The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone announced on Monday that Aieu Kondewa, a notorious militia leader accused of heinous crimes during Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s, has been released after completing his prison sentence.
Kondewa was a prominent figure within the pro-government Civil Defence Forces (CDF), a paramilitary group known for its brutal tactics in the war against rebel factions.
Convicted in 2007, Kondewa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the hacking of civilians to death, issuing collective punishment, and recruiting child soldiers.
Due to the country’s lack of proper detention facilities, he served nearly a decade of his sentence in Rwanda under a special agreement.
Kondewa’s release follows the 2018 release of another CDF leader, Moinina Fofana, who served a 15-year sentence. Both individuals were granted conditional early release to serve the remainder of their sentences under strict oversight in their communities. Kondewa will reside in the southern Sierra Leone city of Bo.
The civil war in Sierra Leone, which lasted from 1991 to 2002, resulted in the death of approximately 120,000 people and left tens of thousands mutilated. Financed in part by illicit diamond trade, the conflict involved various armed groups, including the CDF, which fought against rebel factions such as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.
During the war, the CDF faced allegations of targeting civilians suspected of collaborating with rebels. These suspected individuals were reportedly subjected to execution by gunfire, brutal hacking, or being burned alive.
While Kondewa has bee. release, it is important to note that several others remain incarcerated, serving longer prison terms handed down by the special court. Notably, former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, convicted in 2012 for his role in fueling the Sierra Leone conflict, is currently serving a 50-year sentence in a British prison. Taylor’s conviction marked the first time an ex-head of state was jailed by an international court since the post-World War II Nazi trials in Nuremberg, Germany.
He really needs time to readapt to Sierra Leone. However, it is good that he didn’t die in prison.