As a wave of violence threatened to engulf Sierra Leone following an inconclusive Presidential election, Hope- Sierra Leone developed an effective campaign to stem the violence.

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As reported previously, Hope- Sierra Leone (H-SL) – a local non-government organization affiliated to Initiatives of Change – ran a successful ‘Clean Election Campaign’ over the months preceding the 11 August plebiscite and were also designated as official observers during the election.

The critical 11 August elections were Sierra Leone’s first following the departure of UN peace-keeping troops. The country – one of the poorest in Africa – is still recovering from a 10-year civil war which left more than 50,000 dead. The Presidential election was inconclusive with no candidate securing the 55% of the vote necessary to win, thus forcing a run-off election on 8 September. Unfortunately this period of uncertainty led to a series of violent clashes after what had, up till then, been seen as a fair and peaceful election. Most attacks were attributed to militant party supporters who hoped thereby to influence the election results. Often gangs of disaffected youths were a factor, being stirred up by unscrupulous politicians.

Immediately after the 11 August polling, and as reports of the violence came in, H-SL’s Clean Election Campaign (CEC) conceived a project to defuse the violence. Through the campaign, H-SL had already forged partnerships with all registered political parties and their respective candidates. As a follow up, the CEC visited the offices of the two main political parties – the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the opposition All People’s Congress (APC). The initial focus had been to respond to the astronomical level of invalid votes totalling 144,898. However, the team then had to concentrate on the wave of violence that was breaking out, with a deep focus on the youth wings of these two parties.

With input and commitment from both parties, H-SL designed a one month project named Save Mama Salone to defuse the tension between rival factions and also to help the youth gangs find better ways than violence to address their needs. Some funding was obtained from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and further partnerships were formed with representatives of the media and police. Save Mama Salone was carried out on the streets, with political parties, in ghettoes, lorry parks, market places, cinemas, cemeteries, slums and ferry terminals in the capital, Freetown, and numerous ‘hot spots’ around the country.

One of the first engagements was in the Western area, where the CEC team repeatedly engaged top officials from both parties in honest dialogue and a symbolic gesture of reconciliation was conceived. First, the SLPP invited two representatives from the APC to visit their headquarters as part of a wider CEC delegation including journalists and police officers.

APC and SLPP representatives at the SLPP headquarters, Freetown

Amidst sporadic applause by the 455 party supporters who had been expecting them, the group was ushered into the packed conference room. Brima Koroma, administrative secretary of the SLPP welcomed them saying 'to me this event should be recorded and passed on to our children. The reconciliation you witness here today means that the APC and SLPP are one people. We cannot afford to divide the prosperity of our beloved country along party lines.... Let me conclude by extending apologies for whatever wrong the SLPP has committed (consciously or unconsciously). Hardly believing that they were there, the two APC representatives were then given the platform. Moseray Tarawally passed on greetings from the APC 'in the name of peace and love' and thanked the executive and supporters of the SLPP for welcoming them – noting that he felt very secure there. 'Let me join my friends from the SLPP to tell our detractors that we are here for peace and will continue to maintain peace.... We are also very sorry for whatever wrong we have inflicted on the SLPP.'

Following this meeting, the APC representatives took their two colleagues from the SLPP to visit the APC office. However, although the visit had been previously approved by senior APC executives, communication had not filtered down to the youth supporters who prevented the delegation from entering the building. This tense situation lasted for about 40 minutes while the two SLPP representatives remained in the H-SL van for safety. Finally, through the intervention of APC leader Ernest Bai Koroma and the publicity secretary, Alpha Khan, order was restored and the group were allowed to enter. Khan then publicly apologized to the group saying that he was 'saddened by this unwelcoming act by a few of our uninformed supporters' and that the APC condemned the act.

Feeding marginalized youth at Kissy Ferry Terminal, Freetown

In Kissy Terminal the team engaged about 500 marginalized youths aged 17-19 – some of whom could not afford to eat each day and were sleeping on market tables and in deserted boats along the wharf. The head of the 'Ferry Boys' group welcomed the CEC team, recognizing John Bangura, founder of H-SL as an old friend who had always stopped by to discuss things with them. While the CEC team served food the youth listened with interest to a message of reconciliation. 'Don't go on the rampage for anybody,' said Bangura. 'The most important issue is to see how the government can be of help to young people in terms of employment.'

John Bangura with the 'Luma Boys'

The CEC team also met with the 'Luma Boys' who live at the Ascension Town Cemetery sleeping on graves and eking out a living by selling drugs and cleaning the neighbourhoods. As with the Ferry Boys, they responded to the peace message and liked the teams signature use of the Bob Marley song One Love. Benjamin Conteh, leader of the 'Skulls and Bones' group assured the visitors that 'we will help you to ensure that the election is free from violence because we know the ones' responsible for violence.' He pleaded with the CEC group to 'take this message to the government': that 'most of us have skills, but we are wasting. Why? We want jobs to keep us busy.'

Two days before polling, the CEC team arrived in Makeni, Northern Province, scene of several violent conflicts between the APC and SLPP youths. After a short meeting with the police, who assigned two police officers to accompany the CEC team, they visited the SLPP and the APC offices respectively. After successfully engaging the two party chairmen, two representatives from each party were attached to the CEC team to continue the operation, which included meeting youth groups, including the largest group 'Dollar Boys', and speaking in shops and at the central market on the dangers of hate and prejudice. Later in the evening, some of the CEC team participated in a 90-minute radio phone-in at Radio Maria (a Christian radio station).

After the 8 September run-off election there was a tense period before the results were announced, with each party suspecting the other of election malpractice. During this time, the campaign focussed on consolidating the reconciliation between the two parties and encouraging them to accept the official results. After the results were announced on 17 September the team focussed its activities in areas where the news was received with violence. These included Mile 91 in Tonkolili district where APC supporters overran the town celebrating their success, provoking confrontation with SLPP supporters including the family of the local authority leader who were forced to seek refuge in the police station.

CEC team at Radio Gbafth, Mile 91

Despite warnings not to go, the CEC team arrived at Mile 91 on 22 September, where after speaking to the police and local political leaders the team engaged with three youth gangs at the town square: the 'Original Fuel Stars', the 'Ataya Base Association' and the 'Bike Riders Association'. A total of 323 young people attended, meeting under a bamboo shelter and listening to messages of peace delivered by representatives of the two political parties. There were also a number of other engagements in the town.

The team arrived in Magburaka, scene of more violent conflicts on 27 September. Again, after discussion with local party leaders a meeting was called, attended by 500 party supporters including the youth groups. Kay Squire, leader of the Young Generation had suffered vandalism to his vehicle during the violence. In the meeting he called on the people of Magburaka to refuse violence, hatred and jealousy: 'Having suffered the brunt of violence, I want to suggest that we bury hate immediately after this meeting.' Everyone then walked out in procession and a symbolic burial of hate and prejudice was carried out and people were invited to reflect on the past – especially on their loved ones who were brutally murdered during the civil war. The following day the CEC led a clean up of the garbage around the town, after which an agreement was reached that the community would say 'no' to hate, war and intolerance and to celebrate 28 September each year as a 'Day of Peace and Reconciliation'.

The CEC team also made effective use of the media to spread its message. Between 14 August and 24 September the team were involved in eight radio broadcasts on a variety of stations, including interviews and phone-in discussions.

The full report of the team contains a number of conclusions drawn from their actions – including the observation that 'peace building cannot be pursued on the cheap and that it requires a willingness to take risks', and a number of recommendations for Government and people.

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