Sam Bockarie
Encyclopedia
Samuel "Sam" "Mosquito" Bockarie (October 2, 1964 − May 5, 2003) was a leading member of the Revolutionary United Front
(RUF) in Sierra Leone
. Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone Civil War
for his brutal tactics, which included amputation, mutilation, and rape. He earned the nickname "Mosquito" for his ability to attack when his enemies were off-guard. During his service in the RUF, he befriended future Liberia
n president Charles Taylor, and RUF commander Foday Sankoh
. When Sankoh was imprisoned from March 1997 until April 1999, Bockarie served as commander of the RUF in his place.
in the Eastern Province
of Sierra Leone
to parents from the Mende
ethnic group. Bockarie was the son of a diamond
miner. Following in his father's footsteps, Bockarie dropped out of secondary school to become a diamond miner. In 1985, he left the mines and started a career as a professional disco dancer, touring the countryside. He eventually moved to Liberia, and then to Abidjan
, Côte d'Ivoire
where he worked as a barber, electrician, and waiter.
(NPFL) invaded Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire, where Bockarie was living at the time. However, Bockarie did not join until later that year, when he met recruits who were talking about taking action in Sierra Leone. He went with the group to join guerilla training exercises held along the border of Sierra Leone and Liberia. He was officially a part of the newly formed RUF in 1990, and was a part of the initial excursion into Sierra Leone in 1991.
In 1992, Bockarie made the move into the upper leadership of the RUF, becoming Battle Group Commander, answerable only to the Battle Field Commander and Foday Sankoh, the leader of the RUF. In March 1997, Sankoh fled to Nigeria
, where he was put under house arrest, and then imprisoned. From this time until Sankoh's release in 1999, Bockarie performed the task of director of military operations of the RUF, receiving advice from Taylor. Note: this said relationship with Taylor is not proven. During this time, Sankoh worked with the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
(AFRC), the group of Sierra Leone Army (SLA) officers which had overthrown President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah on 25 May, 1997, and held the presidency until February 1998. Bockarie held the position of Chief of Defence Staff in the RUF/AFRC led junta government. In January, 1999, Bockarie along with AFRC commander Johnny Paul Koroma
planned and made a devastating attack on Freetown
, the capital of Sierra Leone.
On 7 July, 1999, the Lomé Peace Accord
was signed by president Kabbah and RUF/AFRC leader Sankoh, after Sankoh had gotten the consent of his field commanders, including Bockarie. However tension continued in Sierra Leone, especially due to a new rebel faction called the West Side Boys
, leading to more attacks in and around Freetown in May, 2000. Bockarie was reluctant to ask his forces to disarm amidst the new tension, and he and Sankoh had a falling out in the early spring of 2000.( This assertion is false as it is on record that Bockarie left for Liberia in 1999 with the agreement of West African leaders). By the time Freetown was again embroiled in violence, Bockarie had fled to Liberia's capital, Monrovia
. Rebel forces did not begin to disarm until 2001.
(SCSL). Bockarie was accused of colluding with the AFRC/RUF coalition to take over much of Sierra Leone, particularly the diamond rich areas such as the Kenema
and Kono district
s. During this time, Bockarie commanded his troops to attack civilian populations who he felt were supporting the government of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
, including the use of mutilation and sexual violence. These attacks brought to the world the horrific images of children with missing arms and legs. He was also accused of recruiting child soldiers and abducting people to fight with him, and of attacking UN peacekeepers working under UNAMSIL
.
in connection with the Gbatala base headed by Charles Taylor. Under international pressure, Taylor initiated a policy of disengagement with regards to former RUF leaders, and officially expelled Bockarie from the country, although he was reported to have continued to travel freely between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. In order to secure peace in the Ivorian Civil War, and increase trade with president Laurent Gbagbo
, Taylor is said to have asked Bockarie to assassinate Ivorian rebel leader Felix Doh
, who was killed in April, 2003.
As early as 27 April, 2003, Bockarie's actions had brought him back into Liberian territory, where Charles Taylor was now President. The UN received news of Bockarie's presence, and put pressure on Taylor to apprehend him and turn him over to the SCSL. Late in the day on Monday, 5 May, 2003, Bockarie was killed in what was officially reported to be a shootout with Liberian forces. There is some controversy that, since Bockarie's testimony at the SCSL could have implicated Taylor, Taylor sent the troops to find and kill Bockarie, rather than to arrest the man (Perspective, 2003). In any case, after a short time of confusion over the veracity of reports on Bockarie's death, proceedings against Bockarie by the SCSL were terminated on 8 December, 2003.
Revolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
(RUF) in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
for his brutal tactics, which included amputation, mutilation, and rape. He earned the nickname "Mosquito" for his ability to attack when his enemies were off-guard. During his service in the RUF, he befriended future Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
n president Charles Taylor, and RUF commander Foday Sankoh
Foday Sankoh
Foday Saybana Sankoh was the leader and founder of the Sierra Leone rebel group Revolutionary United Front in the 11-year-long Sierra Leone Civil War, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002...
. When Sankoh was imprisoned from March 1997 until April 1999, Bockarie served as commander of the RUF in his place.
Youth
Sam Bockarie was born on February 12, 1964 in Koidu Town, Kono DistrictKono District
Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu Town. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, Motema, Jaiama-Nimokoro and Sewafe. Kono District is the largest diamond producer in Sierra Leone.The population of Kono...
in the Eastern Province
Eastern Province, Sierra Leone
Eastern Province is one of the four provinces of Sierra Leone. It covers an area of 15,553 km² and has a population of 1,187,532...
of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
to parents from the Mende
Mende people
The Mende people are one of the two largest and most dominant ethnic group in Sierra Leone, along with the Temne. The Mende make up 30% of Sierra Leone's total population or 1,932,015 members...
ethnic group. Bockarie was the son of a diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
miner. Following in his father's footsteps, Bockarie dropped out of secondary school to become a diamond miner. In 1985, he left the mines and started a career as a professional disco dancer, touring the countryside. He eventually moved to Liberia, and then to Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
where he worked as a barber, electrician, and waiter.
Military career
In 1989, Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of LiberiaNational Patriotic Front of Liberia
The National Patriotic Front of Liberia was a rebel group that initiated and participated in the First Liberian Civil War from 1989 to 1996.-Leadership:...
(NPFL) invaded Liberia from Côte d'Ivoire, where Bockarie was living at the time. However, Bockarie did not join until later that year, when he met recruits who were talking about taking action in Sierra Leone. He went with the group to join guerilla training exercises held along the border of Sierra Leone and Liberia. He was officially a part of the newly formed RUF in 1990, and was a part of the initial excursion into Sierra Leone in 1991.
In 1992, Bockarie made the move into the upper leadership of the RUF, becoming Battle Group Commander, answerable only to the Battle Field Commander and Foday Sankoh, the leader of the RUF. In March 1997, Sankoh fled to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, where he was put under house arrest, and then imprisoned. From this time until Sankoh's release in 1999, Bockarie performed the task of director of military operations of the RUF, receiving advice from Taylor. Note: this said relationship with Taylor is not proven. During this time, Sankoh worked with the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council was a group of Sierra Leone soldiers that allied itself with the rebel Revolutionary United Front in the late 1990s. While the AFRC briefly controlled the country in 1998, it was driven from the capital by a coalition of West African troops...
(AFRC), the group of Sierra Leone Army (SLA) officers which had overthrown President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah on 25 May, 1997, and held the presidency until February 1998. Bockarie held the position of Chief of Defence Staff in the RUF/AFRC led junta government. In January, 1999, Bockarie along with AFRC commander Johnny Paul Koroma
Johnny Paul Koroma
Johnny Paul Koroma was the Head of State of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998.-Youth and Education :Koroma grew up in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. However, he was born in Tombodu, Kono District, in eastern Sierra Leone to Limba parents. He is from the same ethnic group as...
planned and made a devastating attack on Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, the capital of Sierra Leone.
On 7 July, 1999, the Lomé Peace Accord
Lomé Peace Accord
The Lomé Peace Accord was a peace agreement signed on 7 July 1999 between the warring parties in the civil war that gripped Sierra Leone for almost a decade. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah signed with the Revolutionary United Front leader, Foday Sankoh, granting Sankoh a position in the...
was signed by president Kabbah and RUF/AFRC leader Sankoh, after Sankoh had gotten the consent of his field commanders, including Bockarie. However tension continued in Sierra Leone, especially due to a new rebel faction called the West Side Boys
West Side Boys
The West Side Boys aka West Side Niggaz or West Side Junglers, were an armed group in Sierra Leone, sometimes described as a splinter faction of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council....
, leading to more attacks in and around Freetown in May, 2000. Bockarie was reluctant to ask his forces to disarm amidst the new tension, and he and Sankoh had a falling out in the early spring of 2000.( This assertion is false as it is on record that Bockarie left for Liberia in 1999 with the agreement of West African leaders). By the time Freetown was again embroiled in violence, Bockarie had fled to Liberia's capital, Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
. Rebel forces did not begin to disarm until 2001.
Indictment for crimes against humanity
On 3 March, 2003, San Bockarie was indicted for crimes against humanity, violation of the Geneva Convention and violation of international humanitarian law. He has been slated for trial by the Special Court for Sierra LeoneSpecial Court for Sierra Leone
The Special Court for Sierra Leone is an independent judicial body set up to "try those who bear greatest responsibility" for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 during the Sierra Leone Civil War...
(SCSL). Bockarie was accused of colluding with the AFRC/RUF coalition to take over much of Sierra Leone, particularly the diamond rich areas such as the Kenema
Kenema District
Kenema District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Kenema, which is also the third largest city in Sierra Leone. The other major towns in the district include Tongo and Blama. The district is the most populous district in the Eastern province with...
and Kono district
Kono District
Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu Town. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, Motema, Jaiama-Nimokoro and Sewafe. Kono District is the largest diamond producer in Sierra Leone.The population of Kono...
s. During this time, Bockarie commanded his troops to attack civilian populations who he felt were supporting the government of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah served as President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007.He worked for the United Nations Development Programme and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992...
, including the use of mutilation and sexual violence. These attacks brought to the world the horrific images of children with missing arms and legs. He was also accused of recruiting child soldiers and abducting people to fight with him, and of attacking UN peacekeepers working under UNAMSIL
United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2005. It was created by the United Nations Security Council in October 1999 to help with the implementation of the Lomé Peace Accord, an agreement intended to end the Sierra Leonean...
.
In exile
After fleeing Sierra Leone in 2000, Bockarie joined with Taylor's Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) in Liberia, eventually moving to the Ivory Coast, where he participated in the rebellion led by Guillaume SoroGuillaume Soro
Guillaume Kigbafori Soro has served as the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire since 4 April 2007...
in connection with the Gbatala base headed by Charles Taylor. Under international pressure, Taylor initiated a policy of disengagement with regards to former RUF leaders, and officially expelled Bockarie from the country, although he was reported to have continued to travel freely between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. In order to secure peace in the Ivorian Civil War, and increase trade with president Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Gbagbo
Laurent Koudou Gbagbo served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A historian by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist....
, Taylor is said to have asked Bockarie to assassinate Ivorian rebel leader Felix Doh
Felix Doh
Felix Doh was a rebel leader in Côte d'Ivoire. He was the leader of the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West , based around the western town of Danane, during the civil war that was fought in Côte d'Ivoire from late 2002 to early 2003...
, who was killed in April, 2003.
As early as 27 April, 2003, Bockarie's actions had brought him back into Liberian territory, where Charles Taylor was now President. The UN received news of Bockarie's presence, and put pressure on Taylor to apprehend him and turn him over to the SCSL. Late in the day on Monday, 5 May, 2003, Bockarie was killed in what was officially reported to be a shootout with Liberian forces. There is some controversy that, since Bockarie's testimony at the SCSL could have implicated Taylor, Taylor sent the troops to find and kill Bockarie, rather than to arrest the man (Perspective, 2003). In any case, after a short time of confusion over the veracity of reports on Bockarie's death, proceedings against Bockarie by the SCSL were terminated on 8 December, 2003.
Resources
- Trial Watch Biography and description of indictment http://www.trial-ch.org/trialwatch/profiles/en/facts/p353.html
- BBC News article at the time of Bockarie's death http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3006851.stm
- "The Mysterious Death of a Fugitive". The Perspective. Atlanta, Georgia May 7, 2003http://www.theperspective.org/fugitivebockarie.html