David Lansana


David Lansana
David Lansana arriving for a visit in Israel
April 1965
Birth nameDavid Lansana
Born(1922-03-22)March 22, 1922
Baiima, Mandu Chiefdom, Kailahun District, British Sierra Leone
DiedJuly 19, 1975(1975-07-19) (aged 53)
Pademba Road Prison, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Buried
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Allegiance Sierra Leone
Years of service1947–1972
Rank
Commands
  • First Battalion, Royal Sierra Leone Regiment
  • First Sierra Leone Contingent, Congo Operations of the United Nations Organization
Spouse(s)Komeh Gulama Lansana
Children
  • Sheku Lansana
  • Judy Rogers (née Lansana)
  • Tala Lansana
  • Foday Lansana
  • Kornya Lansana
Relations

Brigadier David Lansana (22 March 1922[1] – 19 July 1975[2]) was the first prominent Sierra Leonean in the Sierra Leone Military during the colonial era.[3] After Sierra Leone gained independence, he served as Military Attaché to the United States.

Lansana was one of the most distinguished officers in the history of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. He was one of the first Sierra Leoneans to train at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

Through his marriage to Komeh Gulama Lansana, the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama of Kaiyamba Chiefdom, Lansana was therefore a relative of Paramount Chief Ella Koblo Gulama and her husband Paramount Chief Bai Koblo Pathbana II, two of the nation's most influential politicians.

On 21 March 1967, Lansana staged Sierra Leone's first coup d'état.[4] Lansana was charged with treason, tried and found guilty. He was executed on 19 July 1975.

  1. ^ Sandiford, Keith A. P. (2008). A Black Studies Primer: Heroes and Heroines of the African Diaspora. ISBN 9781906190064.
  2. ^ Taylor, Bankole Kamara (February 2014). Sierra Leone: The Land, Its People and History. ISBN 9789987160389.
  3. ^ Fyle, Magbaily C. (2006-03-27). Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone. Scarecrow Press. p. 101. Retrieved 2018-07-13. %22david%20lansana%22.
  4. ^ Bundu, Abass (2001). Democracy by Force?: A Study of International Military Intervention in the Civil War in Sierra Leone from 1991-2000. Universal-Publishers. ISBN 9781581126983. Retrieved 2018-07-15.