Joseph Saidu Momoh

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Image of Momoh on a 50 leone note.
Joseph Momoh pronunciation

Joseph Saidu Momoh (born January 26, 1937 in Binkolo ; † August 3, 2003 in Conakry , Guinea ) was President of Sierra Leone from 1985 to 1992 .

Life

soldier

Momoh, a member of the Limba tribe , joined the army of the British colony in 1958 . In 1971 he became their commander in chief of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces and in 1974 a member of parliament and state secretary in the government of President Siaka Stevens, who had been in office since independence in 1961 . As a major general , he became chief of staff in 1984 .

president

After Stevens' resignation announcement, the unity party All People's Congress (APC) nominated Momoh on August 2, 1985 as the successor to the presidential candidate desired by Stevens. He was the only candidate to win the elections in October 1985 with 99% of the vote and became president on November 28, 1985. In view of the poor economic situation, Momoh proclaimed an “economic emergency” in 1987, but this did not improve the situation. Momoh was considered "tyrannical" and "dictatorial".

In 1991 the civil war broke out, which is said to have claimed between 50,000 and 200,000 lives by 2002, when a small group under Foday Sankoh started raiding towns in the east of the country. In the same year, Momoh introduced a multiparty system. Elections were promised for late 1992. On April 29, 1992, he was deposed by a group of young officers led by Yahya Kanu or Valentine Strasser .

Imprisonment, amnesty, death

During the civil war of 1998 Momoh was arrested by soldiers from the ECOWAS intervention force in February and sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 5, 1998 for conspiracy and high treason. He is said to have been involved in the May 1997 coup . After successfully escaping from prison, he fell into the hands of the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by Foday Sankoh and was released in November 1999. The government of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah had already given him an amnesty in July .

After his death in exile in neighboring Guinea in 2003, he was transferred to Freetown and honored with a state funeral.

family

Momoh has been married several times and is said to have polygamy . According to unconfirmed information, he was temporarily married to the Cameroonian Elizabeth Yangabot .

In 1967 he married Hannah Victoria Lucinda Wilson , who served as his first wife. She left her unfaithful husband in 1989 and moved to London . They had a daughter. Momoh married Fatmata Saw after the death or departure of his first wife . According to some sources, he was married to her before Hannah and later only was in a relationship.

Momoh is said to be the son of Abdul Momoh with Hawa Marah as well as the sons of son Joseph Jnr. and John Momoh . Abdul and John Momoh have been tried for collective murder since 2017.

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Report of the Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Volume 2, 2004, p. 92.
  2. ^ Report of the Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Volume 2, 2004, p. 8.
  3. ^ Sierra Leone News - November 1998. Sierra-Leone.org. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  4. ↑ IRIN-WA Update 598. University of Pennsylvania, African Studies Center, November 19, 1999.
  5. ↑ Before His Death: Kabbah, Momoh Reconciled. Concord Times, in: AllAfrica.com, Aug. 26, 2005.
  6. ^ Sierra Leone opposition politician Alie Kabba denied bail and sent to prison. The Sierra Leone Telegraph, December 31, 2015.
  7. ↑ Alusine Jalloh: Muslim Fula Business Elites and Politics in Sierra Leone , African Economic History, R. 35, 2007, p. 99.
  8. ↑ Sia Nyama Koroma: Sierra Leone's Special First Lady. Cocorioko, November 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ Momoh, Major-General Joseph Saido. In: Africa Who's Who. 2nd ed., Africa Books, London 1991.
  10. ↑ Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Henry Louis Gates, Mr. Steven J. Niven: Dictionary of African Biography , Issues 1-6, Oxford 2012, p. 255.
  11. ↑ On ex-President Momoh's wants. Wife reveals it all. Cocorioke, December 24, 2005.
  12. ↑ Tribute to Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh. MyTribute.life. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  13. ^ British Immigration to Deport Former President's Daughter. Standard Times, in: AllAfrica.com, June 7, 2019.
  14. ↑ Late President Momoh's Son Remanded for Murder. Concord Times, in: AllAfrica.com, December 11, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Momoh, Joseph Saidu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sierra Leone politician, President of Sierra Leone (1985-1992)
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Binkolo
DATE OF DEATH August 3, 2003
Place of death Conakry