Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh,

OOR ''OOR'' is the oldest currently published music magazine in the Netherlands. ''Oor'' is the Dutch word for ear. Until 1984 it was published as ''Muziekkrant Oor''. History The magazine was first published on 1 April 1971, being founded by Ba ...

, OBE (January 26, 1937 – August 3, 2003) served as

President of Sierra Leone The president of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. As the head of the executive branch of the Sierra Leone government, the presi ...

from November 1985 to 29 April 1992.

Early life and education

Joseph Saidu Momoh was born on January 26, 1937, in

Binkolo Binkolo is a rural town in Bombali District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Binkolo is home to an estimated 13,867 residents (2004 census). The majority of the population are from the Limba people (Sierra Leone), Limba ethnic group. ...

Bombali District Bombali is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the largest city in the north. The Bombali district is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Bombali is one of the lar ...

in the Northern Province of

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

to Limba parents. In the early 1940s, his family moved to

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 po ...

, ultimately settling in Wilberforce. His family were Christians. From 1951 to 1955, he was educated at the West African Methodist Collegiate School. Momoh was very athletic and enjoyed playing tennis, basketball and volleyball. He played competitive football for the Young Stars FC at Makeni and Blackpool FC. He completed his education at the Government Clerks School, Technical Institute.

Career

Civil service

In 1956, Momoh worked as third grade clerk in Sierra Leone's civil service. He resigned from this position in 1958 in order to join the armed forces.

Military career

Momoh's military career began in 1958, when he enlisted in the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognitio ...

(RWAFF) as a private. He trained at the Regular Officers Training School in Ghana and the Nigerian Military Training Academy. He then travelled to the United Kingdom to train at the School of Infantry at Hythe and the

Mons Officer Cadet School Mons Officer Cadet School was a British military training establishment for officer cadets in Aldershot from 1942 to 1972, when it was closed and all officer training concentrated at Sandhurst. Until 1960, it was known as the Mons Officer Cade ...

in Aldershot. He was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Royal Sierra Leone Military Forces in 1963. He was elevated to the rank of major and given command at Moa Barracks,

Kailahun Kailahun is the capital of Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Kailahun is a major business and commercial center of Kailahun District. The population was 13,108 in the 2004 census, a 2006 estimate of 18,41and a current est ...

. In 1969, Momoh became lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of the First Battalion. A year later, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. He was appointed deputy force commander in 1971 by President Siaka Stevens, after a coup attempt by Brigadier John Bangura. Momoh succeeded Bangura as force commander in November 1971. In 1974, he was appointed minister of state with cabinet status. He became major-general in 1983.

President of Sierra Leone

In 1985, Momoh became secretary-general and head of the All People's Congress (APC). The same year, he succeeded President

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 ...

by becoming the only candidate in a one-party election in the form of a referendum on 8 October 1985. Momoh became the second

and he served from November 28, 1985, to April 29, 1992. Momoh declared a state of economic emergency early in his rule, granting himself greater control over Sierra Leone's economy, but he was not regarded as a dictator. Instead, his people viewed him as far too weak and inattentive to the affairs of state, allowing his notoriously corrupt advisors to manipulate matters behind the scenes. Momoh had inherited a disintegrating economy from his predecessor and he was unable to stop the trend. The country's currency decreased in value. Sierra Leone reached the point under President Momoh where it could not afford to import gasoline and fuel oil, and the country went without electricity for months at a time. Momoh had also inherited a system that was rife with corruption and the instability which corruption led to. Momoh took huge strides to root out graft, cronyism, embezzlement,

influence peddling Influence peddling is the practice of using one's influence in government or connections with authorities to obtain favours or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. It is also called traffic of influence or trading i ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

from within Sierra Leone's government. International observers considered him mostly successful in these endeavors. This led to him forming a good relationship with British Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

and American President Ronald Reagan, who were encouraged by advisors to meet with Momoh and form a good partnership with him as a way of welcoming

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 , Sierr ...

out of the instability it had fallen into for so much of the 1970s and 1980s. Both leaders increased aid to Sierra Leone and increased governmental cooperation between their governments and that of Momoh's administration throughout 1987 and early 1988.Limiting Administrative Corruption in Sierra Leone by Sahr John Kpundeh - The Journal of Modern African Studies - Vol. 32, No. 1 (Mar., 1994), pp. 139-157 (19 pages)

1987 treason trial

On 23 March 1987, police reported that a group of conspirators was plotting to assassinate Momoh and stage a coup d'état after they raided a house in Freetown and discovered a cache of weapons, including rocket launchers. James Bambay Kamara, the Inspector General of the Sierra Leone Police, gave the order to arrest First Vice President Francis Minah, G.M.T. Kaikai,

Jamil Sahid Mohamed Jamil Sahid Mohamed Khalil (1936 - 2000) was a Sierra Leonean-Lebanese businessman, diamonds and commodities trader. He attained prominence in the diamond industry across Africa and Antwerp and became an influential figure in the politics of Sierr ...

and fifteen others. Minah was a personal friend of Momoh and while he did not personally believe that Minah was involved in the plot, he did not want to oppose Inspector General Kamara. Momoh did not intervene on behalf of Minah. The treason trial went on for five months until October 1987 when the jury delivered a guilty verdict. The former First Vice President and 17 others were convicted of treason and sentenced to death.

escaped to Lebanon where he remained in exile. They were executed on warrants signed by Momoh. A team of international oberservers from

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, Sweden, Switzerland,

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and

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all concurred that the trial was justified, and was not politically motivated.

The 1991 Persian Gulf War

Under Momoh's leadership, Sierra Leone joined the coalition of nations that opposed Saddam Hussein's occupation of Kuwait.

The SCIPA Group

The SCIPA Group was an Israeli mineral company led by Nir Guaz that arrived in Sierra Leone in 1989. SCIPA bought its way into Momoh's favor by providing the government with loans and enabling Sierra Leone to enter into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. On Christmas Eve 1989, Momoh had Guaz arrested, charged with economic sabotage and deported from Sierra Leone. In September 1991, after the start of the

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...

, Momoh ushered in a new constitution which dismantled the one-party state established in 1978 and instituted multiparty democracy. He also played a great part in dissolving tribalism. He was congratulated on this by British Prime Minister John Major and American President George H. W. Bush, who both declared these reforms as "important steps towards democratization" and "essential steps forward." Momoh said John Major had proven to be a "genuine friend of Sierra Leone" and he referred to George H.W. Bush as a "great leader of the world."

Military coup

However, Momoh's efforts at reform came too late to rescue Sierra Leone from chaos. He was overthrown in a military coup staged by

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

, a 25-year-old army captain, in April 1992. In April 1992, a group of young soldiers marched to Freetown from the war front where they had been fighting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by

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 ...

. Incensed by terrible working conditions, unpaid salaries and a lack of government support they staged a coup d'état. On 29 April 1992, the soldiers, led by Captain Valentine Strasser announced the military coup on the radio. Momoh fled to Guinea and sought political asylum.

Exile and death

Momoh was granted political asylum in neighboring Guinea by President Lansana Conté. He took up residence in a mansion in Nongo Tadi, Conakry. Momoh died on August 2, 2003, at the age of 66, Momoh spent the last years of his life as a guest of the military government in Guinea. Ironically,

had died a few days earlier.

Honours

In 1971, Momoh was made an Officer of the

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. He was decorated as an Officer of the

Order of the Rokel The Order of the Rokel is the second order of Sierra Leone, after the Order of the Republic (Sierra Leone), Order of the Republic. (Access date 28 June 2021) It may be awarded to recognize Sierra Leoneans who have distinguished themselves by making ...

in 1974 by President Siaka Stevens. *

(1974) *

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1971)

References

* Reno, William. Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone (New York: Cambridge University Press), 1995. * Tuchscherer, Konrad. “Joseph Saidu Momoh,” Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators, ed. by Frank J. Coppa (New York: Peter Lang), 2006, pp. 189–191. * Tuchscherer, Konrad. “Joseph Saidu Momoh: A Legacy of Missed Opportunity,” Awoko (Freetown, Sierra Leone), 25 July 2003, p. 7. * Tuchscherer, Konrad. “Joseph Saidu Momoh: Human Rights,” Daily Observer (Banjul, The Gambia), 14 August 2003, p. 12.

External links

News about his release
IRIN November 1999 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Momoh, Joseph Saidu 1937 births 2003 deaths All People's Congress politicians Graduates of the Mons Officer Cadet School Leaders ousted by a coup People from Bombali District Presidents of Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean Christians Sierra Leonean military personnel