Upon assuming the Presidency on 29th March 1996, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s first major objective was to end the rebel war, which in four years had already claimed hundreds of innocent lives, driven thousands of others into refugee status and ruined the nation’s economy.
Guided by his philosophy of “political inclusion”, he appointed a government of National Unity to include members of various political parties, the most represented in Parliament and ‘technocrats’ in civil society, although the APC party declined.
After establishing his government, President Kabbah opened direct negotiations with the RUF rebels to end the civil war. He entered into several peace accords with the rebel leader Foday Sankoh, including the famous 1999 Lome Lomé Peace Accord, in which the rebels, for the first time, agreed to a temporary cease-fire with the Sierra Leone government. In November 1996, in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, he signed a peace agreement with the rebel leader, former Corporal Foday Sankoh of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
In May 1997, a military coup led by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) forced Kabbah into exile in neighbouring Guinea. Major Johnny Koroma, who was in detention at the Maximum Security Prison for an alleged coup plot without trial, was released from prison by the coup plotters and made Head of State. While in Guinea, Kabbah marshalled international support and was restored nine months later. The military-rebel junta was removed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under the command of the Nigerian-led ECOMOG and loyal civil and military defence forces, notably the Kamajors, whom Samuel Hinga Norman led.
President Kabbah returned to Sierra Leone and tried to consolidate political power. He ordered the arrest and detention of many persons who worked with the AFRC, otherwise known as collaborators, including former president Momoh of the All Peoples Congress. Most military officers faced treason trials and were executed.
On 7th July 1999, Kabbah signed the Lome Peace Accord with the RUF after the January 6th invasion and destruction of Freetown. When the cease-fire agreement with the rebels collapsed, Kabbah campaigned for international assistance from the British, the United Nations Security Council, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to help defeat the rebels and restore peace and order in Sierra Leone. The Lomé Peace Agreement remained the cornerstone of sustainable peace, security, justice and national reconciliation in Sierra Leone.
In October 1999, the United Nations agreed to send peacekeepers to help restore order and disarm the rebels. The UN sent 13,000 UN peacekeeping forces. The first 6,000-member force arrived in December. The number increased to 11,000 in February 2000 and later 13,000. The UN peacekeeping forces were mainly soldiers from the British Special Forces, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and the African Union special forces were sent to assist the government in fighting the rebels. They were mainly soldiers from Nigeria, Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Zambia and The Gambia. The international forces, led by the British troops, launched several successful military operations to repel the RUF rebels and retake many of the areas of the country that were under rebel control. The rebel lines of communication were severely disrupted, and many senior rebel leaders were captured or fled the country, including the RUF leader Foday Sankoh, who was captured.
On 18 January 2002, at a ceremony marking the conclusion of the disarmament and demobilization of ex-combatants under the auspices of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), President Kabbah declared “ de war don don”, which means, ‘the war was over’ The end of the war was greatly appreciated and was demonstrated in the 2002 presidential and parliamentary elections in which he had an easy victory over Ernest Bai Koroma of the main opposition APC with 70.1%.
In 2007, president Kabbah was ineligible to run for a third term as the 1991 constitution stipulates, his Vice President Solomon Berewa ran for the presidential elections but was defeated by Ernest Koroma of the opposition APC in the second ballot.
Kabbah retired from politics and died at 82 at his residence in Juba Hill on March 13, 2014, seven years after his term of office expired. Immediately after the death of the Ex-Pesident Kabbah, President Ernest Koroma declared a week of National Mourning, followed by a state funeral on March 21, 2014.
Against this backdrop, examining President Kabbah’s domestic and foreign policies is fundamental.
DOMESTIC POLICIES
Centrally, President Kabbah was tolerant of politics. He believed in democratic principles and did everything he could to enhance democratization in Sierra Leone. He ensured press freedom and upheld the rule of law, conducting free, fair, and non-violent elections in the country. He was also very committed to upholding the principles of the rule of law. He respected the Constitution and upheld its fundamental principles. He fought hard to enforce it in the country by strengthening relevant institutions, such as the police and the judiciary.
Some of the domestic policies of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, between 1996 and 2007 were as follows:
- Political Inclusion
President Kabbah was guided by his “political inclusion” principle rather than political exclusion. In light of this, he appointed a national unity government, especially in his first cabinet, which included members of various political parties represented in Parliament and ‘technocrats’ in civil society. He appointed cabinet members, ambassadors and board members who were not members of his party. The president’s action did not go well with SLPP members, who vehemently opposed his inclusion policy.
- Legacy of restoring peace to war-torn Sierra Leone
President Kabbah’s first major objective upon assuming office was to end the rebel war and restore peace to war-torn Sierra Leone. He took effective measures to usher peace in the country. He made open or direct negotiations with the RUF, resulting in the Lome Peace Accord, which served as the principle by which peace, tranquillity, and stability were restored. After the peace was restored, he contributed immensely to consolidating it.
- Laid the foundations for rebuilding and creation of institutions
President Kabbah laid the foundation for establishing certain institutions in the country that have been spectacular in terms of stability and sustainable social and economic development. His major reforms led to the establishment of major infrastructural projects and certain institutions, such as NASSIT, National Revenue Authority (NRA), Sierra Leone Road Transport (SLRTC), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Information Media Commission (IMC), among others. With NASSIT, every public and private sector worker is guaranteed a pension. The NRA was created to bring economic sanity to fiscal management. ACC was formed to fight corruption and deal with probity in governance. The privatization commission was also rebuilt.
- Attempted to reform the security sector
President Kabbah attempted to reform the security sector, which came to be clouded with distrust during the civil war. The military was no longer trustworthy, as some officials had proven unpatriotic and disloyal. They were accused of collaborating with the rebels during the war. Besides, the army became fragmented, and it needed to be rebuilt. He started by reorganizing the Ministry of Defence in 2002 and included civilian administrators to exercise oversight over finance and development plans under the supervision of a Director General. The Ministry was only responsible for formulating, implementing, evaluating and monitoring strategic defence policy.
- Set the Pace for a peaceful transfer of power.
The country has successfully had three peaceful democratic elections from 2002- 2012, and a ruling government was defeated in an election. This is a hallmark of a strong democracy, especially in Africa. During the 2007 elections, his party members insulted him for not reversing the results in favour of Solomon Berewa of the SLPP.
- Established the Office of National Security
The president passed the National Security and Intelligence Act in Parliament to establish the Office of National Security (ONS) and the National Security Council (NSC) to beef up the security sector. Fundamentally, ONS is expected to be answerable to the NSC. Moreover, the Kabbah’s administration in collaboration with the International Military Advisory Training Team (IMAT) raised the military competence of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) through the training for all officers. In 2003 the Africanus Horton Armed Forces Academy at Leicester was also established. In 1998, the government began to reform the police. The government published the Police Charter, which empowered the police to take charge of police security. Community policing was also introduced with the creation of Local Partnership Boards. In 1999, the police under a British Office, Keith Biddle and the Commonwealth Technical team restructured the police force. Other reforms included the establishment of the Family Support Units (FSU), and the Special Security Division (SSD) was changed to the Operation Support Division (OSD). Police officers in charge of police stations were renamed Local Unit Commanders (LUCs).
- Embarked on infrastructural development
Through donor support, the Kabbah’s Administration also embarked on infrastructural development in road construction, communications and energy. The government received huge resources from the European Union (EU), the Kuwait Fund, the Arab Bank for African Development (BADEA) and the World Bank. The government, through the SLRA, constructed and repaired several roads. President Kabbah also reforms the country’s local government administration. He rebuilt the local council administration, which had been dissolved in the 1970s, devolving some authority in the provinces and empowering local communities. The education and health infrastructures were also rebuilt or strengthened under Kabbah’s administration. Schools destroyed during were rebuilt, laying the foundation for increased enrolment, especially for the girl child. Most health centres were rebuilt in almost all chiefdoms in the country. The administration rebuilt the security apparatus with the support of DFID and IMATT, and the police and the military were rebuilt.
To crown it all, President Kabbah was a selfless leader who fought assiduously to end the 11 years of brutal war, re-establish the rule of law, ensure press freedom and rebuild democratic institutions. He is our own Abraham Lincoln.
See the next edition for Part III and the previous edition for Part I
