By IRIS AMINATA BANGURA

Claim: A news publication by Sierraloaded claimed that the military officer who exposed Koita in the coup attempt had shot himself dead.

Verdict: False! According to Colonel Issa Bangura, the Director of Defence Public Relations and Information at the Ministry of Defence and Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, the military officer by the name Lance Corporal Kanyako who shot himself dead is not the one who exposed Koita on the November 26 attempted Coup.

Full Text

In the early hours of November 26, 2023, a group of militants attacked the Wilberforce Military Ammunition store and also attacked the Pademba Road Prison and the female correctional centre. Over one thousand prisoners were freed by the armed group during the incident. The government of Sierra Leone declared the event a failed attempted coup. A notification of a wanted list and a national curfew was activated in the country.

Amadu Koita Makalo, who was at the top of the wanted list for the failed coup, was arrested on Monday, December 4, 2023. The arrest was made based on received intelligence. Koita Makalo, a former military officer and bodyguard of Sierra Leone’s ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma was arrested in Freetown after he was found hiding in the basement of a three–storey building.

A news publication by Sierraloaded on March 21, 2024, claimed that the military officer, Lance Corporal Kanyako, who committed suicide, was the one who exposed Koita in a coup attempt.

DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim to ascertain whether the military officer who shot himself dead had anything to do with the arrest of Amadu Koita.

Verification

To clarify this claim, DUBAWA spoke with Colonel Issa Bangura, the Director of Defence Public Relations and Information at the Ministry of Defence and Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, in a phone interview on March 27, 2024.

“The military officer, Lance Corporal Kanyako, who shot himself was not the one who exposed Koita on the attempted coup,” he said.

He further added that the incident took place at Murray town barracks, and the cause of his act will be disclosed after the Board of Inquiry has concluded its investigations.

“The picture circulating on social media is false, and it has nothing to do with the arrest of Amadu Koita,” he added.

Further, DUBAWA contacted Abubakarr Joe Sesay, head of the Strategic Communications Unit, Ministry of Information and Civic Education, in a phone interview on March 27, 2024.

“We have not received any report of such nature [that the soldier who exposed Koita has committed suicide]; when we do, we will inform the public” Joe Sesay said.

Conclusion

Based on the interview with the Director of Defence Public Relations and Information at the Ministry of Defence and Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and the head of the Strategic Communications Unit, Ministry of Information and Civic Education, Sierraloaded’s post is false.

•This report is produced for the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KarKari Fact-Checking Fellowship in partnership with Epic Radio to facilitate the ethos of truth in journalism and enhance media literacy in Sierra Leone.

Update news