FREETOWN, March 8 (Reuters) – Hundreds of mourners on Thursday flocked to see the body of former Sierra Leonean militia leader Sam Hinga Norman, whose fighters were accused of roasting and eating their victims during a civil war.

A former interior minister and co-ordinator of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) militia during the British colony’s 1991-2002 conflict, Norman died from heart failure two weeks ago after a routine operation in nearby Senegal.

He had been on trial for war crimes at a U.N.-backed tribunal in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown, with a verdict due in the coming weeks. But he is seen by many in the country as a hero who helped save them from the hands of brutal rebel forces.

“It was Norman who saw me and said to me they need me in the fight for democracy and I should give my assistance,” said Mamay Hawa Massaquoi, a former militia fighter attending a public viewing of the body in Freetown’s Victoria Park.

“Norman is dead but his soul has not died. He was a believer,” he said, fighting back tears.

The CDF fought to defend President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah’s government against the Revolutionary United Front rebels, who chopped limbs, lips and ears off their victims and carved the letters RUF into the bodies of children they kidnapped to fight.

Pro-government militia fighters used similarly brutal tactics, recruiting underage fighters and hacking to death and burning civilians suspected of supporting the rebels.

But Norman’s sympathisers say his role as co-ordinator of the CDF must be seen in context: a minister asked by his government to protect people from rebels who forced children to murder their parents and mutilated with impunity.

“Sam Hinga Norman is regarded as one of the heroes of the war and played a key role in helping the peace,” Peter Penfold, former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, told Reuters.

“It’s tragic that this person who has done so much for his country and his people spent his final four years in prison.”

HERO?

Norman, who was leader of the feared Kamajor hunters that formed the backbone of the CDF, was charged with eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The indictment against him and two co-defendants stated Kamajor fighters killed scores of civilians suspected of sympathising with the RUF. It said Norman knew and approved of the recruitment of children aged under 15 into the Kamajor.

The prosecution told the U.N.-backed court that drug-addled Kamajor fighters had paraded severed heads and eaten the roasted flesh and intestines of their victims.

Norman maintained his innocence throughout the trial, which began in June 2004.

President Kabbah, who ends his tenure in July when polls are due to choose his successor, has said Norman will receive a hero’s burial.

“Though he was charged with alleged crimes against humanity, the court did not find him guilty of the allegations since he died with no verdict given,” Kabbah told state radio last week.

“Because of this, my government is of the view that Norman should be given a state funeral,” he said.

Norman’s body will be taken to his home village of Ngolala, in the southern region of Bo, for a Christian burial on Sunday. (Additional reporting by James Knight and Katrina Manson in Freetown)

Link to Reuters AlertNet – Ex Sierra Leone militia leader to get hero’s burial

The body of Chief Hinga Norman, who died mysteriously in the custody of the UN-Sierra Leone Special Court over a week ago, arrived from Dakar, Senegal.

Mr. Norman had been in the detention of the Court for four years. He died after what the Court described as a “routine” operation on his hip in a Senegalese military hospital. Court Registrar Lovemore Munlo described the operation as “successful” but sources say Mr. Norman died bleeding profusely.

An autopsy was conducted on the body Monday 5 March and the result of the autopsy – conducted by pathologists representing the Court and the Sierra Leone government – was expected to be announced the next day, Tuesday. As at press time, the results had not been announced. An independent pathologist to have represented Norman’s family, hired by former UK High Commissioner Peter Penfold and Sam Norman Norman Jr, son of the late Mr. Norman, in London was unable to make the trip to Senegal due to administrative bottlenecks. The result of the autopsy is unlikely therefore to settle the mystery surrounding Mr.

Norman’s sudden death.

Autopsy results around the death of famous and powerful figures in potentially volatile countries are often notoriously controversial. The result of the autopsy conducted on the body of Nigerian politician Chief M. K.O Abiola, conducted by a Canadian pathologist in 1998, is still disputed. Mr. Abiola was believed to have been poisoned in prison but the Canadian blithely asserted that he had died a natural death.

Mr. Norman died while awaiting the verdict in his trial for alleged war crimes committed in the course of his leadership of the Civil Defence Force (CDF), a pro-democracy volunteer force that resisted the forces of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and rogue government soldiers, during Sierra Leone’s recent civil war. Mr. Norman became hugely popular as a hero for his war efforts, and he was a senior minister in the current government at the time of his indictment.

President Tejan Kabbah, who feared the rising popularity of Mr. Norman, quickly distanced himself from his former ally. If found not guilty, as many of Mr. Norman’s supporters predicted, Mr. Norman’s release would have sparked a chain reaction which might have upset the fragile political settlement in which Mr. Kabbah is a figurehead of a government run by Western donors.

A press release from spokesman of the Norman family, Alfred Sam Foray, states that a public viewing “and paying of respects by Freetown and Western Area residents” of Mr. Norman’s body will be hosted by civil society on Thursday 8 March at Queen Victoria Park in central Freetown. Mr. Norman’s body will then be taken to Bo, where a Christian burial will be arranged. He will be buried at Ngolala, a village near Mongere, several miles from Bo.

Mr. Norman first shot to national prominence in 1967 when, as a young captain in the army, he was ordered by the late Brigadier David Lansana to arrest Siaka Stevens and the Governor General, in a holding coup meant to prevent Stevens’ inauguration as Prime Minister after disputed elections. Lansana was a protégé of Albert Margai, the outgoing Prime Minister.

The vindictive Stevens later arrested and imprisoned Mr. Norman for years. Mr. Norman fled Sierra Leone after his release, and returned only after soldiers overthrew the All Peoples Congress’ government – installed by Stevens – in 1992. By then a bloody civil war had started in the country. Mr. Norman was made Regent Chief of Telu Bongor Chiefdom, not far from Bo, by the young soldiers. There he started the experiment that would grow into the CDF. He organized a volunteer force of dozens of young men to defend the chiefdom.

RUF rebels and rogues soldiers one night descended on the Telu, his headquarters, and murdered nearly a hundred people in the town. Mr. Norman escaped miraculously.

He accelerated his civilian defence effort, and scored successes by reducing attacks in the Chiefdom and beyond. When the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) came to power in 1996, Mr. Norman was made Deputy Defence Minister, and empowered to expand the CDF. The core of the CDF was the Kamajors, a Mende hunter militia. The force became the sole internal force that the government came to rely on, particularly after the army collaborated with the RUF and overthrew the government in 1997. While every other minister fled, Mr. Norman remained in the country and helped organize resistance against the junta. The junta was unseated in February 1998. Mr. Kabbah’s government was reinstated.

To the shock of many, Mr. Norman was among the first to be indicted by the UN-created Special Court. He was brusquely arrested in his office – he had then been made Minister of Internal Affairs – and detained by the Court four years ago. Mr. Norman was taken to Dakar for medical treatment on 17 January this year.

According to Sam Foray, Mr. Norman was held “in the worst possible prison cell” in Dakar, before his transfer to a military hospital. Even here, “regrettably he was not held at nor did he die at a VIP wing of a prestigious military hospital as claimed by the lies of Court Spokesman Peter Andersen.” Mr.

Andersen could not be reached for comments, but independent sources confirm Mr. Foray’s claims.

Thousands are expected to attend Mr. Norman’s funeral ceremony in Bo.

Link to allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: Chief Norman’s Remains Arrive Today (Page 1 of 1)

Former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold, has criticised the British government for citing Sierra Leone as one of its foreign policy successes while grave injustice reigns in the country.

Citing the case of the unexpected death of Chief Sam Hinga Norman, he said the late man ‘is regarded as the real hero who helped restore peace and democracy to Sierra Leone. His arrest and incarceration for the past four years by the UN’s special war crimes court has been a grave injustice’.

Penfold, was British envoy at the time of the overthrow and restoration of the deposed government of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 1998. He was writing in a letter published in the Times in London last week. He is the architect of the re-imposition of the Kabbah government for which he paid dearly with his job.

Norman’s death he said ‘is not only a great loss to his family, his friends, and his country, but also a tragedy for all those who not only talk about peace and democracy but are prepared to fight and die for these causes.’

Peter Penfold, who is a lover of Sierra Leone, is currently in the country to oversee preparations for the forthcoming trip to the UK and Gibralta of the choir of the Milton Margai School for the Blind. He is the chairman of the school’s UK Association charity. His visit coincided with the death of the late Chief Norman whom he visited in prison on all the occasions he visited the country in the past three years.

Meanwhile, we are reliably informed that, the autopsy on the body of the late chief Norman, to ascertain the cause of death was carried out yesterday Monday 5^th March. The result is due today. The body is expected to be flown to Freetown this week to be followed by the burial. We will keep readers posted.

Link to Christian Monitor – Penfold decries British Government over Norman

His Excellency the President Dr. Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has said up in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone that he deeply regrets the death of Chief Sam Hinga Norman.

Late Hingha Norman

The President made this statement last Saturday 24th February 2007 during the conferment of degrees and award of diplomas, certificates and other distinctions to graduands of the Njala University College.

According to the President, he was on his way to Kambia on an official duty when he had a call telling him about Norman’s death. He expressed how saddned he was to hear of such a report whilst assuring that the late man was not only a friend and brother to him but a truly patriotic citizen of the country with prominent positions attained.

According to Pa Kabbah, Hinga Norman was arrested due to his indictment by the special court. He said he was unaware of the arrest until later when the former Inspector General of Police, Keith Biddle called at his office to inform him. The President said that the Special Court is an independent body over which was had no political influence.

President Kabbah explained that to maintain the country’s image, nothing could have been done by the Government about the indictment.

The President further informed that as a sign of how committed he was to the late man, as soon as Keith Biddle informed him, he immediately called on Hinga Norman’s wife to descuss matters about her husbands arrest.

According to Pa Kabbah, Madam Norman explained her plight to him stating that the arrest was untimely as her husband left nothing at home to sustain the family. President Kabbah elaborated further that he immediately dispatched food and money to continue to take care of herself and the Norman family.

Meanwhile as they were waiting for further judgement from the Special Court over Normans indictment, the Special Court informed the government that the late man was sick and should be taken to Senegal for hip replacement operation which operation, the president said was done successfully only for them to be informed two weeks later of the very sad news that his friend and brother, Hinga Norman had died in hospital.

President Kabbah described the hospital where Hinga Norman died as one of the most renowned hospitals in Senegal where most of the Ministers and other prominent people go for medical check up.

In an emotional mood that was sad but at the same time strict, Pa Kabbah said he wanted to warn all Sierra Leoneans that Hingha Norman did not die as war criminal and therefore anyone who was caught describing the late man in such terms could be prone to prosecution for which the President stated that if such persons were found guilty, the law will heavily deal with them for defaming the late man’s name.

The President asked for the late man’s soul to rest in peace and at this juncture President Kabbah commanded all those present to observe a one minute silent prayer for the late man. He assured of his Government’s fullest support for the Norman family at this difficult time of theirs. He informed that a Government representative will witness the post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death of the late Hinga Norman.

Link to Awareness Times

The Special Court for Sierra Leone has promised there will be an autopsy soon to determine the cause of death of Kamajor militia leader Sam Hinga Norman. Norman died while in Senegal for routine medical treatment. He had been on trial for war crimes charges and crimes against humanity.

Peter Andersen is the spokesman for the special court. From Freetown, he spoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about the pending autopsy, which may be done on Wednesday.

“The registrar, even on Thursday, the day that Chief Norman died, ordered an autopsy, an inquest, in fact, to take place. And we’re going to do that as soon as possible, as soon as logistically possible, because it means that some of the pathologists and doctors have to be taken to Dakar,” he says.

Andersen adds, “The immediate cause of death, as we said, was that Chief Norman collapsed and suffered heart failure. Now what caused him to collapse and what caused the heart failure is what we have to find out. So, it’s better to wait until the experts have looked, rather than to speculate. And so, after the autopsy has been performed, after the inquest, then we’ll know. And when we know, the family will know as well.”

Asked what happens next, since a verdict was pending in Norman’s trial, the special court spokesman says, “What is probably going to happen is that the judges are going to review that and they would have the discretion to remove it so that there would never be a verdict now. That’s what the prosecutor, in fact, has suggested would happen. There’s not a specific rule for taking care of that, but in other tribunals that’s been done under general rule, which gives the judges the powers to do things in cases like this.”

Because Chief Norman had been the head of the Kamajors, his trial was considered somewhat sensitive. Andersen says, “Many people…thought that Chief Norman was a hero during the war. So that trial probably has been watched with greater interest here in Sierra Leone than any other of the trials so far. I think there are a lot of people who are rather emotional about this and that’s only to be expected.”

Link to Autopsy and Inquest Set for Sierra Leone Kamajor Leader Chief Sam Hinga Norman

Shortly after the death of the Special Court indictee , Sam Hinga Norman,  was on Thursday announced, Registrar of the Court Lovemore Munlo told journalists at a news conference that an investigation has to be conducted by international medical experts to know the cause of Mr. Norman’s death.

The former Internal Affairs Minister according to the Public Affairs Office Special Court for Sierra Leone, collapsed at 10:55 on Thursday morning and attempts to revive him proved futile. He was later pronounced dead at about 11:15.

Prosecutor of the Court , Stephen Rapp,  said that his office was informed about the defendant’s death before the Special Court. He says Mr. Norman’s death means that there will not be a judgment issued by the Trial Chamber in his case as all parties to this case deserved to see a verdict rendered.  Mr. Rapp says Hinga Norman’s death has deprived Sierra Leoneans of their right to see justice done in an important and high-profile case before the Special Court.

Mr. Norman had been charged with eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from acts allegedly carried out by the Civil Defence Militia which he headed during Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil conflict. He had maintained his innocence throughout the trial, which began in June 2005.

A verdict in the case was to have been delivered in April this year.

Link to COCORIOKO

PRESS RELEASE
Freetown, Sierra Leone, 23 February 2007
Special Court President Orders Investigation into Death of Hinga Norman
The President of the Special Court, Justice George Gelaga-King, today ordered an inquiry into the death of indictee Sam Hinga Norman.
The order was issued pursuant to Rule 22 of the Rules of Detention, which allows the President to order an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of any detainee.
The inquiry will be headed by Appeals Court Justice Renate Winter of Austria.
Mr. Norman died on Thursday at the Hospital Aristide Le Dantec, a military hospital in Dakar Senegal. His death came two weeks after he received medical treatment which, although considered routine, is unavailable in Sierra Leone. The procedure was performed successfully, and Mr. Norman had been receiving post-operative care.

Link to STANDARD TIMES PRESS SIERRA LEONE Special Court President Orders Investigation into Death of Hinga Norman PAGE