Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (February
16, 1932 – March 13, 2014) was the third President of Sierra Leone from
1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by
professions, Kabbah spent many years working for the United Nations
Development Programme. He retired from the United Nations and returned
to Sierra Leone in 1992.
In
early 1996, Kabbah was elected leader of the Sierra Leone People's
Party (SLPP) and the party's presidential candidate in the 1996
presidential election. He was elected President of Sierra Leone in the
1996 presidential election with 59% of the vote defeating his closest
rival John Karefa-Smart of the United National People's Party (UNPP) who
had 40% in the runoff vote and conceded defeat. International observers
declared the election free and fair. In his inauguration speech in
Freetown, Kabbah promised to end the civil war, which he indeed achieved
later in his presidency.
An ethnic Mandingo, Kabbah was Sierra Leone's first Muslim head of state. Kabbah was born in Pendembu, Kailahun District in Eastern Sierra Leone, though he was largely raised in the capital Freetown.
Most of Kabbah's time in office was influenced by the civil war with the Revolutionary United Front, led by Foday Sankoh, which involved him being temporarily ousted by the military Armed Forces Revolutionary Council from May 1997 to March 1998. He was soon returned to power after a military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by Nigeria. Another phase of the civil war led to United Nations and British involvement in the country in 2000.
As President, Kabbah opened direct negotiations with the RUF rebels in order to end the civil war. He signed several peace accords with the rebel leader Foday Sankoh, including the 1999 Lome Peace Accord, in which the rebels, for the first time, agreed to a temporary cease fire with the Sierra Leone government. When the cease fire agreement with the rebels virtually 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 restored peace and order in Sierra Leone.
Kabbah
declared the civil war officially over in early 2002. Tens of thousands
of Sierra Leoneans across the country took to the streets to celebrate
the end of the war. Kabbah went on to easily win his final five year
term in office in the presidential election later that year with 70.1%
of the vote, defeating his main opponent Ernest Bai Koroma of the main
opposition All People's Congress (APC). International observers declared
the election free and fair.
Alhaji
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was born on February 16, 1932 in the rural town of
Pendembu, Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone to
devout Muslim parents. Kabbah's father was an ethnic Mandingo and a
deeply religious Muslim of Guinean descent and a native of Kambia
District in the north of Sierra Leone. His mother was also a Muslim and a
member of the Mende ethnic group from the Coomber family, a Chieftaincy
ruling house based in the small rural town of Mobai, Kailahun District.
Kabbah's first name Ahmad means "highly praised" or "one who constantly
thanks God" in the Arabic language. Kabba himself was a devout Muslim
and a member of the Mandingo ethnic group. Kabbah was a fluent speaker
of his native Mandingo language and was also a fluent speaker of the
local Susu language. Though born in the Kailahun District, Kabbah was
largely raised in the capital Freetown.
Though
a devout Muslim, Kabbah received his secondary education at the St.
Edward's secondary school in Freetown, the oldest Catholic secondary
school in Sierra Leone. Kabbah married a Catholic, the late Patricia
Kabbah, (born Patricia Tucker), who was an ethnic Sherbro from Bonthe
District in Southern Sierra Leone. Together the couple had five
children. Kabbah received his higher education at the Cardiff College of
Technology and Commerce, and University College Aberystwyth, Wales, in
the United Kingdom, with a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 1959. He
later studied law, and in 1969 he became a practicing Barrister-at-Law,
member of the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, London.
Kabbah spent nearly his entire career in the public sector. He served in the Western Area and in all the Provinces of Sierra Leone. He was a District Commissioner in Bombali and Kambia (Northern Province), in Kono (Eastern Province) and in Moyamba and Bo (Southern Province). He later became Permanent Secretary in various Ministries, including Trade and Industry, Social Welfare, and Education.
Kabbah was an international civil servant for almost two decades. After serving as deputy Chief of the West Africa Division of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, he was reassigned in 1973 to head the Programme's operation in the Kingdom of Lesotho, as Resident Representative. He also headed UNDP operations in Tanzania and Uganda, and just before Zimbabwe's independence, he was temporarily assigned to that country to help lay the groundwork for cooperation with the United Nations system.
After
a successful tour of duty in Eastern and Southern Africa, Kabbah
returned to New York to head UNDP's Eastern and Southern Africa
Division. Among other things, he was directly responsible for
coordinating United Nations system assistance to liberation movements
recognized by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), such as the
African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa, and the South West
African People's Organization (SWAPO) of Namibia.
Before
his retirement in 1992, Kabbah held a number of senior administrative
positions at UNDP Headquarters in New York, including those of Deputy
Director and Director of Personnel, and Director, Division of
Administration and Management.
After the military coup in 1992, Kabbah was asked to chair the National Advisory Council, one of the mechanisms set up by the military to alleviate the restoration of constitutional rule, including the drafting of a new constitution for Sierra Leone. He reputedly intended his return to Sierra Leone to be a retirement, but was encouraged by those around him and the political situation that arose to become more actively involved in the politics of Sierra Leone.
Kabbah
was seen as a compromise candidate when he was put forward by the
Mende-dominated Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) as their presidential
hopeful in the 1996 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, the first
multi-party elections in twenty-three years. The SLPP won the
legislative vote overwhelmingly in the South and Eastern Province of the
country, they split the vote with the UNPP in the Western Area and they
lost in the Northern Province. On March 29, 1996, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah was sworn in as President of Sierra Leone. Guided by his
philosophy of "political inclusion" he appointed the most broad-based
government in the nation's history, drawing from all political parties
represented in Parliament, and ‘technocrats’ in civil society. One
minority party did not accept his offer of a cabinet post.
The President'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. In November 1996, in Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, Kabbah signed a peace agreement with the rebel leader, former Corporal Foday Sankoh of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
The President'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. In November 1996, in Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, Kabbah signed a peace agreement with the rebel leader, former Corporal Foday Sankoh of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
The
rebels reneged on the Agreement, resumed hostilities, and later
perpetrated on the people of Sierra Leone what has been described as one
of the most brutal internal conflicts in the world.
In
1996, a coup attempt involving Johnny Paul Koroma and other junior
officers of the Sierra Leone Army was unsuccessful, but served as notice
that Kabbah's control over military and government officials in
Freetown was weakening.
In
May 1997, a military coup forced Kabbah into exile in neighboring
Guinea. The coup was led by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, and
Koroma was freed and installed as the head of state. In his Guinea
exile, Kabbah began to marshal international support. Just nine months
after the coup, Kabbah's government was revived as the military-rebel
junta was removed by troops of the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) under the command of the Nigerian led ECOMOG (ECOWAS
Ceasefire Monitoring Group) and loyal civil and military defense forces,
notably the Kamajos led by Samuel Hinga Norman.
Once again, in pursuit of peace, President Kabbah signed the Lome Peace Accord with the RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh on July 7, 1999. Notwithstanding repeated violations by the RUF, the document, known as the Lomé Peace Agreement, remained the cornerstone of sustainable peace, security, justice and national reconciliation in Sierra Leone. On January 18, 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), he declared that the rebel war was over.
Although elected as president, he faced the task of fighting a brutal enemy. His most crucial military support was however from outside. Nigeria was the foremost participant as they crucially intervened under the leadership of the late General Sani Abacha, who was then the military head of his country. On February 1998, he sent his troops to push out the infamous military junta and rebel alliance of Johnny Paul Koroma and Sam Bockarie, known as Maskita. The rebels, however, continued their attempt to dethrone Kabbah's government, despite signing numerous peace accords with President Kabbah. In May 2000, Foday Saybanah Sankoh, who was then part of Kabbah's cabinet, kidnapped several UN troops, and then ordered his rebels to march to Freetown. Trouble was looming as the capital was once more threatened with another January 6, 1999 scenario. But with the timely intervention of the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, 800 British troops were sent to Freetown to halt the impending rebel march to the city. President Kabbah was very grateful to the British Prime Minister, calling his intervention "timely" and one that "Sierra Leonean people will never forget".
Once again, in pursuit of peace, President Kabbah signed the Lome Peace Accord with the RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh on July 7, 1999. Notwithstanding repeated violations by the RUF, the document, known as the Lomé Peace Agreement, remained the cornerstone of sustainable peace, security, justice and national reconciliation in Sierra Leone. On January 18, 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), he declared that the rebel war was over.
Although elected as president, he faced the task of fighting a brutal enemy. His most crucial military support was however from outside. Nigeria was the foremost participant as they crucially intervened under the leadership of the late General Sani Abacha, who was then the military head of his country. On February 1998, he sent his troops to push out the infamous military junta and rebel alliance of Johnny Paul Koroma and Sam Bockarie, known as Maskita. The rebels, however, continued their attempt to dethrone Kabbah's government, despite signing numerous peace accords with President Kabbah. In May 2000, Foday Saybanah Sankoh, who was then part of Kabbah's cabinet, kidnapped several UN troops, and then ordered his rebels to march to Freetown. Trouble was looming as the capital was once more threatened with another January 6, 1999 scenario. But with the timely intervention of the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, 800 British troops were sent to Freetown to halt the impending rebel march to the city. President Kabbah was very grateful to the British Prime Minister, calling his intervention "timely" and one that "Sierra Leonean people will never forget".
As
president, Kabbah opened direct negotiations with the RUF rebels in
order to end the civil war. He signed several peace accords with the
rebel leader Foday Sankoh, including the 1999 Lome Peace Accord, in
which the rebels, for the first time agreed to a temporary cease fire
with the Sierra Leone government. When the cease fire agreement with the
rebels virtually collapsed, Kabbah campaigned for international
assistant 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 restored peace and order in Sierra Leone.
In
October 1999, the United Nations agreed to send peacekeepers to help
restore order and disarm the rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force
began arriving in December, and the United Nations Security Council
voted in February 2000 to increase the force to 11,000, and later to
13,000. The UN peacekeeping forces were made up mainly of soldiers from
the British special forces, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The African
Union special forces sent to Sierra Leone to assist the government in
fighting the rebels were made up mainly of soldiers from Nigeria,
Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Zambia and The Gambia. The international
forces, led by the British troops, launched many successful military
operations in repelling the RUF rebels and retook many of the areas of
the country that were under the rebel control. The rebel lines of
communication were severely destroyed and many senior rebel leaders were
captured or fled the country, including the RUF leader Foday Sankoh,
who was captured.
The
fragile rebels finally agreed to be dissarmed. In return the Sierra
Leone government, lead by Kabbah, offered the rebels amnesty, career
opportunities and mental institutions. The child rebels were reinstated
in public schools, also offered mental institutions and reunited with
family members. In 2001, United Nation forces moved in rebel-held areas
and began to dissarm the rebels.
The
civil war was officially declared over in early 2002 by Kabbah. Tens of
thousands of Sierra Leoneans across the country took to the streets
celebrating the end of the war. Kabbah went on to easily win his final
five year term in office in the presidential election later that year
with 70.1% of the vote, defeating his main opponent Ernest Bai Koroma of
the main opposition All People's Congress (APC). International
observers declared the election free and fair.
As the first leader after the civil war, Kabbah's main task was to disarm the different parties involved in the war and to build unity of the country. Time magazine called Kabbah a "diamond in the rough" for his success as the first civilian elected ruler of Sierra Leone in 34 years and his role in the end of what became a decade long conflict from 1992 until 2000. Although he himself was not considered corrupt, Kabbah was accused of an inability to deal with corrupt officials in his government many of whom were said to be profiting from the diamond trade. Kabbah struggled with this problem and invited the British to help set up an anti-corruption commission.
As the first leader after the civil war, Kabbah's main task was to disarm the different parties involved in the war and to build unity of the country. Time magazine called Kabbah a "diamond in the rough" for his success as the first civilian elected ruler of Sierra Leone in 34 years and his role in the end of what became a decade long conflict from 1992 until 2000. Although he himself was not considered corrupt, Kabbah was accused of an inability to deal with corrupt officials in his government many of whom were said to be profiting from the diamond trade. Kabbah struggled with this problem and invited the British to help set up an anti-corruption commission.
Kabbah left office in September 2007 at the end of his second 5-year term. Constitutionally, he was not eligible to seek re-election. His Vice-President, Solomon Berewa, ran as the SLPP candidate to succeed Kabbah but was defeated by the opposition candidate Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC.
Kabbah
was the head of the Commonwealth's observer mission for the December
2007 Kenyan election, as well as the head of the African Union's
observer mission for the March 2008 Zimbabwean election.
Kabbah
died at his residential home in Juba Hill, a middle class neighborhood
in the west end of Freetown at the age of 82 on March 13, 2014, after a
short illness. Following the announcement of Kabbah's death, Sierra
Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma declared a week of national
mourning; and he ordered the country's flags to be flown at half mast
throughout Sierra Leone.
A
state funeral was held for Kabbah. Kabbah's funeral service was
attended by several former Heads of State, international delegations,
former and current government officials, regardless of their political
paties, and members of the civil services.
On
March 21, 2014, Kabbah's casket was carried by soldiers of the Sierra
Leone Armed Forces into the Sierra Leone House of Parliament were
members of parliament paid their last respects to the former Head of
State. On March 23, 2014 Kabbah's casket was brought to the National
Stadium, as thousands of Sierra Leoneans lined the streets of Freetown
to say goodbye to their former leader. Kabbah's body was then carried by
soldiers to the Mandingo Central Mosque in Freetown where an Islamic
prayer service was held before he was finally laid to rest at the Kissi
Road Cemetery, next to his mother Hajah Adama Kabbah's grave.
Kabbah's wife Patricia, an ethnic Sherbro, died in 1998. They had five children: Mariama, Abu, Michael, Isata and Tejan Jr., and three grandchildren: Simone, Isata, and Aidan.
