In 1871 secretary of state, Edward Wilmot Blyden, was forced into exile; president, Edward James Roye, was deposed by the mob. Selim was murdered four years later, at a time when he served as an assistant surgeon and was not involved in active politics. According to an obituary published in Liberian Independent December 23, 1875, the Grebo mob leader allowed him time for a Christian prayer, then "chopped his body all over, cut off his head, which he took to his town, and threw the body with a gift [of a Bible] into the field."[2][10]