The Special Court for Sierra Leone's Appeals Judgment in the AFRC case

Abstract

The civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002) was initially a conflict between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel forces under Foday Sankoh, and the central government. In 1997, the advance of the rebels led to the establishment of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF), which benefited from the support of the Sierra Leonean government, seemingly to the detriment of Sierra Leone’s army. Although the country was still unstable, elections took place and in March 1996. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah was elected president. Beginning in September 1996, Kabbah was subjected to an attempted military coup led by retired officer Johnny Paul Koroma, who was subsequently imprisoned. On 25 May 1997, members of Sierra Leone’s army staged a successful coup and installed Koroma as the Head of State, along with his military regime, the Armed Forced Revolutionary Council (AFRC). One of the major political moves of this regime was to involve the RUF in the management of the country, integrating the RUF into the government and establishing a Supreme Council. The three accused in this case, all relatively young officers born between 1965 and 1971, played key roles in the government of Sierra Leone. Alex Tamba Brima, one of the officers who participated in the coup, had the rank of Principal Liaison Officer and was a member of the Supreme Council with responsibility for several ministries. In addition, after the death of the AFRC’s second-incommand, Alex Tamba Brima led the forces that attempted to regain control of Freetown in January 1999. Brima (Ibrahim) Bazzy Kamara, another officer who participated in the military coup in May 1997, was also a Principal Liaison Officer and a member of the Supreme Council. 4 He assisted Alex Tamba Brima in commanding forces during the attempted capture of Freetown in 1999. Santigie Borbor Kanu, who played an essential