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84-559: In early 1996, Kabbah was elected leader of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and was the party's presidential candidate in the country's first free presidential election later that year. He was elected 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

168-488: A centre-left social democratic party, with a centrist tendency. The SLPP returned to power when its leader Ahmad Tejan Kabbah won the 1996 presidential election. The party was in power from 1996 to 2007, when it again lost to the APC, led by Ernest Bai Koroma , in the 2007 presidential election. SLPP returned to power on 4 April 2018 when Julius Maada Bio was sworn in as the new President of Sierra Leone after winning

252-566: 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. The funeral service was attended by several former heads of state, international delegations, former and current government officials, regardless of their political parties, and members of

336-726: A branch of the Mandinka people of West Africa. The Mandingo first settled in Northeast in what is now Sierra Leone from Guinea over 650 years ago as farmers , traders and Islamic clerics in the time of the Mali Empie , an Islamic Empire under the rule of the famous Muslim ruler Mansa Musa . About 500 years later, Beginning in the late 1870s to the 1890s under the rule of prominent Mandinka Muslim cleric Samori Ture , an even larger group of Mandingo immigrated from Eastern Guinea settled in northeastern Sierra Leone on lands conqured by

420-556: 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

504-514: A colonialistic approach. Margai may have adopted this strategy in an effort to replace the Creole civil administrators with unqualified members of his Mende tribe. Sir Albert Margai took power and sought to make the army homogeneously Mende. He also endeavoured to change Sierra Leone from a democracy to a one-party state . Scores of schools were built in the provinces along with Teachers Colleges in every district (Makeni, Magburaka, Moyamba, and

588-618: 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 neighbouring Guinea. The coup was led by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council , and Koroma was freed and installed as

672-762: A devoted Muslim, Kabbah received his secondary education at the St. Edward's Secondary School, the oldest Catholic secondary school in Freetown. He also married a Catholic, the late Patricia Kabbah , 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 Food Technology and Commerce and University College Aberystwyth , Wales , in

756-554: A minority of the local Sierra Leonean people under Samori Ture's rule were not Muslims at the time. But faced with the powers of the new hardline Muslim rulers, they abandoned their animist beliefs and converted to Islam. Many of the local peoples joined the Mandinka in enrolling in the Islamic Madrassa schools established by Samori Ture. Within a short period of time after Ture conquered part of northern Sierra Leone, part of

840-577: A new party, the People's National Party (PNP), which aimed for greater African involvement in the British colonial government. With the independence of Ghana in 1957, the PNP sought the support of the educated elite to lead a transition to independence. Stevens would later leave the party to form the northern-supported All Peoples Congress . Upon independence in 1961, Milton Margai became prime minister , and

924-517: Is Ahmad Tejan Kabbah , the president of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 2007. Other famous Mandingo from Sierra Leone include Sierra Leone former vice president Sorie Ibrahim Koroma , current Sierra Leone first lady Fatima Maada Bio , and former chairman of the Sierra Leone national electoral commission Mohamed Nfa Alie Conteh. The Mandingo people of Sierra Leone speak the Maninka language as their native language . The Mandingo dialect of Sierra Leone

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1008-505: Is Virtually identical to the Mandingo dialect of Guinea and Liberia. Like other Sierra Leonean ethnic groups, the overwhelming majority of the Mandingo people in Sierra Leone also speak the Krio language , the defctor national language of Sierra Leone. In the 21st century, the Mandingo live in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone; they make up the majority of the population of several towns in

1092-424: Is particularly prevalent in the rural areas. The suitor's family sends kola nuts, a bitter nut from a tree, to the male elders of the bride-to-be. If the gift is accepted, the courtship begins. The Mandinka have practiced polygamy since pre-Islamic days. A Mandinka man is legally allowed to have up to four wives, as long as he is able to care for each of them equally. Mandinka believe the crowning glory of any woman

1176-465: Is played with traditional songs to accompany a dying person into the meaning of death, so the deceased can go in peace to the phantom place. Most Mandinka live in family-related compounds in traditional rural villages. Mandinka villages are fairly autonomous and self-ruled, being led by a council of upper-class elders and a chief who functions as a first among equals. Family members traditionally arrange marriages between prospective spouses. This practice

1260-464: Is rich in tradition, music, and spiritual ritual. Mandingo continue a long oral history tradition through griots, who tell stories, songs and proverbs. This passing down of oral history through music has made music one of the most distinctive traits of the Mandinka. In rural areas, western education's impact is minimal; the literacy rate in Latin script among these Mandinka is quite low. But, more than half

1344-435: Is the ability to produce children, especially sons. The first wife has authority over any subsequent wives. The husband has complete control over his wives and is responsible for feeding and clothing them. He also helps the wives' parents when necessary. Wives are expected to live together in harmony , at least superficially. They share work responsibilities of the compound, cooking, laundry, etc. Mandingo children are named on

1428-470: The 2012 presidential election . He beat Usman Boie Kamara , who came in second place. Bio was nominated as the SLPP candidate for president in the 2018 election, which he ultimately won. In 2018, Sierra Leone held a general election . The presidential election, in which neither candidate reached the required threshold of 55%, went to a second round of voting, in which Julius Maada Bio was elected with 51% of

1512-688: The 2018 Sierra Leone presidential election . SLPP is overwhelmingly popular in Mende areas in south and eastern Sierra Leone (except in Kono District , a swing district), where the party regularly wins presidential, parliamentary and local elections by large margins. The SLPP has large minority support in the Western Area (including Freetown ). The SLPP also has large minority support in Koinadugu District and Falaba District in

1596-705: 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. 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

1680-555: The Eastern Province of British Sierra Leone . Kabbah's father, Abu Bakr Sidique Kabbah, who worked as a businessman and a deeply religious Muslim man, was an ethnic Mandingo of Guinean descent from Kambia District in northern Sierra Leone. Kabbah's mother, Haja Adama Coomber Kabbah, was also a deeply religious Muslim and a member of the Mende ethnic group from the Coomber family, a Chieftaincy ruling house based in

1764-657: The Kamajors led by Samuel Hinga Norman . Once again, in pursuit of peace, President Kabbah signed the Lomé Peace Accord with the RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh on 7 July 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 18 January 2002, at

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1848-670: The Sufi tradition of Islam from Guinea to Northeastern Sierra Leone to teach the Quran and the life of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad . Ture banned some indigenous practices by the local Sierra Leone people that he viewed as un Islamic. Ture also imposed an Islamic dress code in Northeast Sierra Leone under his rule. Although most part of Northern Sierra Leone had been Muslim even before Samori's conquest,

1932-769: The Wassoulou . He founded many Islamic Madrassa schools based on the Suffi tradition of the Maliki school within Sunni Islam . Ture ordered the local Sierra Leonean people, who were living under the Mandinka control territory in Northeastern Sierra Leone to abandon their animist beliefs and to convert to Islam or they must pay a tax known as Jizya for not converting to Islam. Samori Ture brought many ethnic Mandinka marabout Sunni Muslims clerics from

2016-644: The civil services . On March 21, 2014, Kabbah's coffin was carried by soldiers of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces into the Sierra Leone House of Parliament where members of parliament paid their last respects to the former head of state. On March 23, 2014, Kabbah's coffin 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

2100-404: The rainy season men plant peanuts as their main cash crop; peanuts are also a staple of the Mandinka diet. Men also plant millet and corn, mostly for family consumption. Women work in the rice fields, tending the plants by hand. This is extremely labour-intensive and physically demanding work. Only about 50% of the rice consumption needs are met by local planting; the rest is imported from Asia and

2184-473: The APC became president after the interregnum. Under Stevens, Sierra Leone became a one-party state. In 1978 all SLPP MPs except one (Manna Kpaka, MP in Kenema) joined the APC. The SLPP was outlawed, and its elites and supporters were physically threatened and barred from holding meetings. In 1996 SLPP returned to prominence, as its candidate Ahmad Tejan Kabbah won the presidential election, receiving 59.5% of

2268-487: 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 Lomé Peace Accord , in which the rebels, for the first time agreed to a temporary cease fire with

2352-429: The British to gain freedom. The Mandingo have played an important role in the politics of Sierra Leone. The Mandingo have traditionally supported the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), which ruled the country as recently as 2007. Sierra Leone's third president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah , who is ethnic Mandingo, was very popular in the Mandingo community across Sierra Leone during his presidency. During Kabba's administration,

2436-646: The Mandingo enjoyed strong influence in the government and the civil service. Under the current Sierra Leone government of president Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress (APC), serving since 20xx (year), several prominent Mandingo have been appointed to senior government and civil service positions. These include deputy Minister of Finance, Mabinty Daramy ; Ambassador to the Gambia Mohamed Kemoh Fadika ; and Minister of Mines, Mineral Resources Minkailu Mansaray ; Mandingo culture

2520-585: The Milton Margai Teachers College). Opposing leaders criticized Margai's presentation of a bill to establish a one-party system in Sierra Leone and also blamed Margai for developments had led to an economic slowdown. In the 1967 elections, the APC and SLPP each won 32 seats in parliament, with 2 former SLPP Independents siding with the APC MPs Kutubu Kai-Samba and Luseni A. M Brewah. This development confirmed that

2604-601: The Muslim ruler Samori Toure as part of the Wassoulou Empire, a Muslim Empire. The Mandingo are partly responsible for the spread of Islam in Sierra Leone. The Mandingo people of Sierra Leone have a very close friendly and allied relationship with their neighbors the Mandingo people of Guinea and Liberia , as they share very similar identical dialect of the Mandingo language, tradition, culture and food. The Mandingo constitute 5% of Sierra Leone's population. Like

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2688-596: The North and East of Sierra Leone. Their population is largely concentrated in Koinadugu District in the North, particularly in the towns of Kabala and Falaba , where they form the majority of the population. The Mandingo make up the majority of the population in Yengema , Kono District in Eastern Sierra Leone. They also make up the majority of the population in the town of Karina , Bombali District , in

2772-667: The SLPP and Krio parties, especially the Cyril Rogers-Wright led United Sierra Leone Progressive Party , established in 1954. The SLPP positioned itself as "the countryman's party," and garnered the support of tribal chiefs . In recent times however, the SLPP has been widely perceived as "the Mende man's party". After elections in 1957 , Milton Margai bowed to behind-the-scenes pressure and stepped down from SLPP leadership, replaced by his brother Albert Margai . However, in 1958, Albert Margai and Siaka Stevens launched

2856-473: The SLPP became the ruling party. The SLPP, along with almost all Sierra Leonean political parties, signed the constitution at the London constitutional conference; the APC was the notable exception. This unity did not extend to national politics, as opposing politicians often faced detainment under SLPP rule. Sir Milton Margai 's death in 1964 left SLPP leadership to his brother Sir Albert Margai . Albert's rule

2940-493: The SLPP would no longer lead the country. The subsequent political unrest led to the declaration of martial law and a military coup that took full control of the national government. The National Reformation Council (NRC), led by Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith , was established on 23 March 1967. Pressure from political elites, trade unions, and university students led to the junta's collapse in November 1970, and Siaka Stevens of

3024-622: The Senegambia: Traditionalism, Islam and European Expansion". The American Historical Review . 78 (5). American Historical Association: 1506–1507. doi : 10.2307/1854194 . JSTOR   1854194 . Many Mandinkas children, particularly those in the rural areas who attend madrassas, learn to recite chapters of the Qu'ran in Arabic . Most Mandinka continue to practise a mix of Islam and traditional animist practices. They believe that

3108-494: The Sierra Leone government. 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 defeat the rebels and restore peace and order in Sierra Leone. In October 1999, the United Nations agreed to send peacekeepers to help restore order and disarm

3192-617: 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, he was asked to chair the National Advisory Council, one of

3276-1087: The United Kingdom, gaining a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 1959. He later studied law, and in 1969 he became a practicing Barrister-at-Law and a 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

3360-569: The University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, for his contribution to restoring peace in his country after a decade of civil war, and for working towards political and economic reconstruction following the end of the war. Kabbah was a grand commander of the Order of the Republic of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone People%27s Party The Sierra Leone People's Party ( SLPP ) is one of

3444-399: The adult population can read the Arabic script used locally; small Qur'anic schools for children are quite common. The Mandingo have long been known for their drumming and also for their unique musical instrument, the kora . The kora is a 21-stringed guitar-like instrument made out of a halved, dried, hollowed-out gourd covered with cow or goat skin. The strings are made of fishing line. It

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3528-420: The boys spent up to a year in the bush, but that has been reduced to coincide with their physical healing time. It is now generally between three and four weeks. The children who have been through the ritual together form a special, internal bond, one which remains throughout life. During this time, the children of each gender are taught about their adult social responsibilities and rules of behaviour by elders of

3612-660: The capital Freetown . Since the late eighteenth century, it had been dominated by the Krio people , an ethnic group made up of descendants of black colonists from Great Britain and Nova Scotia, and slaves liberated from ships by the British Navy. The settlers from Nova Scotia were mostly freed United States slaves, known as Black Loyalists , who were resettled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War . Many had left rebel masters and joined

3696-442: The country in 2000. As President, Kabbah opened direct negotiations with the RUF rebels to end the civil war. He signed several peace accords with the rebel leader Foday Sankoh , including the 1999 Lomé Peace Accord , in which the rebels, for the first time, agreed to a temporary ceasefire with the Sierra Leone government. When the cease-fire agreement with the rebels collapsed, Kabbah campaigned for international assistance from

3780-410: The country, including the RUF leader Foday Sankoh , who was captured. The rebels finally agreed to be disarmed; in return the Sierra Leone government, led by Kabbah, offered them amnesty and career opportunities and counselling. The child rebels were placed in public schools , also offered counselling and reunited with family members. In 2001, UN forces moved in rebel-held areas and began to disarm

3864-603: The election free and fair. After the contribution made by the Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force in the war, Kabbah declared Bengali an honorary official language in December 2002. Kabbah left office in September 2007 at the end of his second 5-year term. Constitutionally, he was ineligible to seek re-election. His Vice-president, Solomon Berewa , ran as the SLPP candidate to succeed Kabbah but

3948-461: The election free and fair. Kabbah campaigned on a promise to end the civil war if elected president. During his inauguration speech as president, Kabbah repeated the promise to end the civil war, which he indeed achieved later in his presidency. A deeply devoted Muslim , Kabbah was born in Pendembu , Kailahun District in Eastern Sierra Leone, though he was raised in the capital Freetown . Kabbah

4032-700: 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 UN system assistance to liberation movements recognized by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), such as the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa, and

4116-457: 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 defence forces, notably

4200-653: The larger Mandinka people, the Sierra Leonean Mandingo are over 99% Muslim and they follow the Sunni tradition of Islam based on the Maliki Jurisprudence. Islam has become the basis of their religious and cultural practices. The Mandingo are well known for their conservative Islamic tradition. The Mandingo people of Sierra Leone are historically predominantly traders and rural subsistence farmers. The most famous Mandingo from Sierra Leone

4284-444: The late 19th century, many of the Mandinka had begun to have large families. And by 1900, most of the Mandinka population in Sierra Leone were first generation Sierra Leonean born. The British government considered the Sierra Leonean born Mandinka as citizens of the colony of Sierra Leone by birth. The British called them Mandingo. While they were concentrated in the North and East, the Mandinka traders and businesspeople also settled in

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4368-424: The leadership of General Sani Abacha , who was then the military head of his country. In 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 overthrow Kabbah's government, despite signing numerous peace accords with President Kabbah. In May 2000, Foday Saybanah Sankoh, who

4452-422: The mechanisms set up by the military to facilitate 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

4536-399: The nation's economy. 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). 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,

4620-524: The north of Sierra Leone. In 1875 , Samori Ture, an ultra conservative hardline Muslim cleric and Mandinka leader in Guinea, imported breech-loading rifles through the British colony Sierra Leone and supplied his warriors with them. By 1876, his Mandinka warriors had enslaved many African Tribes within the region, including the Limba led by Almamy Suluku and had conquered a large territory in Limba areas in northern Sierra Leone (present day Koinadugu and Kambia District ). The Mandinka warriors moved into

4704-404: The north of the country. The SLPP also has significant minority support in Kambia District in the north of the country. SLPP dominated politics in Sierra Leone in the years following World War II . In 1955 and 1956, riots occurred in Sierra Leone, originally sparked by the artisan union's strike over pay; further unrest followed strikes by transport workers. These events grew animosity between

4788-472: The northeastern part of British colony Sierra Leone, where they occupied lands of the local indigenous Temne and Loko people . Ture took the title of Imam , chief of all Believers. By late 1876, the Mandinka warriors had occupied a large section in northeastern Sierra Leone, possibly due to wars with France and intentions to spread the teachings of Islam. Samori Ture established Islamic rule in parts of Northeastern Sierra Leone under his control, as part of

4872-443: The others. Often communities drive out converts from the compound and village; they are rejected by their families. Mandinka are rural subsistence farmers who rely on groundnuts , rice, millet, and small-scale husbandry for their livelihood. The oldest male is the head of the family. Small mud houses with conical thatch or tin roofs make up their villages, which are organized on the basis of clan groups of related individuals. During

4956-448: The popular vote in a second round against John Karefa-Smart of the United National People's Party (UNPP). In the election held on 14 May 2002, the party won 69.9% of the popular vote and 83 out of 112 seats in the House of Representatives , and its candidate in the presidential election, Kabbah, won 70.1% of the vote and was re-elected. At the SLPP's national convention in Makeni on 3–4 September 2005, Vice-President Solomon Berewa

5040-420: The presidential election later that year, defeating his main opponent Ernest Bai Koroma of the main opposition All People's Congress (APC) with 70.1% of the vote–the largest margin of victory for a free election in the country's history. 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

5124-561: The presidential election, the SLPP candidate, Berewa, took second place in the first round, winning 38.3% of the vote against 44.3% for the APC candidate, Ernest Bai Koroma . A second round of the presidential election was held in September; Koroma prevailed with 54.6% of the vote against 45.4% for Berewa. The SLPP constitution requires its leader to resign if the party loses a national election; Berewa resigned as party leader on 17 October 2007, leaving Alhaji Sulaiman Jah as acting leader. In 2011, Julius Maada Bio became SLPP's nominee for

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5208-438: 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 a number of successful military operations to repel the RUF rebels and retake many of the areas of the country that were under the rebel control. The rebel lines of communication were severely disrupted and many senior rebel leaders were captured or fled

5292-459: 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 to celebrate the end of the war. Kabbah went on to easily win his final five years 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

5376-407: The rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force began arriving in December, and the UN 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

5460-450: The region, once dominated by Indigenous religion, rapidly became an overwhelmingly Muslim majority, and has remained an overwhelmingly Muslim majority to present. In 1878, Ture sent thousands of Mandinka people from the Wassoulou in central Guinea to Mandinka-occupied northeastern Sierra Leone as traders , farmers , and settlers to colonize the area. By late 1878, the Mandinka population had tripled in British-controlled Sierra Leone. By

5544-532: The return of the new adults to their families. The children are given new clothes and treated with new respect by their elders. Boys and girls are honoured with a dance. Tradition teaches children that, even after marriage, a woman's loyalty remains to her parents and her family; a man's to his. In the early 21st century, more than 99% of Mandinka are Muslim. Logon, Roberta A. (May 2007). "Sundiata of mali". Calliope . 17 (9): 34–38. Quinn, Charlotte A.; Quinn, Charlotte A. (December 1973). "Mandingo Kingdoms of

5628-431: The rural town of Mobai , Kailahun District in eastern Sierra Leone. A devoted Muslim himself, Kabbah's first name Ahmad means "highly praised" or "one who constantly thanks God" in Arabic language. Kabbah was a fluent speaker of several languages including English , French , Susu , Mende , Krio and his native Mandinka language . Though born in the Kailahun District, Kabbah grew up in the capital, Freetown . Though

5712-417: The same gender, who become their lifelong sponsors. They learn secret songs about being Mandinka. These songs teach them how they are to relate to members of the opposite sex, including their parents, their siblings, their relatives, and eventually their spouses, as well as their elders and their peers. Great preparation is made in the village or compound for the return of the children. A huge celebration marks

5796-431: The seventh day after their birth, and are almost always named after a very important person in their family. The Mandinka practise rites of passage to mark the beginning of adulthood for their children. At an age between four and fourteen, the children of each gender are subjected to ritual cutting of genitalia (see articles on male and female genital cutting ), in separate groups according to their gender. In years past,

5880-467: The spirits can be controlled only through the power of a marabout , who knows the protective formulas. No important decision is made without first consulting the marabout. Marabouts, who also have Islamic training, write Qu'ranic verses on slips of paper and sew them into leather pouches. They sell them as protective amulets, which are bought and worn by men, women and children. The few Mandinka who have converted to Christianity are often viewed as traitors by

5964-430: The two major political parties in Sierra Leone , along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. The SLPP dominated Sierra Leone's politics from its foundation in 1951 to 1967, when it lost the 1967 parliamentary election to the APC, led by Siaka Stevens . Originally a centre-right , conservative party, it identifies since 2012 as

6048-478: The vote against the candidate of then-ruling All People’s Congress (APC). On 4 April 2018, opposition candidate Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), was sworn in as Sierra Leone’s new president. Mandingo people of Sierra Leone Mandingo people of Sierra Leone (commonly referred to as the Mandinka , Mandingo or Malinke) is a major Muslim ethnic group in Sierra Leone and

6132-561: Was about 40 years his junior. President Kabbah, as chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone in Freetown holds an honorary doctor of laws degree of the university. In September 2001 Southern Connecticut State University in the United States awarded him with an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, in recognition of his effort to bring peace to his country. In July 2006, he received another honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from

6216-463: Was an ethnic Mandingo . Kabbah was Sierra Leone's first and currently the only Muslim head of state of the country. Kabbah's first marriage, in 1965, was to Patricia Tucker , a devout Christian from the Sherbro ethnic group and a native of Bonthe District in Southern Sierra Leone. He and Patricia Kabbah had five children. The two were often seen together in public before his presidency. She

6300-826: Was an international civil servant for almost two decades. After serving as deputy Chief of the West Africa Division of the UN Development Programme ( UNDP ) in New York City , 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

6384-436: Was characterized by dissent. Politically, he attempted to strengthen the position of SLPP elites relative to the chiefs, who had formed the backbone of the party. Albert's autocratic leadership style was questioned within his party, sparked by actions such as the demotion of senior party members Alhaji M.S. Mustapha and Kerefa Smart. Albert also embarked on a policy of Africanisation , which removed some civil servants who favored

6468-633: Was defeated by 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 which he condemned as being "rife with fraud and abuse" and "plagued by outrageous violence." Kabbah died at his home in Juba Hill ,

6552-519: Was influenced by the civil war with the Revolutionary United Front , led by Foday Sankoh , which led to him being temporarily ousted by the military Armed Forces Revolutionary Council from May 1997 to March 1998. He was soon returned to power after military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by Nigeria . Another phase of the civil war led to the United Nations and British involvement in

6636-633: 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

6720-565: Was selected by the SLPP as its leader and 2007 presidential candidate. He received 291 votes, while Charles Margai received 34, Julius Maada Bio received 33, and J. B. Dauda received 28. In the August 2007 election , the SLPP was defeated by the APC in the parliamentary election, winning 43 seats against 59 for the APC; the PMDC, a splinter party founded by Charles Margai , attracted the support of some traditional SLPP voters, winning 10 seats. In

6804-596: Was sworn in as Sierra Leone's first freely elected president. 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

6888-630: Was then carried by soldiers to the Mandingo Central Mosque in Freetown where an Islamic prayer service was held before he was 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. He has five children: Mariama, Abu, Michael, and Tejan Jr., and six grandchildren: Simone, Aidan, Abubakarr Sidique, Mariama, Nkoya, Tejan, and Zainab Kabbah. In 2008 he married Isata Jabbie Kabbah , who

6972-493: 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

7056-510: Was very influential during his presidency, focusing mainly on humanitarian issues, and was outspoken on the need to end the civil war. She died from an illness in 1998 and thus did not live to see the war's end in 2002. A year after he left office as president, and ten years after the death of his wife Patricia, Kabbah married Isata Jabbie Kabbah, an ethnic Mandingo and a Muslim in an Islamic wedding ceremony in Freetown. They remained married until he died in 2014. Most of Kabbah's time in office

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