Sierra Leone: Court sentences 11 soldiers, police officers to jail over botched coup 

11 people, including soldiers and police officers, have been sentenced to long prison terms for their alleged roles in a failed military coup in Sierra Leone last year.

Recall that gunmen on Nov. 26 attacked military barracks, a prison, and other locations in Sierra Leone, freeing about 2,200 inmates and killing more than 20 people.

Following this failed coup attempt, 12 people were charged in January with treason for their roles in the shocking incident.

After hearing at a high court, 11 were convicted in a unanimous jury verdict on 20 counts, including treason, murder, and unauthorised use of military uniform.

Bai Mahmoud Bangura, the twelfth defendant from the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, is undergoing a separate trial due to health concerns.

Meanwhile, Amadu Koita Makalo, a retired army major and former bodyguard to ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma, received concurrent prison sentences ranging from 40 to 70 years for various charges.

Additionally, two female police officers were sentenced, including Ramatu Kamanda Conteh, who received a 30-year sentence for harbouring Koita.

The government alleged that the coup attempt was primarily orchestrated by former President Ernest Bai Koroma’s bodyguards.

Koroma himself was initially charged with four related offences but was later allowed to leave the country for medical reasons.

He denounced the coup attempt, while his lawyers dismissed the charges as fabricated and part of a political persecution campaign.