Category Archives: Liberia

Had the Dutch justice system forgotten Kouwenhoven?

Posted on 15 September 2026 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Dutch journalist Bram Vermeulen, who is exceptionally well-informed about Guus Kouwenhoven, wrote an interesting and highly recommended article which was published by one of the main Dutch newspapers, de Volkskrant, ‘Guus Kouwenhoven was on the run longer than Bolle Jos. … Continue reading →

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Fugitive convicted war criminal Guus Kouwenhoven died a free man – cont’d

Posted on 9 September 2026 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

A must-read is the Daily Observer article ‘Guus Kouwenhoven is Dead‘, with sub-title ‘Convicted war-crimes financier and “Timber Emperor”, dies at 84 without serving his 19-year sentence, leaving Liberia to reckon with the human and environmental cost of “blood timber”. … Continue reading →

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Fugitive convicted war criminal Guus Kouwenhoven died a free man

Posted on 7 September 2026 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Dutch ‘businessman’ Guus Kouwenhoven, the fugitive convicted war criminal and illegal arms dealer who was sentenced to 19 years in prison, died a free man on Sunday, September 6, his family announced. Kouwenhoven was the partner-in-crime of the notorious Liberian … Continue reading →

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Hail Liberia hail! Congrats on your 179th independence anniversary!

Posted on 26 July 2026 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

July 26, is the independence anniversary of Liberia, Africa’s first and oldest republic. Today, July 26, 2026, Liberia turns 179. Hail Liberia hail! The colonization adventure of a few thousand African-Americans – free-born Blacks and recently freed enslaved men, women … Continue reading →

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School in Paynesville, Greater Monrovia, expels Kindergarten pupil for alleged witchcraft

Posted on 20 March 2021 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

The following is a heartbreaking story. One of Liberia’s leading newspapers, the Daily Observer, on March 18, 2021 published an article, entitled ‘School Expels K-1 Pupil for Alleged Witchcraft’. To read the article click here. I was baffled. The administration … Continue reading →

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The USA in the 19th century: a far from homogeneous country

Posted on 4 December 2020 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

It’s the year 1839. In the southern states of the United States of America (the ‘slave states’) hundreds of thousands of black people are kept in bondage. On slave markets in these southern states human beings are sold as slaves, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1807, 1822, 1839, 1861, 1865, abolitionist, ACS, Africa, African-Americans, American Colonization Society, Anti-Slavery Society, Bassa Cove, colonization, Commonwealth of Liberia, discrimination, emigration, free-born, freed slaves, Liberia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mason-Dixon Line, Mississippi, Mississippi in Africa, Pennsylvania, repatriates, reward, runaway, slaves, United States, United States of America, Washington DC, WASP, West Africa | Comments Off on The USA in the 19th century: a far from homogeneous country

Liberia at 172 – Happy July 26 to you all!

Posted on 26 July 2019 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

 

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The Kouwenhoven extradition case: the umpteenth postponement. Why?

Posted on 16 April 2019 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

On April 12, 2019 the Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town again postponed the case. It was the umpteenth postponement. I nearly lost track of the previous delays. The Dutch authorities want Guus Kouwenhoven back in the Netherlands. In April 2017 a Dutch … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles Taylor, Emmanuel Shaw, George Weah, Guinea, Guus Kouwenhoven, Justice, Kouwenhoven, Liberia, rule of law, Sierra Leone, South Africa, war crimes | Comments Off on The Kouwenhoven extradition case: the umpteenth postponement. Why?

A trip back in history: the United States, 1851

Posted on 28 February 2019 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Arrest of a fugitive slave Browsing through old American newspapers searching for articles on the newly created republic of Liberia (1847), I read with a shock a headline that gave me goose pimples. “Arrest of Another Fugitive Slave” I read … Continue reading →

Posted in 1847, 1851, 1863, Abraham Lincoln, Afro-Americans, Barnet Anderson, civil rights, Columbia, discrimination, Emancipation Proclamation, fugitive slave, John Bolding, Liberia, New York, Poughkeepsie, racism, runaway slave, slavery, South Carolina, The New York Herald, United States | Comments Off on A trip back in history: the United States, 1851

Liberia’s rich biodiversity of flora and fauna

Posted on 24 October 2018 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

The other day I was preparing a powerpoint presentation on Liberia for a group of people interested in this country, but hardly familiar with it. For this purpose I was doing some research on Liberia’s flora and fauna and I … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Birds of Liberia', avifauna, bee-warbler, biodiversity, butterflies, butterfly, Choeropsis liberiensis, climate, fauna, fish, flora, Friedhelm Weick, Guinea, Hexaprotodon liberiensis, Ivory Coast, Liberia, mammals, Martin Woodcock, Monrovia, moths, ornithological paradise, pygmy hippo, pygmy hippopotamus, rainfall, rainforest, Sapo National Park, Sierra Leone, snake, snakes, tropical rainforest, West Africa, Wulf Gatter, www.telegraph.co.uk | Comments Off on Liberia’s rich biodiversity of flora and fauna