Brigadier David Lansana (22 March 1922 – 19 July 1975) was the first indigenous armed force commander of the Sierra Leone Military during the colonial era. After

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

gained independence, he served as

Military Attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Lansana was one of the most distinguished officers in the history of the

Sierra Leone Armed Forces The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) are the armed forces of Sierra Leone, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's borders and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of the 1991 S ...

. He was one of the first Sierra Leoneans to train at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

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. Through his marriage to

Komeh Gulama Lansana Komeh Gulama Lansana was the wife of Brigadier David Lansana, Force Commander of the Sierra Leone Army until his execution in 1975. Lansana is the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama, one of the Founding Fathers of postcolonial Sierra Leo ...

, the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama of Kaiyamba Chiefdom, Lansana was therefore a relative of Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama and her husband Paramount Chief Bai Koblo Pathbana II, two of the nation's most influential politicians. On 21 March 1967, Lansana staged Sierra Leone's first

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. Lansana was charged with treason, tried and found guilty. He was executed on 19 July 1975.

Early life and education

Lansana was born on 22 March 1922 in Baiima, Mandu Chiefdom, Kailahun District,

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

. He was a Mende. In 1947, he enlisted as a private and began his training in the Sierra Leone Army. Lansana was the bearer of Sierra Leone's colours during the coronation of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Lansana was one of a small, elite group of Sierra Leoneans to be educated and trained at the

during the colonial period. As a Lieutenant, he was a frequent and popular visitor to the home of Sir

Robert de Zouche Hall Sir Robert de Zouche Hall, GCMG (27 April 1904 – 19 March 1995) was an English colonial governor. He served in Sierra Leone and Tanganyika (territory), Tanganyika. Robert was born in Liverpool, from parents Arthur William Hall & Beatrice Marg ...

Governor of Sierra Leone This is a list of colonial administrators in Sierra Leone from the establishment of the Cline Town, Sierra Leone, Province of Freedom Colony by the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor which lasted between 1787 and 1789 and the list of colo ...

from 1952 to 1956.

Marriage and family

He was married to

, the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama of Kaiyamba Chiefdom and Madame Lucy Gulama.Tribute to the Honourable PC Ella Koblo Gulama
/ref> The Gulamas are Mende royalty and among the most important ruling families in

. His father-in-law was a founding member of the

Sierra Leone People's Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP do ...

, the first and oldest political party in the country. His sister-in-law was Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama. His brother-in-law was Paramount Chief Bai Koblo Pathbana II. Lansana and his wife had five children Sheku, Judy, Tala, Foday, Kornya. Lansana also had a son, Daniel, from another relationship.

Force Commander of the Sierra Leone Military

He was appointed army commander of

in 1964.Political leadership in Sierra Leone by John R. Cartwright page 80. When his close friend and ally Albert Margai, Prime Minister Albert Margai came to power, Brigadier Lansana took control of the army from British colonial adviser, Brigadier R.D. Blackie. Margai promoted a one party (non-democratic) state. Both Lansana and Margai came from the

Mende tribe The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pred ...

which exacerbated existing conflicts with the northern tribes and the Krios. Northern and Krio officers were systematically purged from the armed forces.

Sierra Leone's first coup d'état

The 1967 General Election

On 17 March 1967, Margai was defeated in the general election. The All People's Congress (APC) won 32 seats in parliament while Margai's SLPP held on to just 28 seats.

Martial Law

was the first country in postcolonnial Africa to hold a successful

democratic election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

. This distinction lasted only four days. On 21 March 1967, Lansana instructed

Samuel Hinga Norman Samuel Hinga Norman (January 1, 1940 – February 22, 2007) was a Sierra Leonean politician from the Mende tribe. He was the founder and leader of the Civil Defence Forces, commonly known as the Kamajors. The Kamajors supported the government of ...

conduct the extrajudicial arrest of the new, democratically elected prime minister

Siaka Stevens Siaka Probyn Stevens (24 August 1905 – 29 May 1988) was the leader of Sierra Leone from 1967 to 1985, serving as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone, Prime Minister from 1967 to 1971 and as President from 1971 to 1985. Stevens' leadership was ofte ...

. The arrest took place prior to the announcement of the election result. Lansana then seized control of

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

as well as the national radio and television channels and declared

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. On 22 March 1967, Lansana made a second radio broadcast reiterating his declaration of

. He was determined to restore

Albert Margai Sir Albert Michael Margai (10 October 1910 – 18 December 1980) was the second prime minister of Sierra Leone and the half-brother of Milton Margai, Sir Milton Margai, the country's first Prime Minister. He was also the father of Sierra Leone ...

to power.

Counter coup

Lansana's unilateral decision was unpopular with many of his fellow Mende officers who did not believe the army should be a tool of internal government.Political leadership in Sierra Leone by John R. Cartwright pages 80-81. In addition to this, before to the coup d'état his influence with his subordinates had been compromised by accusations of "drunkenness" and "womanizing". On 23 March 1967, Major Charles Blake and other senior military officers relieved Lansana of his command. They established the National Reformation Council (NRC) and took control of the government. Subsequently, Lt.-Colonel Andrew Juxon-Smith, of the Krio community, who was abroad when the coup took place, was asked to return and head the NRC military regime in 1968.

Arrest

Both Lansana and his sister-in-law Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama were arrested on charges of treason and detained at Padema Road Prison. Both were charged of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

with former Albert Margai, Prime Minister Albert Margai. The claim was based on a meeting between

Gulama ''Gulama'' (Kannada:ಗುಲಾಮ) is a 2009 Kannada-language film directed by Tushar Ranganath and produced by Ramu. The film stars Prajwal Devraj and Bianca Desai in the lead roles. Music was composed by Gurukiran. The film released statewi ...

and Margai on 19 March 1967 in which Margai is said to have expressed his wish not to lose his office. He was said to be weighing his options, including military intervention.

was a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in Margai's government. She was also the hereditary ruler of Kaiyamba District, the most powerful Mende chiefdom in

. She reportedly advised him not to stand down from the office of

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

in spite of the APC victory. She was also reported to have offered him her formidable support and suggested that both Margai bribe Lansana to stage a coup d'état. The charges against

could not be proven and she was released from prison after one and a half year.

Incarceration and execution

Lansana was detained at Pademba Road Prison,

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

. On 19 July 1975, Lansana was executed by hanging with former Minister of Finance Mohamed Forna, Lieutenant Habib Lansana Kamara, Ibrahim Bash Taqi, and Paramount Chief Bai Makarie N’silk were executed at Pademba Road Prison. After their executions, their bodies were displayed for an hour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansana, David 1922 births 1975 deaths 20th-century executions by Sierra Leone Executed Sierra Leonean people Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Leaders who took power by coup Mende people People executed by Sierra Leone by hanging Prime Ministers of Sierra Leone Sierra Leonean politicians Sierra Leonean military personnel Sierra Leonean royalty People from Kailahun District Sierra Leonean expatriates in the United States