Jamil Sahid Mohamed
Encyclopedia
Jamil Sahid Mohamed is a Sierra Leonean businessman who made millions of dollars in diamond trade. He was exiled from Sierra Leone twice amidst accusations of a coup plot in 1987 and later for war profiteering. Mohamed built his fortune smuggling diamonds out of Sierra Leone during the 1970s and 1980s. He is widely regarded as the father of the Sierra Leone blood diamond trade. As a result of his activities he became one of the richest men in Africa. Along with Siaka Stevens
, he is widely regarded to have played a major role in the destruction of the Sierra Leone economy, leaving a senseless legacy of death and poverty in his wake. Jamil Sahid Mohamed was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone to a Sierra Leonean father of Lebanese descent and an indigenous Sierra Leonean mother from the Mandingo
ethnic group.
Yale Law School
Professor Amy Chua's study of free market democracy and global instability
stated: "the extent of Lebanese market dominance in Sierra Leone – historically and at present – is astounding."
The Lebanese
trading community was a leftover import from Sierra Leone's British
Colonial
era.
who was equally keen to exploit Sierra Leone's gold and diamonds resource for personal gain. In Sierra Leone
's post-colonial era, Siaka Stevens
association with Jamil Sayid Mohamed would have a dramatic effect on government policy. Both of them would, for a time, count themselves among Africa’s wealthiest men.
The alliance of Stevens and Mohamed was one of convenience. Stevens had access but as a head of state he was prohibited from engaging in commerce.
And so Mohamed became a beneficiary of the kleptocracy
established by President Siaka Stevens
. His stewardship of the president's personal finances made him the second most powerful man in Sierra Leone.
Together they plunged the economy of the fledgling nation in to a state of economic chaos. Mohamed encouraged Stevens to ally himself with the Lebanese merchant community who controlled a portion of the official diamond trade and also ran the majority of the unofficial diamond trade. Stevens supported illegal diamond smuggling so much so that on November 3, 1969, $3.4 million dollars worth of the Sierra Leonean government's monthly production of diamonds vanished, allegedly at the order of Stevens and Mohamed.
The president granted Mohamed's National Trading Company a monopoly to import more than eighty-seven commodities. And Steven's turned a blind eye as Mohamed become the foremost smuggler of the country's rare gems and minerals, raking in over $ 30 million dollars. Mohamed was christened the "Diamond King".
By 1971 the President had nationalized the De Beers
monopoly. Mohamed who had already managed to acquire 12% of the concession. By 1984 Mohamed bought the remaining shares from De Beers.
Tommy Taylor-Morgan, the Minister of Finance, warned that Sierra Leone was losing in excess of US$160 million of diamond income annually to diamond smuggling. Corruption and smuggling reached such a level that official diamond production dropped significantly.
In 1985 national currency, the Leone was devalue by nearly 60 per cent and foreign exchange became scarce. Between 1968 to 1985 Stevens and Mohamed successfully depleted the finances of Sierra Leone until they had rendered one of the world's biggest producers of diamonds and gold the poorest country on earth.
In December 1987 Stevens was in London recovering from a stroke. He was to later learn that Jamil had not kept his side of the bargain in all the years they have been associated. In fact the house Stevens was living in, in West London was supposed to have been bought for him by Jamil Said. It turned out this was not the case. It was reported that he told Stevens, he had not put his name [Stevens] on the house to protect him. Stevens reminded him that this was two years after he had resigned from office. Stevens was reported to have confided in his grandson living with him at the house as follows: "that man has used me". "God go pay him"
training camp on one of the islands off Sierra Leone's coast. Arafat offered Momoh $8 million dollars but Momoh eventually caved to Western pressure and officially said no. Instead he permitted Mohamed to keep a so-called 500 strong "personal security force" which included Palestinian exiles.
-supported Special Court for Sierra Leone. His old friend Nabih Berri
arranged for him to escape to Lebanon on a diplomatic passport. By now Berri's Amal Movement was a full Hezbollah partner in Lebanon
's legislature.
Jamil died of a terrible sickness in Lebanon. According to reports his body became swollen.
Siaka Stevens
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging...
, he is widely regarded to have played a major role in the destruction of the Sierra Leone economy, leaving a senseless legacy of death and poverty in his wake. Jamil Sahid Mohamed was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone to a Sierra Leonean father of Lebanese descent and an indigenous Sierra Leonean mother from the Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
ethnic group.
Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
Professor Amy Chua's study of free market democracy and global instability
Instability
In numerous fields of study, the component of instability within a system is generally characterized by some of the outputs or internal states growing without bounds...
stated: "the extent of Lebanese market dominance in Sierra Leone – historically and at present – is astounding."
The Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
trading community was a leftover import from Sierra Leone's British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
era.
Association with Siaka Stevens
Mohamed found a kindred spirit in President Siaka StevensSiaka Stevens
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging...
who was equally keen to exploit Sierra Leone's gold and diamonds resource for personal gain. 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...
's post-colonial era, Siaka Stevens
Siaka Stevens
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging...
association with Jamil Sayid Mohamed would have a dramatic effect on government policy. Both of them would, for a time, count themselves among Africa’s wealthiest men.
The alliance of Stevens and Mohamed was one of convenience. Stevens had access but as a head of state he was prohibited from engaging in commerce.
And so Mohamed became a beneficiary of the kleptocracy
Kleptocracy
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, is a form of political and government corruption where the government exists to increase the personal wealth and political power of its officials and the ruling class at the expense of the wider population, often without pretense of honest...
established by President Siaka Stevens
Siaka Stevens
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging...
. His stewardship of the president's personal finances made him the second most powerful man in Sierra Leone.
Together they plunged the economy of the fledgling nation in to a state of economic chaos. Mohamed encouraged Stevens to ally himself with the Lebanese merchant community who controlled a portion of the official diamond trade and also ran the majority of the unofficial diamond trade. Stevens supported illegal diamond smuggling so much so that on November 3, 1969, $3.4 million dollars worth of the Sierra Leonean government's monthly production of diamonds vanished, allegedly at the order of Stevens and Mohamed.
The president granted Mohamed's National Trading Company a monopoly to import more than eighty-seven commodities. And Steven's turned a blind eye as Mohamed become the foremost smuggler of the country's rare gems and minerals, raking in over $ 30 million dollars. Mohamed was christened the "Diamond King".
By 1971 the President had nationalized the De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
monopoly. Mohamed who had already managed to acquire 12% of the concession. By 1984 Mohamed bought the remaining shares from De Beers.
Tommy Taylor-Morgan, the Minister of Finance, warned that Sierra Leone was losing in excess of US$160 million of diamond income annually to diamond smuggling. Corruption and smuggling reached such a level that official diamond production dropped significantly.
In 1985 national currency, the Leone was devalue by nearly 60 per cent and foreign exchange became scarce. Between 1968 to 1985 Stevens and Mohamed successfully depleted the finances of Sierra Leone until they had rendered one of the world's biggest producers of diamonds and gold the poorest country on earth.
In December 1987 Stevens was in London recovering from a stroke. He was to later learn that Jamil had not kept his side of the bargain in all the years they have been associated. In fact the house Stevens was living in, in West London was supposed to have been bought for him by Jamil Said. It turned out this was not the case. It was reported that he told Stevens, he had not put his name [Stevens] on the house to protect him. Stevens reminded him that this was two years after he had resigned from office. Stevens was reported to have confided in his grandson living with him at the house as follows: "that man has used me". "God go pay him"
The Palestine Liberation Organization connections
In 1986 at Mohamed's behest, Momoh invited Yasir Arafat for a state visit. The purpose of Arafat's visit was to secure a deal with Momoh to run a Palestinian paramilitaryParamilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
training camp on one of the islands off Sierra Leone's coast. Arafat offered Momoh $8 million dollars but Momoh eventually caved to Western pressure and officially said no. Instead he permitted Mohamed to keep a so-called 500 strong "personal security force" which included Palestinian exiles.
Sierra Leone Civil War 1991-2001
In 1991 Mohamed and his cohort Samih Osailly organized Sierra Leone's Lebanese diamond traders for the purpose of trafficking the blood diamonds acquired by the from the mines the occupied in Sierra Leone.Second exile
When the Civil War ended, Mohamed fled from the threat of war crimes prosecution over from the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
-supported Special Court for Sierra Leone. His old friend Nabih Berri
Nabih Berri
Nabih Berri is the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon. He heads the mostly Shi'a Amal Movement.-Biography:He was born in Bo, Sierra Leone to Lebanese parents. He went to school in Tebnine and Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in Beirut...
arranged for him to escape to Lebanon on a diplomatic passport. By now Berri's Amal Movement was a full Hezbollah partner in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
's legislature.
Jamil died of a terrible sickness in Lebanon. According to reports his body became swollen.
See also
- Blood Diamonds
- Joseph Saidu MomohJoseph Saidu MomohMajor General Joseph Saidu Momoh was the President of Sierra Leone from November, 1985 to April 29, 1992.- Biography :...
- Samih Osailly
- Revolutionary United FrontRevolutionary United FrontThe 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...
- Siaka StevensSiaka StevensSiaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging...
- Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra 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...
Further reading
- Child Soldiers, Adult Interests: The Global Dimensions of the Sierra Leonean Tragedy by J. Peter Pham, Ph.D.
- Blood from Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror by Douglas Farah
External links
- War and Peace in Sierra Leone: Diamonds, Corruption and the Lebanese Connection
- Sierra Leone: the world's poorest nation by Elizabeth Vidler, Contemporary Review, January 1993