Colonel Yahya Kanu (born in

Magburaka Magburaka is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Tonkolili District in the Northern Province, Sierra Leone, Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its population was 16,313 in the 2004 census. and a current estimate of 40,313. It is ...

Tonkolili District Tonkolili District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Magburaka. The other major towns include Masingbi, Yele, Mile 91, Bumbuna, Yonibana, Matotoka. Mathora, Magbass and Masanga. To ...

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 ...

, died 29 December 1992) Kanu was a loyalist to president

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 ...

, and his position in the coup is unclear. He was first reported by

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

to have led the coup, but that same day he went onto the BBC's ''Focus on Africa'' to deny that role, claiming instead that he was attempting to negotiate with the mutineers. He was imprisoned by

Valentine Strasser Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser (born 26 April 1967) is an ex-military leader who served as Heads of Government of Sierra Leone, head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. Previously a junior military officer he became the world's yo ...

, who eventually took power in the coup. Kanu was later executed by Valentine Strasser, Solomon Musa, Maada Bio and Idriss Kamara on a beach near Freetown, after being accused of organizing a counter-coup with

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 ...

supporter Bambay Kamara. The pair were at the time interred in the Pademba Road jail in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

. The British-trained Kanu had won a reputation as one of the most dynamic battlefront commanders during the war that broke out when

Revolutionary United Front The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel group that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, beginning in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later transformed into a political party, which still exists today. The three most senior surv ...

rebels of

Foday Sankoh Foday Saybana Sankoh (17 October 1937 – 29 July 2003) was the founder of the Sierra Leone rebel group Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which was supported by Charles Taylor-led NPFL in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting i ...

crossed into Sierra Leone in 1991 from part of Liberia under the control of the Liberian rebel leader Charles Taylor. After the rebels approached the eastern Sierra Leone city of

Kenema Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of ...

in mid-1991, they were pushed back by Kanu's Cobra battalion with the help of Liberian irregular forces, mostly refugees from

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician who served as the 21st president of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. Doe ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 to 1984 and then a ...

's army, who went on to become a component of

ULIMO The United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) was an anti-rebel group that participated in the First Liberian Civil War (1989–1996). ULIMO was formed in May 1991 by Krahn and Mandingo refugees and soldiers who had fought in the ...

. The combined force quickly routed the rebels from the towns of Gandorhun and Zimmi before reaching the Mano River Bridge crossing into Liberia. These gains were lost later in the war as control of towns frequently changed hands, something that battlefront soldiers often blamed on a lack of resources from Freetown. This was a major factor contributing to the 1992 coup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanu, Yahya Year of birth missing 1992 deaths Sierra Leonean politicians Leaders who took power by coup Temne people Sierra Leonean military personnel People from Tonkolili District