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President Julius Maada Bio has sought forgiveness for the suffering inflicted during the decade-long Civil war conflict, acknowledging the responsibility of both past and present leaders.
Speaking on Sunday during the country’s first National Day of Remembrance, Bio offered a formal apology to victims of Sierra Leone’s civil war, which raged from 1991 to 2002, claiming more than 100,000 lives.
“I ask for forgiveness on behalf of our nation and on behalf of our leaders, past and present. We cannot erase what was done, but we can face up to it with humility, honesty and courage,” said Bio.
He said the atrocities of the war could not be undone but stressed the need for the nation to confront its history with honesty, humility and courage in order to heal and move forward together.
Bio, who assumed office in 2018, served as a soldier during the conflict and later as a member of the military junta that governed at the time.
Addressing survivors and families of victims, the president said while forgetting the past was impossible, national healing required patience, dignity and collective effort. He also cautioned citizens to avoid rhetoric that could inflame divisions, urging restraint, particularly in public discourse and on social media.
“To all the victims and survivors, I cannot ask you to forget. I only ask that, in your own time and in your own way, our nation find the grace to heal fully, restore dignity and move forward together.”
Earlier on Sunday, amputees and survivors of war-related injuries gathered at Freetown’s Peace Museum to honour those killed during the conflict. Wearing white and laying wreaths at symbolic graves, participants observed prayers and a moment of silence.
The civil war officially ended on January 18, 2002, leaving tens of thousands dead, wounded or mutilated.
Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission later recommended the establishment of a national day to remember victims of the violence.
