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One of Sierra Leone’s former warlords Alieu Kondewai, has completed his jail term in Bo after he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by the Special Court.
It could be recalled that at the end of the eleven years of brutal and what was described by many as “senseless civil war”, the Special Court of Sierra Leone indicted certain War Lords for bearing the greatest responsibilities for the perpetuation of war crimes and crimes against humanity generally.
Alieu Kondewai a Civil Defense Force or Karmajor initiator was one of those indicted and was initially sentenced to eight years imprisonment, but after he filed an appeal, his case was relooked into, and was again found guilty as charged and the initial jail term was increased to twenty years imprisonment which he was serving in Rwanda.
As part of the Court’s Practice Direction known as ” Unconditional Early Release” that is to say if a detainee or prisoner has served at least two/third of his jail term, he is eligible to apply for consideration for an Unconditional Release to the president of the Court. If he meets all the setup criteria for the provision, such as if a convict has accepted the verdict of the Court, if he has apologized to the people whom he wronged, if he has not at any rate meddled with prosecution witnesses, or into politics and he has been accepted by the community in which he the applicant detainee wishes to stay and continue his remaining jail term under stringent supervision, Allieu Kondewai had reportedly met these benchmarks which made the President of the Special Court then reconsidered him for the Unconditional Release.
This was actualized in 2018 when Kondewai was brought to Bo to serve his remaining jail term within his community and among his people but under strict conditions as outlined above and with close supervision and monitoring by the Police. It was stipulated that his jail term was to have officially come to an end on 28th May 2023, making him to have served twenty years altogether.
Detective Sgt. Alie Badara Dyfan who is attached to the Intelligent Wing of the Police in the Southern Regional Head Quarters was assigned for the monitoring and supervision.
This long-awaited release date for Kondewai finally came to reality on Sunday 28th May 2023 but since it fell on a weekend, the Registrar of the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone officially wrote the Inspector General of Police on Monday 29th May 2023, informing him that Kondewai is now ripe for his total and final release to Unconditional Freedom.
The Regional Police Commander South AIG Brima Kanneh and the Local Unit Commander for Bo West Division were respectfully copied and Kondewai was also formally written to on a similar subject matter.
As a result of this milestone development in the life of Kondewai, in the afternoon hours of Tuesday 30th May 2023, Lawyer James Kamara who happens to be a Defense Associate Legal Officer attached to the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone and based in Freetown, visited the Office of the Regional Police Commander South Brima Kanneh (AIG) first to deliver his copy of the letter as well as that of the LUC Bo West Division CSP Mohamed Barrie and second was to officially inform Kodewai of his total Freedom and to ceremoniously hand over his letter of Freedom to him.
During this soul-touching historic event, Alieu Kondewai and realities including Moinina Fofana were in attendance together with a crosssection of Senior, Junior, and other ranks of Police personnel.
Before the handing over of the letter to the Freedman, D/Sgt Alie Badara Dyfam first laid the premise for the gathering and Barrister James Kamara garnished it with historical facts about the time Kondewai got in conflict with the laws of the International Criminal Court, right to the very date of his freedom. Mr. Kamara greeted the Regional Police Commander South and all present as he delivered a brief talk on the reason for the gathering as narrated above.
In the presence of all in the Regional Police Commander’s office, Lawyer James Kamara officially handed over the sealed letter of release to Alieu Kondewai which he was asked to open which it’s content to be read aloud by the lawyer in the King’s Language and interpreted to him in the Mende Language By D/ASP Guy Patrick CL Bussu who represented the Local Unit Commander of Bo West Division. The content of the letter written to Kondewai by the Registrar of the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone was well chewed, digested, and received with joy by Kondewai, and thanked the Special Court, the Police and stated that he was very happy to be a freedman and he promised to always uphold peace in Sierra Leone.
On his part, the Regional Police Commander South AIG Brima Kanneh thanked the Lawyer for the presentation and reaffirmed that the Police did a very great job by successfully monitoring a War Lord convict with no ill report. He, therefore, congratulated and admonished Kondewai to continue living his life of freedom peacefully among his people and to be law-abiding. AIG Kanneh also calls on the general public to accept and embrace Kondewai as one of us and no longer as a convict of the Special Court who he used to be. The brief gathering was climaxed by the signing of the documents by the parties concerned, followed by snapshots.
Wow!!!.. trouble is on the way coming back home, this War Lord by the name of Kondewei shouldn’t have gotten released from jail.!!! He should have done his entire life span in jail, but why? And we’re coming to the general elections and this are the notorious criminals we are afraid of in this great Nation 🇸🇱… !!!! WHY ???
Wow 😳 it’s good that he has done his jail term. But here’s a question is this the right time for him to release from prison/correctional facility? When are in even of Elections
Maada Bio is behind the release of his member. He himself was a Rebel planted in the military to fight infacour of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party ( SLPP). The party that formed the Rebel movement in Sierra Leone. The Rebel leader was Alie Kabba ( Now Doctor). Dr. Alie Kabba, Maada Bio, Sylvia Blyden, Lahai Lawrence Leema, the present I G P, the head of the Military and many others succeeded in highjacking the SLPP from its original and loyal members. Now those members have been reliegated to the background. This is why it is not good to support evil. These rebels have succeeded to overthrow the One Time Good SLPP party.
Maada Bio is using all efforts to ensure the release of his comrades from prison.
Please, people of this county be Very careful with the PAOPA regime. It is not a True SLPP.
Thank you very much for your understanding.
Stay blessed!!
Thank God pa kabbah say leh war don. En e don don. Leh God sorry for the dead, and all wae suffer during d war.
Mind u the special court was instituted long after the NPRC was gone. And those still pointing fingers. Then who was fighting who. When we talk about soldiers (Government) they called them rebels, they call RUF government soldiers. Kamajor rebels. U go see salone man been don totally confused. Na dat make non nor go able bring any war na salone again.