Records seen by this press show that 23 persons were indicted by the defunct Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), and accorded relatively lengthy jail terms served in Rwanda and UK prisons.
The SCSL was set up owing to justice those who committed serious human rights violations during the country’s 11-year civil war.
Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution or any other form of sexual violence, persecution on the basis of politics, race, ethnicity or religion and other inhumane acts were the crimes the court looked at.
It came into being owing to a request by then President Ahmed Tejan Kabba after the war came to an end in 2002 with hope that no future government or group of individuals would repeat the actions.
The SCSL statute identified four types of crimes with which the court can charge individuals, and these include crimes against humanity, violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol 11.
In the pursuit of justice for the people of Sierra Leone, the court adopted command responsibility also known as the ‘greatest responsibility’ principle targeting commanders, policy makers and the strategists of the various war factions.
One of the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) top commanders, Issa Hassan Sesay got 52 years, Santigie Borbor Kanu was locked up for over 40 years. Warlords of the Civil Defence Force (CDF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) also got tough jail terms as well as ex-Liberian President, Charles Ghankay Taylor who was also incarcerated human rights crimes on the territory of Sierra Leone. The CDF of which the Kamajor militia was a major component was pro-government military group that fought to defend the civilian population in the absence of a trusted army.
The indictees were held responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The question of who will appear this time at the 2024 Residual Court remains one of the most frequently asked as the judges prepare to sit on the matters.
Although the court is yet to identify the crimes it would look into and who will be invited, information has reached this press that those who killed, their fellow Sierra Leoneans, physically assaulted, burned, looted, maimed and raped women and girls in the past five years would be held to account to end impunity in Sierra Leone.
Government’s failure to bring the killers to justice prompted the ICC (international Criminal Court) to assume such responsibility. The court’s take-over of prosecution from the state is a cardinal judicial principle under the ICC which is operationalised only where the state fails to prosecute the offenders.
Although a list of indictees is yet to be published, a London writer who shares his views with Nightwatch press indicated that 70 persons would face the court in due course with most coming from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC), the media and civil society organisations.
SLPP politicians, according to political analysts, allegedly masterminded several outrageous killings, initiated and sustained a terror campaign in opposition strongholds between 2018 and 2023 with an aim to narrow the political landscape.
In July, 2020, brutal Killings allegedly took place in Makeni city, hometown of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, Tonkolili, Kambia and PortLoko districts, and other forms of human rights abuses were also reported.
Dozens of Sierra Leoneans were also reportedly killed during protests in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown and other parts upcountry. The Bombali Killing followed a response to a protest against the removal of 6kva thermal plant from Makeni city where it was stationed throughout the reign of former President Ernest Bai Koroma.
The casualty figure which stood at 20, according to a parliamentarian representing one of the constituencies in Bombali district, stunned and shocked many since there were alternative means to move the electricity machine out of Makeni city without loss of lives.
A press release issued by the Information Ministry also issued threats of further crackdown in the Northern city, and local authorities were also threatened with arrest and detention.
To date, the public remained in the dark about who took the relocation decision about cost precious lives, but attention had been recently focused on the Energy Minister. Many expect him to answer critical questions about the relocation decision.
In Rosengbe, a tiny village in Tonkolili, residents woke up to sporadic gunshots during a joint police-military raid apparently for Canabis, a drug outlawed by the laws of Sierra Leone. The covert but somewhat brutal operation is linked to a tip off the police got from the public.
According to news reports, dwelling houses were broken into and property believed to be proceeds of the sale of Canabis carted away. A commercial motorist (Okada rider) who refused to hand over his motor cycle upon demand was shot dead, and the state failed to look into the issue. The matter died sine die after short-lived murmuring from rights campaigners. A popular argument holds that the activists too fear for their lives as Sierra Leone became dangerous at every tick of the clock.
Raids which are normal police routines help in the fight against crime if conducted within the confines of the law.
The one in Tonkolili however appeared to have fallen short of the recognised standards as then police commander said he was not informed about the operation.
In Kambia district, an APC youth was also shot dead during a bye-election in one of the constituencies there, and as usual, the state never investigated the incidents thus creating a field day for those who pressed the triggers.
It was also a similar situation for the people of Lunsar town in PortLoko district where the closure of a mining company brewed protests that undermined peace and security as the people strived to survive.
Talk of peace is farcical in a community where livelihood is under threat, and so be it for the Marampa People who took the protest to the paramount chief’s residence when one of their philanthropists was placed in cells based on what many believed to be false charges.
Almost invariably, security forces also came down heavily on the protesters with the casualty figure remaining unknown. Tombo, a fishing community in the Western Rural districts also saw similar spate of state violence when fishermen protested against a ban on fishing, the community’s main economic activity. The number of those who crumbled under the barrel is still not known since no investigation was launched.
State’s response to protests that took place in August 10, 2022 and September 11, 2023 was lethal to the core. An attempt to forestall a prison break in April, 2020 also led to the deaths of 31 inmates including a prison officer.
Between 2018 and 2023, the Unites States has been publishing scathing reports about human rights violations particularly mistreatment of prisoners.
Other global reports also pointed out harsh prison conditions to which prisoners were subjected. The alleged Massacre of inmates at the country’s main correctional facility lent credence to claims made by the global reports.
Such actions deprived many of their God-given rights especially the right to critique and question government’s actions, policies and programmes in the interest of the state.
Government’s terror and oppression tactics also disenfranchised hundreds of Sierra Leones in the June, 2023 multi-tier elections. Mob violence also erupted in the South-East regions particularly Bo, Kenema and Bonthe districts where political thuggery resulted into arsons, injuries and displacement of people. Many people especially those seen as APC supporters and sympathisers were allegedly chased out of their homes by machete-wielding youth.
On the eve of the June 24, 2023 elections, Cecilia Ngobeh’s house was torched by thugs linked to SLPP owing to her affiliation with APC, a party which should not exist in the South-East. Ngobeh is the chairperson of the opposition party in the district and such official status placed her in danger.
Public Relations Officer for APC in Bo district, Mohamed Moriba was also similarly attacked and his house set ablaze. In Pujehun district also in the Southern region, dozens of women were allegedly physically assaulted by supporters of the ruling party according to reliable sources.
The women came under attacks while returning home after declaring for the APC hoping to get a First Lady for the first time. Their dreams would have been transformed into reality had the votes been fairly counted.
Massa Rogers, wife of the opposition leader, is a daughter of Pujehun, a push factor for Wanjamarians to the APC, but the unexpected and widespread attacks instilled fear in them.
The APC spokesperson ran for his life spending days in the jungle, and came out only after Bio was declared winner of the June polls. Most of the injured sought medical treatment at the government hospital and several peripheral health units in the district.
It is no difference in the Southern district of Bonthe where APC members, supporters and sympathisers allegedly came under frequent attacks by thugs linked to the ruling party.
An APC youth leader also suffered political violence in the hands of perceived SLPP supporters during the elections. The SLPP supporters, the alleged attackers had a field day while the APC victims were arrested and detained in police custody.
APC supporters in Bonthe district were also recently allegedly attacked by SLPP supporters who also were let off the hook by law the enforcement agency ostensibly without proper and sufficient reason.
In Kenema district, APC supporters were attacked and the portrait of Samura Kamara torn and dragged on the streets by irate youth clad in green attire. APC’s running mate, Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah was also attacked during campaigns in the eastern district of Kenema, one of the strongest bases of SLPP, and some other attacks also occurred in other parts of the country.
Such widespread incidents of violence constituted attacks on democracy. An alleged undermine of democracy is also one of the biggest offences which the new court would look into when the court commences hearings.
Several civil society organisations allegedly connived with government functionaries to rig June 24, 2023 multi-tier elections.
Reliable sources have intimated this press that videos of those who colluded with government to undermine the elections have been tendered in higher quarters, and the acts would not go unpunished.
The new court would look into some of the afore-mentioned issues as the SCSL looked at offences committed by RUFP, AFRC and CDF, and almost all indictees in the various war factions were found guilty.
In June, 2007, three AFRC suspects Alex Tamba Brima, Santigie Borbor Kanu and Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara were each convicted of 11 of the 14 counts charged. They were held accountable for acts of terrorism, collective punishments, extermination, murder, rape, outrages upon personal dignity, physical violence, conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities, enslavement and pillage.
It was the first time for an international court to rule on charges related to child soldiers or forced marriages. AFRC leader, Johnny Paul Koroma a fugitive believed to a deceased, but an arrest warrant still remains in force. His death is yet to be officially confirmed.
Senior CDF commanders were also similarly tried and convicted on several offences in August, 2007. Chief Priest for the Kamajors, Allieu Kondewai and Director of War, Moinina Fofanah were convicted of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective treatment and use of child soldiers.
The CDF trial was arguably the most controversial as many Sierra Leoneans considered the CDF to be protecting them from the depredations of the rebel combatants.
The Chief Priest, Kondewa spent eight years in prison custody while Fofana got six. The lenient sentences generated heated debates among Sierra Leoneans who expected a tougher punishment since the prosecutor had asked for 30 years.
The warlords somewhat got a light sentence owing to mitigating factors especially fighting to restore democracy and rule of law in a country where anarchy, lawlessness and criminality had become the order of the day.
Convictions of each of the three RUF defendants were handed down on February 25, 2009. RUF top commanders, Issa Sesay and Morris Kallon were each found guilty on 16 of the 18 counts they were charged with. Another RUF warlord, Augustine Gbao was nailed for 14 crimes.
The convictions bordered on murder, enlistment of child soldiers, amputation, sexual slavery and forced marriages.
The people of Sierra Leone were stunned at that time for a force marriage crime to bite the three indictees. It was the first conviction ever handed down in an international tribunal.
Included in the list of indictees was former Liberian President, Charles Taylor who was accused of aiding and abetting the commission of crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone’s civil war.
The former Liberian President was indicted in 2003 but fled to Nigeria where he was offered an asylum, but later attempted to evade justice. He fell in the police net in 2006 at the Cameroon border following his escape from his residence in Calabar State in Nigeria, and later handed over to the Special Court Authorities.
Since he enjoyed considerable support in Neighbouring Liberia, then President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf requested that the trial be moved to the Dutch city which housed the ICC.
The request was granted and the ex-Liberian President was tried and convicted for the offences charged. Handing down the verdict, Justice Richard Lussick said: “The trial chamber unanimously finds you guilty of aiding and abetting the crimes of terrorism, murder, violence to life, health or physical well being of persons, rape sexual slavery, outrages upon personal dignity, health and physical or mental well being of persons, other inhumane acts, conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into the armed forces, enslave ament and pillage.”
These crimes are not permitted under international human rights and humanitarian laws and perpetrators are often tried by international tribunals especially if their countries are signatories to the Rome Statute of 1998.
It could be a big difference this time between the two courts: while SCSL holds accountable only the train drivers and not the passengers, the new court will go after the drivers and the passengers to send a loud and clear message to the world that Sierra Leone’s atmosphere is too pure to put up with crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity.