiers" with the slogan "Don't try it", says his group will also boost the confidence of voters who fear that their votes will be allegedly stolen in favor of incumbent President George Weah in the runoff.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this paper Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at the Grassroots Development Movement (GDM) party headquarters in Congo Town during the party's endorsement of incumbent President Weah's fierce rival, Mr. Blahyi stressed that they were there to grace the ceremony, describing former vice president Boakai as a strategic presidential candidate.
"We have come to support a strategic coalition. We have come to bring our presence to a strategic coalition, we are talking about people that matter. For Appleton to join us today gives us confidence to protect the vote of the people. And so, we have come as the "Rescue Solider," the former rebel general said.
According to him, the objective of the Rescue Solider squad is to ensure that the people's votes are protected and to counter attacks.
"The goal of the Rescue Solider is to ensure that the people's votes are protected. But, most importantly, it is established for counterattacks. Every manipulative fraud, everything that the ruling CDC is planning to rig the election runoff. We came to tell them don't try it" he stated.
Joshua Milton Blahyi famously known as "General Butt Naked", is a Liberian Evangelist, Writer and former warlord best known for his actions during the First Liberian Civil War.
During the conflict, Blahyi led a group of soldiers which fought on the side of rebel group United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) before converting to Christianity and becoming a pastor in 1996.
Blahyi joined ULIMO, a rival militia group, and operated primarily around the Monrovia area. During the conflict, Blahyi and his men, a group of soldiers known as the Naked Base Commandos, fought without clothing and perpetrated numerous atrocities, including child sacrifice and cannibalism.
Blahyi abandoned his life as a warlord and turned to preaching after undergoing a religious conversion in 1996, attributing these actions to receiving a vision of Jesus. In 2008, Blahyi testified at the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, claiming that his victims numbered at least 20,000 individuals. The public testimony brought mixed reactions and led to international attention, leading Blahyi to be featured in several documentaries.
On Tuesday, the former warlord was spotted at the Grassroots Development Movement (GDM) party headquarters with several men.
Mr. Blahyi and his men dressed in dominant black entered the GDM premises in a black pickup with the inscription "Rescue Solider" with the slogan or motto " Don't try it".
The arrival of Mr. Blahyi and his men at the GDM headquarters all dressed in black was reminiscent of the country's dark days.
However, responding to questions concerning his dress code, the former warlord argued that nothing is more intimating than what CDC is doing to the Liberian people.
He believes that his presence along with his paramilitary group will give the voters and Liberian citizens confidence because they are afraid that when they vote, their votes will be stolen, something he said his presence and group are there to motivate Liberians to vote because their votes will be protected and not stolen.
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Also, responding to the establishment of the group and his history of war, Gen. Butt Naked said that his group means no harm, and the slogan " Don't try it" doesn't mean any harm because it doesn't represent a gun.
"So, what is bad about the slogan" Don't try it"? Is don't try it a gun, knife, or rocket. Don't try it is a declaration. It's a warning. Your questions to if something goes contrary to what I think, I want you to tell me something like what. When somebody goes contrary like how somebody tries to steal our votes, we will take our votes from them that's all. The way they will try to steal it is the way we will take it from them back. If they take if using foot we will use the same mean, hands, teeth, and if they use dot, dot, dot (dramatizing gun sound in his mouth) we will use the same means," he noted.
