SIERRA LEONE-POLITICS: Dark Days for Kamajors

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Apr 28 1997 (IPS) - Sierra Leone’s government seems prepared to part company with the Kamajors, a band of traditional hunters who fought alongside government troops in the war against the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels.

In an announcement on state radio on Sunday, the government said in a release that: “All Provincial Secretaries, District Officers and Paramount Chiefs are accordingly instructed to ensure that Kamajor activities cease with immediate effect.”

The Kamajors would henceforth be confined to their chiefdoms from where they will operate at village level, the government release said. Those scattered across the country have been ordered to return to their villages. “No new Kamajors should be recruited in any of the 12 districts of the country,” added the government statement.

In the past few months, relations between the Kamajors and the government army have plummeted. Since the signing of the Peace Accord last November between the RUF and the government to end the six-year-old conflict, the Kamajors and government troops have clashed in Moyamba, Bo and Tonkolili districts in the North. There have been casulties on both sides.

The most recent incident occurred last month in the settlement of Magburaka, 20 kilometres from the northern regional capital of Makeni. Eyewitnesses said that 12 soldiers were shot dead by the Kamajors.

“I think these confrontations border largely on rivalry; it’s a whole question of who wants to make the biggest name, in the conduct of the war,” military analyst, Francis Deen, told IPS on Monday.

“In any case, it is good the Kamajors have been made to understand that the job of defending the nation is that of the army. At least, we will now see some calm within the government’s fighting forces,” Deen added.

The Kamajors became involved in Sierra Leone’s war in 1994, when the morale of the soldiers appeared to be sinking, following RUF gains on the battlefield.

Sierra Leone’s conflict began in March 1991 when RUF rebels, led by Corporal Foday Sankoh, attacked the country from Liberia. About 10,000 people have been killed in the war.

These traditional hunters are believed to possess mystical powers to appear and disappear at will, and they are feared by the RUF rebels.

It was the Kamajors who scored several victories for the government army. They dislodged the rebels from the RUF headquarters, Camp Zogoda, last year, and because of their military prowess, they received local support.

With their increase fame however, came jealousy from the army. The soldiers reportedly lost interest in fighting the rebels and their guns turned against the local hunters, who were basically auxilliaries.

Early last year, government soldiers attacked and massacred over 100 Kamajors in the East and South of the country in circumstances that have still not been clarified. This incident took placed under the reign of the military junta, the National Provincial Ruling Council (NPRC).

The elected civilian government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has attempted to clip the military’s wings through retirements and a gradual downsizing of the army in accordance with the terms of the November 30, 1996 Abidjan Peace Accord.

But with three abortive coups since taking office last March, President Kabbah is beginning to tip toe cautiously in his handling of the army.

“It would be a major political blunder to outright marginalise the army,” said political analyst Bockarie Turay of the University of Sierra Leone. “After all, the country is still engulfed in war, as we’ve seen numerous cease-fire violations in the North and Southeast of the country,” Turay added.

Although there has been no official comment from the Kamajors, one veteran Kamajor told IPS that if the RUF rebels go on the offensive again, the army may find it difficult to handle the situation on its own.

“The rebels know that we (Kamajors) are their nemesis. They don’t fear the soldiers at all. But just mention Kamajor, (and) they’ll flee like bees,” the Kamajor fighter said.

But some government soldiers are rejoicing at the Kamajors’ exit. “This is a brilliant move by the government. They know the Kamajors are causing trouble, without actually having the strength, resources and training to deal with the rebels. Let’s see now what soldiers can do,” a private soldier called Tommy told IPS.

Some analysts fear that the rebel forces, now split into two factions, may take advantage of the wrangle between the Kamajors and the army and strike at government positions.