Komeh Gulama Lansana
Encyclopedia
Komeh Gulama Lansana is the widow of Brigadier David Lansana
, former Commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. She is the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama
and the sister of one of Sierra Leone's foremost women leaders Paramount Chief Madam Ella Koblo Gulama
.
Komeh was born in Moyamba
, Moyamba District
in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone
. Both her parents were ethnic Mende
s.
Her husband, David Lansana was appointed Commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces by Prime Minister Albert Margai
while her sister Madam Gulama
was serving as the first female Cabinet Minister in Sierra Leone and sub-Saharan African.
What seemed like an ideal situation became a nightmare after the hotly contested 1967 Elections. When opposition leader Siaka Stevens was pronounced the winner and Prime Minister Margai refused to concede defeat claiming that the All People's Congress
were guilty of election fraud. Komeh's husband intervened by arresting Stevens. A series of coups and counter coups ensued which ended with both her husband and her sister arrested and held at Pademba Road Prisons.
After more than a year in prison her sister was exonerated and freed.
In July 1975, her husband David Lansana
and his colleague Dr. Sorie Fornah were executed for treason after the alleged coup plot trials.
David Lansana
Brigadier David Lansana was one of the very few Sierra Leoneans to be educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England during the colonial period. As Lieutenant David Lansana he was a frequent and popular visitor to the home of Sir Robert de Zouche Hall, Governor of Sierra Leone...
, former Commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. She is the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama
Julius Gulama
style="float:right;"|Paramount Chief Julius Gulama was a Sierra Leonean paramount chief and politician. He was one of the founding members of the Sierra Leone People's Party. He was the father of Ella Koblo Gulama....
and the sister of one of Sierra Leone's foremost women leaders Paramount Chief Madam Ella Koblo Gulama
Ella Koblo Gulama
style="float:right;"|Ella Koblo Gulama was a Sierra Leonean paramount chief and politician. In 1957, she became the first elected female Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone and all of sub-Saharan Africa. She was re-elected in 1962...
.
Komeh was born in Moyamba
Moyamba
Moyamba is the capital and largest city of Moyamba District, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone, with a population of 11,485 in the 2004 census. The city is about 48 miles southeast of the capital, Freetown. The population of the city is ethnically diverse although the Mende people make up...
, Moyamba District
Moyamba District
Moyamba District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone with a population of 260,910 in the 2004 census. Its capital and largest city is Moyamba. The other major towns include Njala, Rotifunk and Shenge...
in the Southern Province 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...
. Both her parents were ethnic 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...
s.
Her husband, David Lansana was appointed Commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces by Prime Minister Albert Margai
Albert Margai
Sir Albert Michael Margai was the second prime minister of Sierra Leone and the half-brother of Sir Milton Margai, the country's first Prime Minister...
while her sister Madam Gulama
Ella Koblo Gulama
style="float:right;"|Ella Koblo Gulama was a Sierra Leonean paramount chief and politician. In 1957, she became the first elected female Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone and all of sub-Saharan Africa. She was re-elected in 1962...
was serving as the first female Cabinet Minister in Sierra Leone and sub-Saharan African.
What seemed like an ideal situation became a nightmare after the hotly contested 1967 Elections. When opposition leader Siaka Stevens was pronounced the winner and Prime Minister Margai refused to concede defeat claiming that the All People's Congress
All People's Congress
The All People's Congress is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other is the Sierra Leone People's Party . The party was founded in 1960 by Pa Mucktarru Kallay, Allieu Badarr Koroma,Alhaji Sheik Gibril Sesay C A Kamara-Taylor, S A T Koroma and Abu Bakarr S Bangura...
were guilty of election fraud. Komeh's husband intervened by arresting Stevens. A series of coups and counter coups ensued which ended with both her husband and her sister arrested and held at Pademba Road Prisons.
After more than a year in prison her sister was exonerated and freed.
In July 1975, her husband David Lansana
David Lansana
Brigadier David Lansana was one of the very few Sierra Leoneans to be educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England during the colonial period. As Lieutenant David Lansana he was a frequent and popular visitor to the home of Sir Robert de Zouche Hall, Governor of Sierra Leone...
and his colleague Dr. Sorie Fornah were executed for treason after the alleged coup plot trials.
External links
- Killer "Bills" and Decrees: The Sierra Leone Media's Struggle for Survival by Kakuna Kerina, Matthew Leone & David Tam-Baryoh, International League for Human Rights
- The life and Times of Honourable PC Madam Ella Koblo Gulama of Sierra Leone By Awareness Times, September 26, 2006
- Tribute to the Honourable PC Ella Koblo Gulama, Sierra Connection
- Women Leaders In Africa