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29-629: The civil war began on 23 March 1991, when the RUF attempted to overthrow the government of President Joseph Saidu Momoh . A 1992 military coup saw Captain Valentine Strasser , barely 25 years old, seize power, but the fighting continued. Strasser himself would be ousted by Julius Maada Bio in 1996. Peace negotiations were pursued intermittently through the regime changes. On 25 February 1996, delegations from both sides, along with United Nations Special Envoy Berhanu Dinka and representatives of

58-528: A good relationship with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 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 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. On 23 March 1987, police reported that

87-668: 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 and fifteen others. Minah was a personal friend of Momoh and while he did not personally believe that Minah

116-641: Is Makeni . The North borders the North West Province to the West , the Republic of Guinea to the north-east, the Eastern Province and Southern Province to the south-east. The Northern province is mainly a hilly wooded area with mountainous area farther inland. The region has ranges of Mountains, Hills, Valleys , and Wetlands ; comprising unique and endangered species . The region

145-675: Is a political stronghold of the All People's Congress (APC) political party. The APC currently controls all the elected seats from the North virtually. The four districts of the Northern Province: Prior to 2018, the province also included The Northern Province has the following borders: One of the main tourist attraction in the North is the Outamba-Kilimi National Park . The park is one of

174-635: The All People's Congress in 1985. Stevens' retired later that year, and was succeeded by Momoh after a presidential election with himself as the only candidate. He inherited a deteriorating economy, but made significant improvements in combatting corruption. In foreign policy, he enjoyed positive relations with the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1991, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group incited

203-559: 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 , 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

232-742: The Organisation of African Unity and the Commonwealth , met in Abidjan for four days. On 25–26 March, Bio and Sankoh met face-to-face for talks in Yamoussoukro , Ivory Coast , under the auspices of that country's president, Henri Konan Bédié . Days later, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was elected President of Sierra Leone. Kabba and Sankoh met on 22–23 April in Yamoussoukro and agreed to a ceasefire . Talks continued, though both sides accused

261-497: The Sierra Leone Civil War with the goal of overthrowing him. Later that year, he introduced a new constitution allowing for a multiparty system. Despite this, he was overthrown in a coup d'état the following year led by Valentine Strasser , who cited his government's unpaid salaries and poor logistical supply to frontline soldiers fighting against the RUF as motives. He fled into exile in Guinea , where he died in 2003, one year after

290-561: The songs of the rich bird life and the alarm calls of the various primates while silently paddling along the river in a canoe . The Temne people are the largest ethnic group in Northern Sierra Leone. The Temne form the largest ethnic group in every district in the north except Koinadugu District . Other ethnic groups in Northern Sierra Leone with significant population are the Limba , Kuranko , Mandingo , Loko ,

319-497: The All People's Congress (APC). The same year, he succeeded President Siaka Stevens by becoming the only candidate in a one-party election in the form of a referendum on 8 October 1985. Momoh became the second President of Sierra Leone 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

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348-552: 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 Amadu 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. In 1985, Momoh became secretary-general and head of

377-490: The North ) is one of the five provincial divisions of Sierra Leone . It is located in the Northern geographic region of Sierra Leone. It comprises the following four Districts: Bombali , Falaba , Koinadugu and Tonkolili . The Northern Province covers an area of 35,936 km (13,875 sq mi) with a population of 2,502,865, based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Its administrative and economic center

406-506: The RUF. A military coup on 25 May 1997 by Johnny Paul Koroma , leader of the newly formed Armed Forces Revolutionary Council , resulted in an alliance with the RUF. This was certainly the death knell for any hope of peace stemming from the Abidjan Accord. Joseph Saidu Momoh Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh , OOR , OBE (January 26, 1937 – August 3, 2003) was a Sierra Leonean politician and military officer who served as

435-985: 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 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 . In 1969, Momoh became lieutenant colonel and commanding officer of

464-713: The Young Stars FC at Makeni and Blackpool FC. He completed his education at the Government Clerks School, Technical Institute. 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. Momoh's military career began in 1958, when he enlisted in the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) as a private. He trained at

493-418: 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 and extortion from within Sierra Leone's government. International observers considered him mostly successful in these endeavors. This led to him forming

522-778: The end of the war. Joseph Saidu Momoh was born on January 26, 1937, in Binkolo , Bombali District in the Northern Province of British Sierra Leone to Limba parents. In the early 1940s, his family moved to Freetown , 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

551-699: The military government in Guinea. Ironically, Foday Sankoh had died a few days earlier. In 1971, Momoh was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire . He was decorated as an Officer of the Order of the Rokel in 1974 by President Siaka Stevens . Northern Province, Sierra Leone The Northern Province (commonly referred to as Northern Sierra Leone or simply

580-648: The most well-known and frequently visited sites in Sierra Leone. The Park is found in the northeastern of Kamakwie in the Bombali District . It is a magical place embedded between two rivers, the Great Scarcies , and the Mongo Rivers . At the park are rare elephants and buffaloes frequently seen following their paths through the dense bush. See the Hippos relaxing in their pools or listen to

609-597: The other of breaching the ceasefire. In October or November, Kabba again met with Sankoh, this time in Abidjan. Finally, on 22 November, the Abidjan Peace Accord was signed, the government having made concessions and the RUF having suffered severe military defeats. The accord had a broad range of goals, the main ones being: The National Commission for the Consolidation of Peace was set up, but accomplished little or nothing. The Neutral Monitoring Group

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638-404: The second President of Sierra Leone from November 1985 to 29 April 1992. Momoh was a member of the Limba ethnic group and briefly began a career in civil service before joining the military in 1956. Following the rise to power of Siaka Stevens , Momoh was appointed force commander in 1971, promoted to major-general in 1983, and became the secretary general of the country's sole legal party ,

667-528: The soldiers, led by Captain Valentine Strasser announced the military coup on the radio. Momoh fled to Guinea and sought political asylum. 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

696-427: The trial was justified, and was not politically motivated. Under Momoh's leadership, Sierra Leone joined the coalition of nations that opposed Saddam Hussein's occupation of Kuwait. 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

725-457: 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." Unfortunately, Momoh's efforts at reform came too late to rescue Sierra Leone from chaos. He

754-569: 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. Jamil Sahid Mohamed escaped to Lebanon where he remained in exile. They were executed on warrants signed by Momoh. A team of international oberservers from Norway , Sweden , Switzerland , Algeria and South Korea all concurred that

783-468: 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

812-472: Was overthrown in a military coup staged by Valentine Strasser , 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 . Incensed by terrible working conditions, unpaid salaries and a lack of government support they staged a coup d'état. On 29 April 1992,

841-538: Was supposed to number 700, but the RUF objected, proposing it consist of only 120 monitors, and agreement could not be reached. Then RUF spokesmen and supporters of the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace, Fayia Musa, Ibrahim Deen-Jalloh and Philip Palmer, attempted to overthrow Sankoh as leader of the RUF after Sankoh was arrested in Nigeria. The three were captured by RUF forces, and Sankoh consolidated power in

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