Samuel Tinga Khendekha Seisay (22 August 1928 – 4 February 2015) was 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 ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and pro-democracy activist.Society for Foreign Consuls, 1971
/ref>

Early life

Born to a prominent political family, Seisay was educated at St. Edward's Secondary School. After graduating from the Police Training School at Hastings, he began his career as a law enforcement officer. After several years with the Sierra Leone Police Force, Seisay traveled to Europe to continue his studies where he read engineering at the

Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolo ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. While he was a student, Seisay had a life-changing meeting with

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

in Stockholm, which deepened his interest in

nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

activism. Seisay earned a master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

. He is a Ph.D. candidate at

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.Radio Monitoring Report: Vol. 1, Issue #0101
International League for Human Rights

Diplomatic career

In 1967, Seisay founded the Sierra Leone Ex-Police Officers Association. He was elected as their representative to the Civilian Rule Committee, that was going to restore civilian rule in Sierra after the military government of

Andrew Juxon-Smith Brigadier Andrew Terence Juxon-Smith (30 November 1931 – 1996) was a Creole politician and military officer in Sierra Leone. He was briefly (27 March 1967 to 18 April 1968) Chairman of the National Reformation Council and acting Governor-Gene ...

. In 1968, Juxon Smith's government was overthrown in the Sergeants' Coup. Seisay was then appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Sierra Leonean Police Force by the ruling junta. Seisay proved to be most efficient in this post, especially considering the difficult political climate, and skillfully helped manage the transition. Seisay was initially tapped to serve as Sierra Leone's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

but was instead appointed

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was stationed in New York where he served for six years.Sierra Leone Politics
New York Times, 14 October 1969 He worked to secure educational scholarships for Sierra Leonean students in various fields, primarily education. Under his leadership, the Sierra Leone Consulate became financially self-sufficient. Seisay also served as Dean of the Consular Corps. He sat on the Fifth Committee of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

for several years.3d Largest Diamond Is Found in Africa
New York Times, 15 April 1969

Fight for democracy

After Steven's declared a one-party state, Seisay's cousin

John Amadu Bangura Brigadier John Amadu Bangura, CBE (8 March 1930 – 29 March 1970) was a Sierra Leonean who served as Chief of the Defence Staff of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces from 1968 to 1970. Prior to this in 1967, he served as the Sierra Leonean Amb ...

staged an unsuccessful

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

. Bangura was later executed for treason. Seisay became an opponent of the Stevens government. He left his post as Consul General and began to protest the decline of democracy in Sierra Leone.Political Freedom in Sierra Leone
New York Times He publicly criticized Stevens' regime in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

Political exile

In 1974, Seisay went into self-imposed political exile. Among his allies were his older brother Solomon G. Seisay, director of prisons, and former Prime Minister

Albert Margai Sir Albert Michael Margai (10 October 1910 – 18 December 1980) was the second prime minister of Sierra Leone and the half-brother of Milton Margai, Sir Milton Margai, the country's first Prime Minister. He was also the father of Sierra Leone ...

until Margai's death in 1980. Seisay aided Sierra Leoneans who fled from persecution to get political asylum in the United States. In 1987, Seisay's political exile ended when

Joseph Saidu Momoh Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh, OOR, OBE (January 26, 1937 – August 3, 2003) served as President of Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 29 April 1992. Early life and education Joseph Saidu Momoh was born on January 26, 1937, in Binkolo, B ...

became president of Sierra Leone.

Later career and private life

Seisay became an executive in the private sector. Based in the

, he continued to work internationally and remained devoted to the cause of re-establishing democracy in Sierra Leone. In the early 1960s, he married a member of the Swedish

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

and they raised their family in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, New York. He has lectured at several universities, including Dartmouth, and published a number of articles and op-eds most notably in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

and

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seisay, Tinga 1928 births 2015 deaths Sierra Leonean democracy activists Sierra Leonean police officers Long Island University alumni Nonviolence advocates Alumni of St. Edward's Secondary School, Freetown KTH Royal Institute of Technology alumni Sierra Leonean academics Sierra Leonean Christians Sierra Leonean diplomats Sierra Leonean engineers Sierra Leonean exiles Sierra Leonean politicians People from Moyamba District