News Story

FREETOWN: THE NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: On Wednesday, Mr. Bockarie Stevens' letters of credence were formally accepted by the United States government officially beginning his tenure as Sierra Leone's ambassador to the most powerful democracy on earth. This imposes on us the responsibility to closely examine our representative's history and commitment to the principles of freedom, democratic governance, probity, and personal conduct. Born in Moyamba, he was raised as the ward of Sierra Leone's Siaka Probyn Stevens, an autocratic and repressive ruler whose name is printed in infamy for his kleptocratic and predatory leadership which left the country's economy in shambles, banned political plurality by declaring a one-party state, and oversaw several mass executions and brutal killings of officials, political opponents, students, while forcing thousands more to flee the country. This is the legacy that the new Sierra Leone ambassador grew up with and knows very much.

Early Role:

Bockarie Stevens was a founding member of the APC Youth league, a political militia whose record for thuggery, political intimidation, arson, and wanton killings of Sierra Leoneans is firmly etched on the minds of Sierra Leoneans. He was involved inthe imprisonment of a number of students protesters, and he was frequently seen armed with an automatic pistol in the company of an infamous and ruthless APC paramilitary militia, he Internal Security Unit (ISU). He led raids on protesters and political opponents of his uncle, Siaka Stevens. He is believed to have played a major role in providing information that led to the arrest, torture, and illegal imprisonment of leading trade unionists advocating for better working conditions and pay in a worsening economy, including Mr. Kabia. He was equally dismissive when tough questions were asked of him about his uncle's repressive politics. Asked whether he felt remorse about brutal killing of the Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone who had disagreed with Siaka Stevens on several fiscal management issues, Bockarie Stevens is reported as saying "the man is dead; leh wi talk bot orda tin ya" (The man is dead; let us talk about something else." Bockarie Stevens served as national secretary general of the APC political militia as secretary general of the APC national youth league. This is the man who is the face of our new democracy and the representative of that democracy to the most powerful democracy.

Track Record

It would seem that Bockarie Stevens has been appointed mainly because of his affiliation with Siaka Stevens (a man, President Koroma has said he admires most). They were both in College and graduated in 1977. His career record does not recommend him favorably at all. Bockarie Stevens was to enjoy the perquisites of patrimony and nepotism immediately after graduation as he took up an executive post with Sierra Fisheries - one of several mafia businesses owned by Siaka Stevens and Jamil Sahid Mohamed, who was a major sponsor of Lebanese Amal Shiite fighters and had very close links to Hezboallah. Ernest Koroma was to be employed later that same year in the insurance branch of Jamil Sahid Mohamed's mafia businesses and eventually rise in and take over the business after a bit of Ekutay gerrymandering. But this is the background to the new ambassador. At Fisheries, he was known to have accumulated tremendous ill-gotten wealth. He changed vehicles for fun; ferreted women to tourist spots the world over, and lived in personal luxury as most Sierra Leoneans suffered tremendous privation under APC misrule. Bocakrie Stevens' questionable professionalism was evident in his serial liaisons with women, including Fisheries staff (married and unmarried). In fact, he cannot point to any single, concrete or other achievement during his 11 year tenure of office at Fisheries. He refused probity and he was thought to be probably very corrupt judging from the massive discrepancy between his personal lifestyle and his wages.

After the death of Siaka Stevens, Bockarie Stevens became very vulnerable under President J. S. Momoh's rapid northernisation and ekutayism. In order to avoid a major financial scandal, J. S. Momoh appointed Bocakrie Stevens as ambassador to Guinea with accreditation in Cape Verde, Mali, and Guinea Bissau. He stayed in this position until the APC government was overthrown by the army in 1992.

After the overthrow of the APC government, Bockarie Stevens abandoned his diplomatic post and fled to London where he sought and received political asylum and temporary residence. While in London, he worked with Newham Council on The Children's Society, Refugee and Homelessness Team where his line of work was to provide "support, advice, advocacy and social activities for young refugees between 14 and 19." At the same time, he pursued further education toward his MA in east London. He was a "team member" of the Refugee and Homelessness Team - meaning that he was one of the ordinary staff members who would be asisgned to treat specific cases for refugees. Frustrated in the last 6 years by the seemingly dead-end job, Bockarie Stevens started drinking heavily and in London party circuits, he would normally be seen drunk of half-drunk mouthing off unmentionable obscenities about anything he deemed unacceptable.

This is the man of "impeccable character" who has presented his letter of credence to the leader of the free world; this is the man who will be presenting the acceptable face of our democracy and good governance and decency in our country.