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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2008
In Monrovia, the capital of the West African state of Liberia, Richard K. Sleboe, a Kru tribesman from Sinoe County and previously a Jehovah's Witness, founded in June 1970 the Kingdom Assembly Church of Africa. This came to be popularly known as the ‘Never—Die Church’ from its most distinguishing belief, namely that a true believer will never physically die but will live on this earth forever.
1 Sleboe wrote in English, but this was not his first language and his thought is sometimes hard to understand. In quoting him, I have left his expressions untouched, except to put his biblical references in parentheses.
2 Sleboe mentions ‘Jehovah God and ten other gods ruling over the system of laws’, and refers to eating divisions (refusing to eat together), sanitorial divisions (refusing to sleep together), and denominational divisions (refusing to serve God together). In the previously mentioned document, dated 11 August 1978, Sleboe names the seven heavens as sumutri, wantonoi, trumyn, beigamu, trigamu, deidu, and bugamata. Such references seem to indicate that he was deriving ideas from elsewhere, but I have been unable to identify their source.
3 Sleboe had always called himself Counsellor (from Isaiah 9:6) and Comforter (from John 14: 16), and it seems that in time he gave these titles more and more content until he understood himself to be God. As explained by a follower, who later came to reject his claim to divinity: ‘At the time we had no reason to reject him. He would not accept criticism any way, saying that if he was not God, God would punish him’.
4 Daily Star (Monrovia), 7 07 1986.Google Scholar
5 Ibid.
6 This was one of the very few apocalyptic texts used by the Never–Die Christians, albeit merely to show that Sleboe's calling himself God had been foretold. Their thinking was definitely not apocalyptic—that is, it was not because they thought Jesus was returning soon that they believed they would never die. They never referred to His return or to the end of things at all.
7 Daily Observer (Monrovia), 14 03 1988.Google Scholar
8 A member of the Church wrote on 29 February 1988 to the Acting Superintendent of Nimba County alleging that a paramount chief had sent a group of soldiers to their area to cause trouble. Ibid. 15 March 1988.
9 Ibid. 31 January 1989.
10 He claimed not to have had an accident during the 19 years he had been driving for the U.S. embassy, and recounted how he had resisted filling out insurance forms, as required, by arguing that it was impossible for him to have an accident.
The operation of God can naw begin; God's Kingdom will be preached all round the world … Our obligation [is] to extend throughout the world. [Our visitor] will take it back to England…It is not impossible for white man to come from London. Spent his own money to come Out here. This is the love Jesus spoke about… [We are] simple poor people but [it is] revealed to us. You passed by cathedrals, you came into the bush for us. [It was] prophesised that people come from north, south, east, and west. You came.
11 Sleboe obviously involved himself from time to time in national affairs. In a document addressed to the President, dated 14 January 1980, Sleboe called himself the ‘vision messenger in your administration’. Entitled ‘The Golden Program of our beloved and dependable President William R. Tolbert Jr’, this contained nothing about eternal life, but suggested ways of achieving total involvement in agriculture — effectively by making the Counties compete against one another.
12 For these facts and more about Liberia, see Wreh, Tuan, The Love of Liberty…The Rule of President William V. S. Tubman in Liberia, 1944–1971 (London, 1976);Google ScholarLiebenow, J. Gus, Liberia: the quest for democracy (Bloomington, IN, 1987);Google Scholar and Dunn, D. Elwood and Tarr, S. Byron, Liberia: a national polity in transition (Metuschen, NJ, and London, 1988).Google Scholar