Samuel Doe- Liberia

Chief Executive, Samuel Doe. He'd fallen into the hands of Prince Johnson, one of Charles Taylor's allies in the battle to unseat him. Johnson had President Doe stripped to his underpants and then barked into the camera, 'That man won't talk! Bring me his ear!' The cameraman did a jerky about-face in time to catch Johnson's guys holding down the President and slicing off his left ear.

'Now the other ear,' ordered Johnson. 'The right ear.' So the boys removed the right one. Then they made the President eat them. But the lads kept the best bits for themselves. They removed His Excellency's genitals and then fought over them, in the belief that the 'powers' and 'manhood' of the person whose parts you're eating are transferred to the eater.