By Osman Benk Sankoh
I never met Jenner Cole (JC), the Radio DJ/Presenter, but he was a permanent fixture on Sky-FM.
In a country reeling from the scars of war, his voice and sounds were soothing balms, healing the body, mind, and soul from the catastrophe engulfing the nation. JC was one of the finest radio personalities of his era. He was not a government official, nor was he remotely linked with the powers at State House (even if he was, what the heck). Similarly, James Ogougou, the Nigerian journalist who came to Sierra Leone, made his transition seamless with the pages of Concord Times newspaper. He was simply the best among his peers in the art of writing. There was also Paul Mansaray of Standard Time and freelancers like Mabay Kamara and Munir Turay.
All of the above suffered the same fate on January 6 and the days that followed. Journalists. Media personalities. Killed in front of relatives or abducted, and until now, the true stories of their disappearances are not known.
According to UNHCR’s Refworld, a global law and policy database, “The combined rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) viewed all journalists as ‘enemies.’ During a bloody three-week occupation of the capital, Freetown, in January, rebel forces executed at least eight journalists, some together with their families, before being ousted by the Nigerian-led West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG).”
In the case of JC, he was said to have been shot dead by his abductors in front of his fiancée. For Ogougou, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), “a group of rebels sought out Ogougou at the newspaper’s offices on Pademba Road, shouting that they were ‘looking for the Nigerian journalist.'” Paul Mansaray, who was an Editor at Standard-Times, according to sources, “RUF rebels murdered his wife, their two young children, and a nephew at their home east of Freetown. Rebels set the house ablaze and fired their weapons into the house as it burned, with Mansaray and his family inside.” Mabay Kamara’s wife also witnessed the abduction of her husband.
It was weeping and wailing for journalists, anyone, and everyone. Kids became targets. The Old Mamies and the Pas were not spared. Even loved ones became targets from their loved ones. Bloodbaths all over the land. I witnessed and saw firsthand the catastrophe, powerless to save our family house from being razed to the ground at Peacock Farm, Wellington. Powerless to prevent the vultures from consuming dead bodies at the back of NATCO factory at Wellington. Helpless to stop a neighbour’s limbs from being hacked. Powerless to prevent the countless abductions of women and girls in my neighbourhood.
It was despicable. Nearly three decades have gone by, and the wounds are still fresh. Yet we forgave those who did this to us. Did we forget?
Leave a Reply