Samura Kamara

Samura Kamara
Kamara in 2014
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone
In office 2012–2017
President	Ernest Bai Koroma
Preceded by	Joseph Bandabla Dauda
Succeeded by	Kaifala Marah
Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone
In office February 2009 – January 2013
Preceded by	David Carew
Succeeded by	Kaifala Marah
Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone
In office 2007–2009
Preceded by	James David Rogers
Succeeded by	Sheku Sambadeen Sesay
Personal details
Born	Samura Kamara (1951-04-30) 30 April 1951 (age 73) Kamalo, Bombali District (now Karene District), Sierra Leone
Political party	All People's Congress (APC)
Spouse	Elizabeth Massah Kamara
Residence(s)	Freetown, Sierra Leone
Alma mater	Fourah Bay College
Profession	economist
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara (30 April 1951)^[1] is a Sierra Leonean politician and economist. He was the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party's candidate for President of Sierra Leone in the 2018 election and 2023 election. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone from 2012 to 2017,^[2][3] Minister of Finance and Economic Development from 2009 to 2013, Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2009, Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance during President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's administration.

Early life and education

Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara was born in Kamalo, Karene District, North-Western Province of Sierra Leone, then a colony of United Kingdom. He is a themne by tribe. His father Pa Gibril Kamara was from Maworrko village near Rothuk and Magbanktha villages, Gberray Junction, Maforki chiefdom, Port Loko District. His mother, Ya Bomporro Kamara (née Kanu) is an indigene of Kamalo, Sanda Loko Chiefdom, Karene District, North-Western Region.^[4]

Kamara received his early education at the UCC in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone. He continued his education at the Saint Edwards Secondary School in Freetown, stayed at Montague Street and Guard Street, Eastern Freetown, and was very active in football circles as a goalkeeper.

He proceeded to Fourah Bay College where he earned a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1972. He holds a PhD in Development Economics (1986) from Bangor University in Wales, United Kingdom.

Career

Kamara was in 1994 appointed Programme Manager by the World Bank for its Structural Support Programme to the country.^[5] He also served as Financial Secretary during this time as part of efforts to build trust in the management of the mainly international donor flows which constituted over three quarters of the government's non- military financial receipts. He became Secretary of State, Finance in January 1996 after Julius Maada Bio overthrew Valentine Strasser.^[6]

He subsequently served as Financial Secretary, and as Bank Governor, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the APC Administration of Ernest Bai Koroma.^{[citation needed]}

Kamara chaired the African Caucus constituency meetings two years in a row.^[when?] As Foreign Minister, he serves as Chair of the Ministerial Meetings of the African Union C10 committee on the Reform of the United Nations, and he is also Chair of the AU Candidatures Committee. He has on several occasions^[when?] chaired the Peace and Security Council of the AU.^{[citation needed]}

Kamara is currently leading Africa's ministerial negotiating team on the reform of the United Nations.^{[citation needed]}

SLPP’s commission of inquiry

In 2018, immediately after taking office, President Julius Maada Bio’s administration announced Commissions of Inquiry (COI)^[7] approved to look into the performance of former All People’s Congress (APC) Government officials and that the scope of the inquiry will cover the period November, 2007 to April, 2018. Over 300 persons who served in senior positions in the former Koroma administration including Kamara were indicted. Honourable Justice John Rosolu Bankole Thompson who headed Commission Number 2 of the three Commissions of Inquiry criticised the Bio regime for misusing the COI in a manner that was "not reasonable or permissible" and also "not cognizable" under the COI legal framework that President Bio had sent for approval to Parliament.^[8]

APC party leadership campaign

In 2020 it was announced that the All People's Congress (APC) would hold their convention to elect a new leader that will challenge president Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP who is facing re-election for a second five-year term in 2023. Kamara, who contested the previous election with Bio in 2018 announced his candidacy for the leadership of the All People's Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 Sierra Leone presidential and parliamentary elections. He is one of seven candidates for the APC leadership. Kamara was chosen as Flag Bearer in 2018 by selection by then outgoing president and APC party chairman Ernest Koroma, instead of election- a move that was unpopular with the majority of APC supporters.^[9] APC ultimately lost the elections to the SLPP.^[10] In December 2023, the Court of Appeal in Samura Kamura place under arrest warrant ordered the immediate arrest of Samura Kamura, for his involvement in a case related to the sale of shares of a mining company when he was minister finances.^[11]

Personal life

He is married to Mrs. Elizabeth Massah Kamara (née Rogers).^[12] Mrs. Kamara is an indigene of Pujehun District in the Southern Province.^[13] Her mother hailed from Masam Kpaka and her father from Blama Massaquoi.

See also

• List of foreign ministers in 2017
• List of current foreign ministers

References

1. "Sierra Leone News".
2. Koroma, Abdul Karim (January 24, 2013). "Dr. Samura Kamara attends Executive Council Meeting in Addis Ababa". Sierra Express Media. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
3. Wright, Wilfred (2012-12-19). "Can Dr Samura Kamara rise up to Sierra Leone's Foreign Policy Challenges?". The Sewa Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
4. Kandeh, Mariama (10 September 2008). "Sierra Leone: Amidst Hard Work, Poverty Still Rules Country's Interior". Concord Times (Freetown). Retrieved 22 June 2009.
5. Fofana, Sorie (7 December 2007). "Welcoming the new Bank Governor of Sierra Leone". Awareness Times.
6. "Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of foreign governments / National Foreign Assessment Center. Jan-Apr 1996". HathiTrust. hdl:2027/mdp.39015061935105.
7. "SLPP Commission of Inquiry starts in January". Cocorioko. Kabs Kanu. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
8. "SLPP Commission of Inquiry Judge Bankole Thompson Blasts Maada Bio for Misuse of Power". The Organizer.net. Awareness Times Newspaper. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
9. "Revealed By An Insider… How & Why Dr. Samura Kamara Was Selected As APC Flag Bearer". Global Times Newspaper. Amadu Daramy. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
10. "Why the Sierra Leone election was lost by APC after ten years of governance". The Sierra Leone Telegraph. Yusuf Bangura. 9 April 2018.
11. "Afrique Sierra Leone: le chef de l'opposition Samura Kamara visé par un mandat d'arrêt". Radio France Internationale. RFI. 13 December 2023.
12. Thomas, Abdul Rashid (May 13, 2020). "Should Sierra Leoneans be pawns on the SLPP-APC political chessboard?". Sierra Leone Telegraph.
13. "MRS SAMURA KAMARA'S CHRISTMAS GIFT TO THE SICK, THE BLIND, THE DEAF AND THE AGED". Covenant Newspaper.