Komeh Gulama Lansana was the wife of Brigadier David Lansana, Force Commander of the Sierra Leone Army until his execution in 1975. Lansana is the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama, one of the Founding Fathers of

postcolonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, and Lucy Gulama, Chief Consort Lucy Gulama. Her sister Paramount Chief Madam Ella Koblo Gulama was one of Sierra Leone's foremost stateswomen.Tribute to the Honourable PC Ella Koblo Gulama
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Early life

Komeh was born in

Moyamba Moyamba is the capital and largest city of Moyamba District, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. There has been a recorded population of 11,485 in the 2004 census. The city is ethnically diverse, although the Mende people make up the major ...

Moyamba District Moyamba District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, with a population of 318,064 in the 2015 census. Its capital and largest city is Moyamba. The other major towns include Njala, Rotifunk and Shenge. The district is the la ...

in the Southern Province of

to Paramount Chief Julius Gulama and his wife Lucy Gulama, Chief Consort Lucy Gulama. Her father was the ruler Kaiyamba, the largest and most powerful Mende people, Mende chiefdom in

. Her mother was also an ethnic Mende people, Mende.

Marriage and family

Her husband, David Lansana was appointed Commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces by Albert Margai, Prime Minister Albert Margai while her sister Madam Gulama was serving as the first female Cabinet Minister in Sierra Leone and sub-Saharan African.

1967 Election

When

Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens (24 August 1905 – 29 May 1988) was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was ofte ...

was pronounced the winner of the hotly contested 1967 Elections, Prime Minister Albert Margai refused to concede defeat. Prime Minister Margai accused the

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Apr ...

of election fraud. There was no clear winner in the election. Lansana's husband was Commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces at the time and staged an intervention. He had

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Sir Henry Lightfoot Boston and

arrested. He announced that the election results void and declared martial law, and proclaimed himself the interim head of state. He staged the first coup d'état in the history of Sierra Leone. A series of coups and counter-coups ensued which ended with both her husband and her sister arrested and held at Pademba Road Prisons. Her husband was arrested by his own soldiers and taken to Pademba Road Prison. After more than a year in prison, her sister was exonerated and freed.

Execution of David Lansana

In July 1975, her husband

David Lansana Brigadier David Lansana (22 March 1922 – 19 July 1975) was the first indigenous armed force commander of the Sierra Leone Military during the colonial era. After Sierra Leone gained independence, he served as Military Attaché to the United St ...

and his colleague Dr. Sorie Fornah were executed for treason after the alleged coup plot trials.Killer "Bills" and Decrees: The Sierra Leone Media's Struggle for Survival by Kakuna Kerina, Matthew Leone & David Tam-Baryoh
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References

External links

by Kakuna Kerina, Matthew Leone & David Tam-Baryoh, International League for Human Rights
The life and Times of Honourable PC Madam Ella Koblo Gulama of Sierra Leone
By Awareness Times, September 26, 2006

Sierra Connection

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansana, Komeh Gulama Sierra Leonean nobility People from Moyamba District Year of birth missing (living people) Living people