By: Aaron Bundu Lahai
The Honourable Vice President of Sierra Leone Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Monday 28th October, 2024 toured the Sierra Leone Peace Museum at the former Special Court Compound, Jomo Kenyatta Road in Freetown. While addressing the museum management and journalists, Dr Jalloh assures of plans by the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) to invest resources to build the infrastructure in line with the commitment of government to build peace and justice in the country. He further assured of Government support to the on-going work at the museum in order to transform the institution to a first-class entity, especially the rehabilitation of the Special Court former court house. He emphasized that the support from GoSL would not only serve as a testimony but a commitment to rebuilding a democratic State and society.
He commented that the Government of Sierra Leone is committed to work with the team with the aim of strengthening the effort of the management work. The Honourable Vice President expressed his impression for inspecting the museum archives, war artifacts of the former Civil Defense Force, exhibition rooms, memorial garden, and the court house. He thanked the Registrar of the Residual Special Court and staff of the peace museum for keeping the memories of Sierra Leone devasting civil war alive despite the limited resources.
In addition, he expressed gratitude for the several efforts that was made by the transitional justice mechanisms such as the Special Court, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to consolidate peace and built the foundation of justice and democracy. He lauded the management of the museum for narrating and keeping the most important component of the country’s history, as government strives daily to build a democratic State and society.
He described justice as the entry point for discussion on democratic state and society, and reconciliation. He appreciated the opportunity given to him for familiarizing with the work of the museum and for given him the opportunity to discuss with the management team on ways for the Government of Sierra Leone can invest additional resources to transform the museum and to keep the beautiful memories alive.
The Registrar of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, Binta Mansaray informed that before the Special Court closed operation in Sierra Leone, it made recommendation for the establishment of the peace museum that tells the story about the war, peace and transitional justice in Sierra Leone. She stated that the Special Court Museum started with a pilot phase until 2018 when the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone took over, developed, and expanded the museum to date, though lot of work needs to be done. She hopes the one stop museum would continue to contribute to the effort of the Government of Sierra Leone to consolidate peace in the country.
