War criminal gains popularity

2004-06-03 13:13

Freetown - For many in Sierra Leone, particularly in the east and south, justice will come only when Sam Hinga Norman is put in his proper place in the west African state - the president's office.

But for prosecutors at the UN-backed war crimes court, justice will be served when Norman is jailed for life for crimes against humanity he committed as head of the pro-government Civil Defence Forces (CDF).

Norman was a traditional chief for an eastern district when he began in 1994 to mount a militia of traditional Mende hunters known as the Kamajors, one of the many ethnically-based factions who fought beside the national army in the war against the Revolutionary United Front that raged from 1991-2001.

Under Norman's leadership, the Kamajors racked up a string of major military victories that helped stem the rebel advances on the capital Freetown as well as in the southern city of Bo, Sierra Leone's second city.

But the dominance of the Kamajors over the national army once Ahmad Tejan Kabbah won the presidency in 1996 caused a rift within the pro-government forces, sparking bitterness among army generals who believed the Kamajors were able to commit crimes, even against soldiers, with impunity and government approval.

Norman was also one of the more outspoken critics of the RUF and vehemently opposed the decision to grant them amnesty due to horrific acts of rape, mutilation and murder that made the Sierra Leone war among the most brutal in modern history.

May 2000 massacre

His criticism of the RUF mounted in the aftermath of a May 2000 massacre that effectively squashed peace accords reached less than a year earlier in the Togolese capital Lome, and earned greater currency as he rose through the ranks of the government to be appointed minister of internal affairs in the 2002 election that returned Kabbah to power.

His indictment on eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the charge of conscription of child soldiers that was upheld on appeal on Monday, has shocked Sierra Leoneans, many of whom consider him a hero for having freed them from the clutches of the notorious RUF.

In the 16 months since he was imprisoned, Norman has become more and more popular in Sierra Leone, with many suggesting he could be the next president once Kabbah steps down in 2007 - should he be out of jail and free to present himself as a candidate.

Also facing trial from Thursday are Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa, two of Norman's top lieutenants in the CDF who joined the Kamajors as young men when it was primarily involved in hunting, not war.

Fofana, Norman's second in command, was known as a brilliant strategist who rose through the ranks to become national director of war for the many-tentacled CDF.

Kondewa's background was in farming and herbalism before joining the Kamajors as a young man, becoming the CDF high priest responsible for the initiation of new recruits into the fighting forces.

- AFP