His Excellency Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was a great Sierra Leonean. He worked, against great odds, to assert the nation’s aspiration for peace, culminating in the Lome Peace Accords in 1999, the formal declaration of the end of the civil war in 2002, and the disarmament of tens of thousands of combatants. He achieved these great feats by building and sustaining an alliance for peace comprising political parties, civil society, our international partners and the generality of peace loving Sierra Leoneans. He moved to heal the nation through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, resettle the displaced and protect the vulnerable through the NCRRR, ensure justice through the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and re-assert the country’s fidelity to democratic governance by patriotically presiding over a democratic change of government in 2007.
Pa Kabbah’s life is a library of lessons for all peace loving Sierra Leoneans, a memorial of perseverance against odds, and a storehouse of civic virtues that we must all continue to honour. Sierra Leone has lost a great son, but the example of his life, in both the high and low moments of this nation shall continue to inspire us unto greater actions for peace, democracy and civility.
Rest in Peace, our dear President Kabbah, may Allah’s infinite mercies abide with you. Condolences unto you, dear relatives of our departed President, the nation mourns with you; we will no more behold the dignified demeanor of your husband, your father, brother, uncle, in-law and grandfather, but the great example of his love for, and dedication to, this nation shall abide with the citizens of this country for ever.
Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma
President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
March 17, 2014
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