Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu (1946 – April 12, 2020), also known as Tom Woewiyu or Thomas Smith, was the former leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), with Charles Taylor.
Woewiyu served as Defense Minister from 1989 to 1996 and Spokesman for the NPFL a rebel faction deemed responsible for over 60,000 violations, consisting of war crimes such as rape, slavery, conscription of child soldiers, and massacres, during Liberia's First Civil War (1989 - 1996).[1] Woewiyu has held legal permanent resident status in the United States since 1972. There, he founded the Association for Constitutional Democracy in Liberia (ACDL) among the Liberian expatriate community in the U.S., an organization that advocated against the regime of the Samuel Doe, then President of Liberia. Woewiyu is also known for, at times, speaking out publicly against two former Liberian presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Charles Taylor.
Upon Woewiyu's return from a visit to Liberia, he was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport accused of lying on immigration applications by omitting his role and authority within the NPFL.
Notably, the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended that Thomas Woewiyu not take public office for thirty years based on his association in warring factions during the First Liberian Civil War.[2]
- ^ "Legal Monitoring of the Woewiyu case | Civitas Maxima". Civitas Maxima. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
- ^ "VOLUME II: CONSOLIDATED FINAL REPORT" (PDF). Republic of Liberia - Truth and Reconciliation Commission.