As a child in Liberia’s first civil war, Rustonlyn Dennis remembers seeing dead bodies in the street. In 1991, her immediate family managed to get out of the shattered capital, Monrovia, and survived, but a dozen relatives starved to death.

Civilians were attacked, child soldiers recruited and ethnic groups were targeted in that war, setting a pattern for many of the wars that were to follow on the African continent. Hundreds of thousands of people died.

Rustonlyn Dennis giving a speech during her electoral campaign. Photograph: Courtesy of Friends of Rustonlyn Suacoco Dennis

Like Dennis, now a legislator in the west African country’s parliament, most Liberians have a war story to tell. But decades later, a thorough reckoning has still not been had. The recommendations of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), published in 2009, have never been implemented, and former rebels and their associates have held some of the country’s highest offices.

The country’s president, George Weah, appears to be changing tack, however, writing to parliament in September to ask for advice on implementing the TRC recommendations including setting up the war crimes court that activists have long demanded, and telling the UN the country needs “closure” on the wounds of 14 years of war – though he stopped short of openly supporting the establishment of the war crimes court.

Dennis has been instrumental in pushing for a resolution on a bill calling for the establishment of such a court, hailed as one of Liberia’s first steps towards addressing the legacy of the civil wars.

“I feel all those souls that were lost – we should account for it,” she says. “If we don’t hold perpetrators accountable, we will have another war. People fought the war because of corruption, nepotism and greed. These things are happening again.”

Dennis says she has faced threats from former warlords because of her fight to bring perpetrators of past human rights violations to justice.

Momentum has built, with groups such as the Traditional Chiefs Council gradually coming on board. One of the recommendations of a recently held three-day National Economic Dialogue was to set up the court. At least 52 lawmakers signed the resolution, giving it the requisite support of two-thirds of the House of Representatives. However, recently the Speaker refused to include it on the House agenda, saying that members needed more time to consult their constituents.

After prolonged civil war, Liberians set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

The country’s Nobel prize-winning former president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, did not act on the TRC’s recommendations, including one that she, along with others, should not hold office for 30 years due to her support for war criminal-turned-president Charles Taylor early in his career.

Initially Weah showed every sign of following Sirleaf’s lead, despite having called for justice for those who recruited child soldiers 15 years ago.

Addressing the UN in September, however, Weah said he had changed his mind because of a “rising chorus of voices” calling for a tribunal, including, he said, “alleged perpetrators who seem to wish to clear their names”.

If we don’t set a precedent, there will always be bloodshed, there will always be killing. Rustonlyn Dennis, politician

Although he said he was at a loss to understand why there was such clamour for the court now and not before, he said: “It is important to bring closure to the wounds from the 14 years of Liberia’s brutal civil war … we need to agree on a mechanism that will guarantee the sustenance of peace, stability, justice and reconciliation.”

Returning to Liberia from the UN general assembly, however, Weah appeared to backtrack, saying that he had merely informed the UN about the calls for a court, not supported one himself. “I have never one day called for the war-crimes court,” he said. “Why should we focus on the war crimes court now, when we did not focus on it 12 years ago?”

To win the 2017 election, Weah relied on the support of Prince Johnson, a warlord-turned-senator who was involved in the killing of the brutal former military ruler Samuel Doe on camera. Fear of upsetting Johnson, and his many supporters, may have been the reason Weah did not act sooner.

Prince Johnson, a former warlord and supporter of President George Weah. Photograph: Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters

Johnson argues a war crimes court would be illegal, though he has said he supports Weah’s request for advice on it from the legislature.

People claiming to speak on behalf of Prince Johnson have issued threats to Dennis. She says “since then, there has been this unknown or unlicensed black vehicle that is always tailing me.”

Johnson denied any involvement in phone calls to Dennis, adding that he is now a preacher and “vehemently condemn[s] any form of violence against people”.

Dennis says she has also received direct threats from other high-profile figures.

“I will get to you, and those who sent you will regret [it],” Dennis says she was told in one phone call.

Nevertheless, she believes it is a cause worth fighting for.

“I just want to walk in light, I just want to walk in justice, and I stand for justice,” she says. “I think the time to be afraid is over, I think they [the warlords] should be afraid now.”

It would help the country economically, she says, because nobody wants to invest in a “totally lawless” country. The economy has sunk since Weah took over in 2017.

If there is no accountability, she says, history will repeat itself.

“How sure are we that another group of people will not rise up again for political power? If we don’t set a precedent, there will always be bloodshed, there will always be killing, there will always be murders.”