| 1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Sierra Leone. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Government of Sierra Leone | Military faction | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Joseph Saidu Momoh Yahya Kanu (unclear) | Valentine Strasser Sahr Sandy Solomon Musa Tom Nyuma Komba Mondeh Julius Maada Bio Komba Kambo | ||||||
The1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état was acoup d'état against the government ofSierra Leone by a group of young military officers led by 25-year-old CaptainValentine Strasser on 29 April 1992. Strasser took control of the government, deposing PresidentJoseph Saidu Momoh.
Sierra Leone had been governed since 1968 by theAll People's Congress, which, after aconstitutional referendum in 1978 suspected of being rigged,[1] had become the sole legal party. Corruption and mismanagement had run rampant, both under Momoh[2] and his predecessor,Siaka Stevens.[3]
In March 1991, the country was plunged into acivil war, pitting the government against the invadingRevolutionary United Front, under the command ofFoday Sankoh.[3] Front-line government soldiers were poorly supplied and fed,[2][3] and some complained they had not been paid for three months.[4] Captain Strasser witnessed the deplorable conditions firsthand, being assigned to a unit fighting the rebels.[3] When he received a shrapnel wound, he became disgruntled when he found he could not be evacuated.[3]
Strasser and other junior officers organised a coup.[2][3] They took a convoy toFreetown, the capital, and seized the State House, where Momoh's office was located, though Momoh had not yet arrived.[4] The State House was briefly recovered by loyal troops, but soon fell back into the mutineers' hands.[4] When Momoh was found, he was sent into exile by helicopter toGuinea.[3]
Joseph Opala, an American historian who had spent much of his adult life in the country, was rounded up and dispatched to the American ambassador to see if the US government would recognise the new regime.[3] African-American ambassadorJohnny Young stated that, while it was not generally done, an exception would be made in this case because the previous government had not been democratically elected and also because of the desperate state of the country.[3]
Banning all political parties, theNational Provisional Ruling Council was formed as the new government.[5]Parliament was dissolved.[5]
