By Jerromie S. Walters
Monrovia, June 9, 2025 – Veronica Mamie Doe, daughter of the late First Lady Nancy Ghanyea Bohn Doe, has returned a donation of two cows, 50 bags of rice, and 1 million Liberian dollars (approximately $5,000 USD) given to her family by former President George Weah. The gesture came less than 24 hours after Weah presented the items during a condolence visit to the Doe residence on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
Weah, accompanied by a few supporters of his Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party, had offered the assistance as part of his pledge to support the funeral arrangements for Madam Nancy Doe, who passed away on May 21, 2025, following a prolonged illness. During his visit, the former president expressed sympathy, stating, “On behalf of the CDC, my wife, and my family, I say ‘sorry.’” He further emphasized unity, saying, “I treated Nancy Doe with respect. We should not let anything come between us. We are one people. We need peace.”
Despite his appeal, the Doe family rejected the donation. Madam Nancy Doe, born in 1949 in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, rose to prominence after marrying Samuel Doe, then a military officer, in the late 1960s. Following the 1980 coup that brought her husband to power, she became First Lady and championed women’s empowerment, founding the National Market Women’s Association and establishing the Nancy B. Doe Market in Sinkor. She also facilitated scholarship opportunities for Liberian students at Chicago State University during a 1983 U.S. visit.
After Samuel Doe’s execution in 1990 and the outbreak of Liberia’s civil wars, Nancy fled into exile but returned after the conflict. In 2016, she sued the Liberian government at the ECOWAS Court, demanding access to her late husband’s frozen assets. The court ruled in her favor in 2019, ordering the government to pay her $18 million in compensation.
Her funeral arrangements are being coordinated by the family and the Liberian government, though the recent rejection of Weah’s donation suggests underlying political friction. Observers speculate whether the move reflects broader discontent with the CDC or personal grievances held by the Doe family.
