Déjà vu: APC Resurrecting the Civil Defense Forces

The more things change the more they remain the same in Sierra Leone. The APC like the SLPP has not learnt anything from their past mistakes. The SLPP in 2007 repeated the same mistakes they made in 1967. The APC seems to be hell bent on repeating the mistakes they made when the RUF war started in 1991.

When the war started in Bomaru in 1991, the APC did everything in their power to contain it in Kailahun district while preparing for what was clearly going to be a sham multi-party “democratic” election.  Soldiers who were dedicated to pushing the rebels over the Liberian border died in mysterious ambushes in areas where no rebel activities were recorded.  Those who died in such suspicious ambushes include, Captain Prince Ben-Hirsch and Captain Tengbeh (aka Smart Jay). These soldiers were from Kailahun district and they were genuine in fighting the war.

According to sources, fingers were pointed at the APC government and specifically the then Inspector General of Police James Bambay Kamara of machinating those ambushes. The lackadaisical attitude of the badly trained APC army and the continued killings of promising soldiers from the Southeast in suspicious ambushes led young captains and lieutenants to later create vigilantes to aid the military. These vigilantes were created in all the war regions of the country.

The creation of the vigilantes did not improve the attitude of the badly trained APC military. The military was accused of looting, killing and raping women. Villagers lost confidence in the military and there were instances when villagers would swear they were attacked by the military and not the rebels.  The whole country then started calling the soldiers sobels-meaning that the soldiers were in fact acting like rebels. The belief that the soldiers were more interested in killing innocent civilians led to the creation of a more potent civil defense force which included Tamamboro, Donso, Kamajor and Kapra. These groups were responsible for the protection of their villages and towns. In short, the people of Sierra Leone lost confidence in the soldiers; they saw them as rebels and decided to defend themselves against the excesses of the soldiers.

History seems to be repeating itself.  The Kamajors and all other Civil Defense Force had been disbanded and rendered illegal. However, in less than 10 years the APC government seems to be trying very hard to reawaken the terrible memories of the poor villagers who took up arms to protect themselves. The actions of the Residence Minister Eastern Province, Musa Tarawallie and the Deputy Minister of Defense Pallo Conteh are doing just that. The continuous humiliation, brutalization and looting of villages in the South of the country (Moyamba) on the pretext of hunting down Kamajors is a fine way of forcing these folks to protect themselves. No one should blame them for doing so if the government becomes the perpetrator of violence.

The first law of nature is self preservation. If the government becomes the source of brutality on innocent civilians, then the APC should be ready to take responsibility for any response from Sierra Leoneans. The actions of the APC ministers are no different from those of marauding rebels whose sole aim was to wreck the lives of the people of the south. Sierra Leoneans need to live in peace and the continuous attack on innocent villagers in the south by Musa Tarawallie and Pallo Conteh is a recipe for disaster. Lonta!

By Ernest B. Malamango

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