“Remove Yourself from My Husband’s Memorial Service” -Nancy Doe Says Sen. Pennue Has No Authority over Doe’s Memorialization

MONROVIA – The former First Lady of the Liberia, Mrs. Nancy B. Doe, whose husband, President Samuel Kanyon Doe, was brutally murdered on September 9, 1990, has issued a stern warning to Grand Gedeh County Senator Zoe Emmanuel Pennue to immediately halt a supposed Military Traditional Memorial Service he is reportedly planning for the slain Liberian President.

In a strongly worded statement issued Thursday, April 3, 2025, Mrs. Doe said her attention was drawn to reports that Senator Pennue, “man who has continuously sought to advance his own sinister agenda under the guise of honoring Liberia’s fallen leader, the late President Samuel Kanyon Doe, Sr. We wish to make it abundantly and categorically clear that no individual or group of individuals, especially led by Senator Zoe Emmanuel Pennue, has the right to interfere with my husband’s remains without the expressed approval and involvement of myself and our appointed spiritual leader.”

According to Mrs. Doe, Senator Zoe Emmanuel Pennue is from the Pennue family and bloodline which makes him a nephew and son to the sister to the late president, therefore he has no rightful claim or authority over the Doe family when she, the widow of former President Doe, as well as her children, are still alive.

“He must cease his unwarranted, illegal and unauthorized interference in matters that concern my family, especially that of the remains of my late husband. The Doe family— consisting of myself, our children, and our direct bloodline—has been working closely with His Excellency President Joseph Boakai’s government to ensure that my husband receives a dignified and rightful reburial. A reburial date will be announced in due course by the appropriate authorities, and no unauthorized actions by Zoe Emmanuel Pennue will be tolerated.

“It is appalling that Zoe Emmanuel Pennue, a man who has relentlessly tormented my children and me, is now inserting himself into this solemn matter. This is the same individual who has openly declared over the years, ‘That’s why Samuel doesn’t have a grave, and I will make sure in my capacity as a lawmaker and senior government official that he will never have a grave.’ Such statements and many others against the late president and ourselves exposed his malicious intent, and it is utterly unacceptable that someone harboring such hostility is involved in any capacity with my husband’s reburial activities.

“We demand that Zoe Emmanuel Pennue immediately remove himself from ANY and ALL activities related to my husband’s remains and allow the Doe family, in collaboration with the Liberian government, to carry out the reburial with dignity and respect. Any further unauthorized actions by Zoe Emmanuel Pennue will be met with full legal resistance.

“The Doe family stands firm in ensuring that my husband receives the honorable resting place he deserves, free from interference and spiritual manipulation,” Mrs. Doe warned sternly.

It can be recalled that President Boakai on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 constituted a National Committee for the reburial of Presidents William R. Tolbert, Jr. and Samuel Kanyon Doe. The committee was tasked to oversee the proper reburial of former Presidents William R. Tolbert, Jr. and Samuel Kanyon Doe.