By Kemo Cham
Eleven of the people accused of being part of last year’s failed attempted coup in Sierra Leone have been found guilty by a Freetown High Court and sentenced to long jail terms.
Among the convicts is the man accused of being the mastermind of the coup – Amadu Koita Makalo – who was sentenced to 182 years, according to the verdict announced on Monday,
The 10 others got at least 30 years.
The men and one woman were among 12 people charged in January over the incident on November 26, 2023 which led to over 20 deaths of mainly military and police officers in the capital Freetown.
In the incident, armed men stormed the usually heavily guarded weapons depot in the main military barracks at Wilberforce. They also attacked the headquarters of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces at Cockerill and freed multiple prisoners from the maximum security Pademba Road Prison and other police stations across the city of Freetown.
The government said it was all part of a failed plot to remove the democratically elected President, Julius Maada Bio.
Most of those named in the coup were serving and ex-military and police officers.
They also included former government officials, including Bio’s immediate predecessor, former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who was slammed with four count charges, including treason.
Over 80 people were reportedly arrested for their involvement in the failed coup, but 12 were put on trial in January, including Koroma who was later granted medical leave and has been in Nigeria since then.
Many of the soldiers named in the coup, including Koita, were said to be linked to Koroma whose daughter was also named among those wanted for the coup.
