Foday Sankoh

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Lore & Background

Sankoh joined the Royal West African Forces in 1956, training as a cameraman and wireless operator and reaching the rank of corporal. In 1971 he was arrested and imprisoned for seven years for joining a coup plot against Siaka Stevens. He was reportedly a student leader and later traveled to Libya in the 1980s to train under Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi. In 1991, sponsored by Liberian rebel Charles Taylor, he launched a civil war against the government of Sierra Leone. In 1997 he was arrested in Nigeria on weapons charges but was released by July 1999 to sign the Lomé peace agreement. That agreement faced multiple violations and called into question his control of his army and his commitment to ending the war. After an angry mob marched on his Freetown villa in May 2000 and threatened to lynch him, he was taken into protective custody and held in detention until his death. Sankoh died in hospital of complications arising from a stroke while awaiting trial on the night of 29 July 2003. UN-backed war crimes court chief prosecutor David Crane said Sankoh's death granted him 'a peaceful end that he denied to so many others.'

Reader's Guide

Foday Sankoh's significance rests on his role as founder and commander of the Revolutionary United Front, which ignited the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War from 1991 to 2002. The conflict, supported by Charles Taylor's NPFL, caused an estimated 50,000 deaths and displaced over 500,000 people. Sankoh's early life included service in the Royal West African Forces, a seven-year imprisonment for coup plotting, and training in Libya under Muammar Gaddafi. His arrest in Nigeria in 1997 on weapons charges was followed by release to sign the Lomé peace agreement in July 1999. That agreement unraveled due to repeated violations and doubts about Sankoh's authority over his fighters. In May 2000, an angry mob threatened to lynch him at his Freetown villa, leading to protective custody and detention until his death. He died in hospital from stroke complications while awaiting trial. Chief prosecutor David Crane noted that Sankoh's death gave him 'a peaceful end that he denied to so many others.' The war left Sierra Leone with deep trauma and a long road to recovery.

Did You Know?

• Sankoh joined the Royal West African Forces in 1956 and trained as a cameraman and wireless operator, reaching the rank of corporal.
• He was imprisoned for seven years in 1971 for joining a coup plot against Siaka Stevens.
• He traveled to Libya in the 1980s to train under Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi.
• Sankoh was arrested in Nigeria in 1997 on weapons charges but released by July 1999 to sign the Lomé peace agreement.
• UN-backed war crimes court chief prosecutor David Crane said Sankoh's death granted him 'a peaceful end that he denied to so many others.'