David Lansana
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Brigadier David Lansana (died 1975) was the army commander of Sierra Leone in 1967. He came from the Mende tribe and as such was part of one of the larger tribes of Sierra Leone.
He was the first African to be commissioned as an officer into the Royal Sierra Leone Military Forces. He later became the first Sierra Leonean to command the First Battalion The Royal Sierra Leone Regiment. During his command of the battalion he showed great personal bravery when he went into the "bush" alone to negotiate with a secret society for the removal of "devils" who had occupied the town of Segbwema and captured it's police station. He did this without any back-up from his infantry company stationed at the nearby Daru barracks.
He later became the Force Commander when he replaced the British Brigadier Blackie who became the Advisor.
He orchestrated a coup of Sierra Leone in March, 1967 but within days was overthrown by non-Mende military subordinates. Lt.-Colonel Andrew Juxon-Smith, of the Krio community, who was abroad when the coup took place, was asked to head the military regime the National Reformation Council, NRC. In 1975, he was executed for treason.
He married Komeh the daughter of Paramount Chief Julius Gulama. Their son, Sheikuh(Shuggy) managed to escape with help from former British military advisors Sheikuh Lansana, once of military age volunteered for service with the British Army, he served for 22 years with the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment before leaving in 2000. Shuggy returned to Sierra Leone in 1982, albeit for a very brief visit, as a passenger on the SS Canberra taking members of the Task Force south to recapture the Falklands.
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