Man who ate children's hearts seeks forgiveness

A former feared rebel commander in Liberia’s civil war, has openly admitted to taking part in human sacrifices.

Milton Blahyi, 37 said "these traditional ceremonies were intended to secure victory in battle and 'included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat."

Mr Blahyi, is better known in Liberia as 'General Butt Naked' because he would go into combat with no clothes on, to scare the enemy. However, he is now said to have changed his life around and is now an Evangelist preacher, preferring to be called Joshua.

In an interview with the BBC, he said that he told Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that his forces had killed 20,000 people.

He said that at the age of 11 he was ordained as the traditional priest of his tribe and this was when he was first exposed to the killings. 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 ethnic group.

He revealed that 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."

So why confess to all these crimes now?

Mr Blahyi said that he stopped fighting in 1996, when as he was running into battle naked, God confirmed in his heart that he was doing Satan's work. 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. "I now preach against murder and making human sacrifices. Some people see me and congratulate me. Others see me and say I should not be walking down the streets of Monrovia posing proud. But I continue to tell such people I am not proud, I am ashamed."

Mulbah Morlue, who heads the Forum for the Establishment of a War Crimes Court in Liberia , "If you have an individual admitting that he and his group killed over 20,000 people, certainly there should be a mechanism put in place for such people to face justice,"

Although Mr Blahyi is asking for forgiveness he says he's ready for whatever the authorities decide 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."

If this man is truly sorry for what he has done, should be still pay for all the murders? Post your opinion on the forum now.

Released on Friday, 8th February 2008