Sekou Damate Conneh, Jr. (born 1960) is a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n politician and former rebel leader.

Biography

Born in 1960 in the town of Gbarnga, Liberia ( Bong County) to an ethnic Mandingo

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

family, Conneh attended St. Martin's Cathedral School from 1966 to 1973. He attended William Tubman Methodist High School where he received his diploma in 1979. He first became active in politics in 1980 when he joined the opposition Progressive People's Party; this was formed as one of the first legally recognized opposition parties in Liberia in more than 100 years. Ethnic indigenous groups in Liberia, who comprise some 95% of the population in the 21st century, had grown impatient with restrictions and lack of power under governments dominated by the True Whig Party, whose leaders were primarily Americo-Liberians, an ethnic group descended from African-American colonists of the early and mid-19th century. Conneh had been a member of the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), the PPP's mother organization. He served as a senior party coordinator for the Kokoyah district in Bong County before fleeing to

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

when the administration of President William Tolbert banned the PPP and arrested some of its leaders. In 1985, after the Tolbert government was overthrown by Samuel Doe, Conneh returned to Liberia in a bid to contest the upcoming legislative election on the ticket of the United People's Party (UPP). The party was later banned by Doe's increasingly autocratic government, allegedly for possessing a 'foreign ideology'. In 1986, Conneh found employment in the Ministry of Finance, working as a revenue agent in Rivercess County. In 1988, he was transferred to Montserrado County, where he remained until the collapse of President Samuel Doe's regime in 1990 after a decade of rule. During the period of

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in the country, Conneh moved to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. There he founded and served as the managing director of the Damate Corporation, an

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

and

import An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

business entity based in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

. The corporation's main activity involved the trading of second-hand cars imported from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In his testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia he claims that he does not know French, the official language of Guinea. After the civil war ended and

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

were held, Conneh returned to Liberia to resume his former job as a revenue agent for the Ministry of Finance. Soon after, he quit and returned to car trading in Conakry. This time, Conneh began exporting second-hand cars purchased in Guinea to Liberia. Liberian intelligence officers accused him of smuggling, and he was arrested and moved to a prison cell in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

. His wife,

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

, appealed to Guinean president

Lansana Conté Lansana Conté (; 30 November 1934 – 22 December 2008

to intervene and ask for Conneh's release. She was the daughter of Conte's soothsayer. With his release obtained, Conneh returned to Guinea. In April 1999, several veteran opponents of President Charles Taylor formed a rebel movement known as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). LURD was to some extent a successor to United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO). Based on a power sharing agreement between Krahn and Mandingo united around a single maxim: Taylor must go. Conneh was appointed chairman of LURD, because of his wife's high-level contacts with the Guinean government.

Civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

resumed in Liberia in 1999 after clashes between LURD rebels and government forces. Following the departure of Charles Taylor under international pressure and the setting up of a broad-based transitional government, which represented multiple ethnic groups and political parties, LURD and other rebel groups finally disbanded. Conneh's supporters founded the Progressive Democratic Party (PRODEM) in preparation for upcoming

, scheduled for 11 October 2005. Conneh was nominated as the party's presidential candidate, but received only 0.56% of the vote in the election that brought Ellen Sirleaf to power as president. Testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on August 28, 2008, Conneh said that, during the war, Sierra Leone and Guinea had allowed the LURD rebels free passage "through their borders with our arms without any questions from them"."Liberia:Ex-Warlord says Sierra Leone and Guinea cooperated with his faction"
African Press Agency, August 29, 2008.

References

External links

Sekou Damate ConnehIRIN News Agency - Profile of LURD leader, Sekou Conneh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conneh, Sekou 1960 births Living people Liberian rebels People from Bong County Candidates for President of Liberia Progressive People's Party (Liberia) politicians Progressive Alliance of Liberia politicians Progressive Democratic Party (Liberia) politicians Liberian expatriates in Guinea