Joshua Milton Blahyi, known infamously as “General Butt Naked,” has publicly declared an action of opposite reaction to disrupt the announced ‘July 17 nationwide protest.’
STAND, a local civil society organization, has promised to protest against the government, scheduled for July 17, 2025.
It is an acronym for “Stand Together Against National Decay; a coalition-driven protest movement calling for sweeping reforms in governance and national accountability.
But ‘Butt Naked, a former rebel commander-turned-evangelist, who gained notoriety as one of the fears rebel fighters during the country’s brutal civil war has promised to disrupt the ‘protest’ which he described as ‘so-called, masterminded by nonentities.”
The nationwide demonstration, organized by a coalition of civil society organizations, student bodies, and youth movements, reportedly aims to express widespread dissatisfaction over persistent corruption, bad governance, and economic hardships plaguing the nation.
During a live podcast on Sunday, July 6, Blahyi, now a self-proclaimed preacher of the gospel, denounced the protest as “dangerous, deceptive and potentially destabilizing.”
He promised to lead a community-based counter-campaign with the aim, particularly at the at-risk youths (Zogos), and drug-addicted individuals, commonly referred to as “Zogos” in a bid to dissuade them from participating in “a politically motivated and reckless action led by failed character.”
“This so-called protest is not about love for country; it is a trap designed to exploit the pain and frustration of our suffering young people,” Blahyi said.
Butt Naked Challenged: “We will not allow them to be used as pawns in a larger game of political manipulation.”
Blahyi’s message was streamed to thousands of viewers in the country and diaspora, sparking intense debate across social media and national radio programs.
His stance has placed him at the center of a complex national conversation on protest rights, postwar rehabilitation and the enduring influence of former war actors in the country’s fragile peace and democracy.
Joshua Blahyi rose to infamy as a battlefield commander in the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO-K), known for his brutal tactics during the country’s civil wars (1989 to 2003.)
He claimed to have led his soldiers into battle naked; a ritual he said, was “spiritually empowering.”
During his testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Blahyi confessed to participating in atrocities, including human sacrifices.
Since his widely publicized repentance and conversion to Christianity, he has founded the “End Time Train Evangelistic Ministries.” He has since then, committed himself to peacebuilding, youth rehabilitation and community outreach.
His work has focused, especially on drug-dependent youths in ghettos and slum communities; with some regarding him as a redeemer, while others continue to view him with skepticism.
With his latest vocal against the ‘STAND Protest,’ Blahyi is once again thrust into the public spotlight, this time, as a self-styled guardian of peace against a “misguided civic movement led by a Moluba Molu.”
Blahyi has meanwhile, planned to tour major urban slums and ghetto strongholds in Monrovia, Paynesville, Duala, and Kakata areas known for high concentrations of vulnerable and unemployed youths.