There is a popular saying in Sierra Leone that there are ninety-nine days for a thief and one day for the master. Three former leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao, have outlived their ninety-nine days glory and landed in the master’s court. The Special Court of Sierra Leone, a United Nations mandated court, has sentenced the trio to a total of nearly 120 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1996-2001 period of the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone. Issa Sesay was sentenced to 52 years, Morris Kallon to 40 years and Augustine Gbao to 25 years. Even though the war lasted from 1991-2001, the Special Court of Sierra Leone was only mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996.
The conviction of the trio may not seem extraordinary seven years after the end of the war, but for most Sierra Leoneans, it serves as a milestone in the process of reconciliation and rehabilitation. Reconciliation has been very successful among ordinary Sierra Leoneans; those who were merely executing orders from their commanders and those who were victims of that macabre moment in our national history. Although most Sierra Leoneans would agree that we were all victims, one way or another, there was need for a human face responsible for the horrors of our past. The sentence serves as justice for our victimization and as lesson for other African leaders that the days of impunity are coming to a close.
The fact that the civil war descended into a summary blood bath in which we were all spilling each other’s blood made it difficult to recognize individual perpetuators beyond Foday Saybana Sankoh of the RUF, Sam Hinga Norman of the Civil Defense Force (CDF), and Charles Taylor of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). The death or disappearance of RUF’s Sam Bockarie, a.k.a Mosquito, Johnny Paul Koroma of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Front (AFRC), and the subsequent deaths of Foday Sankor and Hinga Norman during the Special Court trials made it seem like justice for war crimes in Sierra Leone was a futile endeavor. Many Sierra Leoneans lost expectations and patience for the slow pace of the process, especially because they needed to proceed with their normal lives in a shattered country.
Apart from Charles Taylor who is now facing eleven charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at The Hague, where he is accused of backing rebels responsible for widespread atrocities in Sierra Leone, Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao are the three most responsible people for the decade of rape, amputation and summary killings in Sierra Leone. The conviction comes at a time when community reconciliation among ordinary Sierra Leoneans is almost complete, and past atrocities can now be written into the memorial scrolls of our dark days. Justice can never be attained for the thousands of people who lost their lives, victims of rape and torture, and those who got their limbs hacked off. However, we must accept the price of our collective failures and proceed with the process of reconstruction for a better future.
The conviction does not only guarantee that our suffering was not entirely in vain, it also serves as a warning to other African leaders that it is no longer acceptable to ignore human rights and International Law in the name of meaningless revolutions. We hope the International Criminal Court will expedite the Taylor case and allow us to move on altogether. Sierra Leoneans are tired of constant reminders of their victimization by the everlasting process of trying those responsible for the massacre, rape, and amputation of thousands of innocent civilians.
The conviction of the trio may not seem extraordinary seven years after the end of the war, but for most Sierra Leoneans, it serves as a milestone in the process of reconciliation and rehabilitation. Reconciliation has been very successful among ordinary Sierra Leoneans; those who were merely executing orders from their commanders and those who were victims of that macabre moment in our national history. Although most Sierra Leoneans would agree that we were all victims, one way or another, there was need for a human face responsible for the horrors of our past. The sentence serves as justice for our victimization and as lesson for other African leaders that the days of impunity are coming to a close.
The fact that the civil war descended into a summary blood bath in which we were all spilling each other’s blood made it difficult to recognize individual perpetuators beyond Foday Saybana Sankoh of the RUF, Sam Hinga Norman of the Civil Defense Force (CDF), and Charles Taylor of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). The death or disappearance of RUF’s Sam Bockarie, a.k.a Mosquito, Johnny Paul Koroma of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Front (AFRC), and the subsequent deaths of Foday Sankor and Hinga Norman during the Special Court trials made it seem like justice for war crimes in Sierra Leone was a futile endeavor. Many Sierra Leoneans lost expectations and patience for the slow pace of the process, especially because they needed to proceed with their normal lives in a shattered country.
Apart from Charles Taylor who is now facing eleven charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at The Hague, where he is accused of backing rebels responsible for widespread atrocities in Sierra Leone, Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao are the three most responsible people for the decade of rape, amputation and summary killings in Sierra Leone. The conviction comes at a time when community reconciliation among ordinary Sierra Leoneans is almost complete, and past atrocities can now be written into the memorial scrolls of our dark days. Justice can never be attained for the thousands of people who lost their lives, victims of rape and torture, and those who got their limbs hacked off. However, we must accept the price of our collective failures and proceed with the process of reconstruction for a better future.
The conviction does not only guarantee that our suffering was not entirely in vain, it also serves as a warning to other African leaders that it is no longer acceptable to ignore human rights and International Law in the name of meaningless revolutions. We hope the International Criminal Court will expedite the Taylor case and allow us to move on altogether. Sierra Leoneans are tired of constant reminders of their victimization by the everlasting process of trying those responsible for the massacre, rape, and amputation of thousands of innocent civilians.
