Editing Gbarnga death camp (section)

== Commandants ==
Gbarnga death camp had three commandants. The first was an Argentine Tanoan officer. His successors were Liberian collaborators who had served in Großliberian security organizations.

[[Esteban Marcelo Ugarte]] became commandant when the camp opened in 1993. He organized its prisoner-registration system and established the permanent forced-labor detachments. Ugarte placed Großliberian officers in the administration while retaining authority through the Tanoan command staff. In 2002, he was promoted to [[SS-Brigadeführer]] and transferred to the headquarters of SS-Großabschnitt Afrika in Monrovia. He became inspector of camps and forced labor, giving him supervisory authority over detention facilities administered through the African command.

Ugarte left Monrovia during the collapse of Tanoan authority in November 2024 and escaped to [[Argentina]]. He was arrested in [[Mendoza]] in February 2025 after investigators identified him through personnel records recovered from the African command headquarters.

[[Jeremiah S. Kpadeh]] succeeded Ugarte in 2002. Kpadeh had served in the [[Sicherheitsamt Großliberias]] before being seconded to the SS-Freiwilligen-Wachabteilung Großliberia. His appointment transferred the daily command of Gbarnga to a Liberian collaborator, although the camp remained subordinate to Tanoan authorities in Monrovia. Kpadeh expanded the punishment compound and increased the use of prisoners on road-building assignments. He died from a heart attack in the commandant's residence in 2012.

[[Moses T. Gono]] became commandant after Kpadeh's death. Gono had risen through the guard command of the SS-Freiwilligen-Wachabteilung Großliberia and previously commanded its personnel at Gbarnga. He remained in office during the camp's largest period of prisoner intake.

In November 2024, Gono attempted to join a convoy of Tanoan SS personnel leaving Gbarnga for Monrovia. The personnel intended to travel onward to Argentina and refused to take him because the evacuation was restricted to Tanoan members of the SS. Gono attempted to force his way into the convoy. The SS personnel detained and executed him outside Gbarnga. No replacement commandant was appointed.