BUREH, BAI

Bai Bureh of Kasseh (circa 1840s?-circa 1908), originally called Kebelai, was the resilient general and military strategist who led the 1898 Temne uprising against the British.

PHOTO CAPTION: Bureh Bai. SOURCE : EA Library

He was born at Rothkeni, near Makeni, in the northern province of Sierra Leone. His father was a Loko war-chief. He himself was sent to Gbendembu Gowahun, a training school for warriors, where he was nicknamed “Kebalai,” literally “one whose basket is never full,” ie. one who killed many enemies. Before he became a political figure, he gained recognition as a warrior of no mean standing.

In about 1865, he was called in to Soso territory to help Almamy Kandeh Bokari in his conflict with his nephew, Maligi Gbele, over the chieftainship of Morea. Kebalai won extraordinary military success, and within three years had vanquished the enemy. But Bokari himself was not popular with the Soso, so that after a time the struggle was renewed. The resultant disturbances took on a complex character, continuing spasmodically for nearly three decades, with the British colonial administration in Freetown vainly trying to keep the peace “in order to facilitate trade.”

In the 1880s, thanks to his military prowess, Kebelai was installed in the chiefship of Kasseh, a small territory on the left bank of the Scarcies River, which had been receiving a British stipend since 1871. At this time he was given the title of Bai Bureh, by which he was subsequently to be known. In his new position, he rapidly gained predominance over the other chiefs in the area.

In 1890, war broke out in Sanda country between the Soso, supported by Bai Bureh, and the Limba. The following year the British, who were backing the Soso against the Limba, sent a travelling commissioner, G.H. Garrett, to conclude peace with the Limba. On his return journey, Garrett met with Bai Bureh, who resented the fact that peace had been made in his absence. He therefore declared his intention of continuing the war. Arrested for his defiance by Garrett, Bai Bureh succeeded in escaping from British custody.

Subsequent events were to show that Bai Bureh was not permanently hostile to the British administration. At this time disturbances were continuing in the Scarcies region, and the leading figure, Karimu of Samaya , was reported to have camped at Tambi. The British sent an expedition to attack this town in 1892. Suffering reverses, and fearing the humiliation of having to send for regular troops, the administration requested Bai Bureh’s assistance in capturing Tambi, which he helped them to do.

In 1895, however, he received rough justice at the hands of the British administration. The French had complained that a Soso Bena chief, Surakata, had led incursions into the French sphere of influence, aided by Bai Bureh’s warriors. Governor Frederic Cardew, indignant because “the matter compromised our international relations with a friendly power,” determined to put a stop to all Bai Bureh’s warlike activities.

A small British force was sent to arrest him, but failed to accomplish its mission. Subsequently, Bai Bureh, after having been given safe conduct, met Governor Cardew at Port Loko in June. Cardew ordered him to surrender 50 guns to compensate for his “offences” of assisting Surakata, and   offering armed resistance to the police. The warrior, not willing to provoke an incident, paid the fine promptly. Despite this, Bai Bureh was given a bad record by the British, who charged him with being “recalcitrant,” and with failing to acknowledge British authority.

In 1896 the British Protectorate was proclaimed, and in 1898 a house tax was imposed. Apathy thereupon gave way to resistance, as the British tried to enforce new and unwelcome laws. Governor Cardew, however, was impervious to all entreaties, and proceeded to try to collect the new tax on schedule. The people, however, decided not to pay.

In Port Loko, the district commissioner, Capt. Wilfred Sharpe, deposed the chief and installed a puppet who had no legitimate claim. Sharpe’s nominee, Sori Bunki, spread false rumours intended to foment a conflict. Without examining the validity of these rumours, Sharpe convinced Cardew that Bai Bureh had to be arrested and deposed before the tax could be collected.

Three parties sent to arrest Bai Bure failed in their missions. The last one opened fire in Romani, one of Bai Bureh’s towns, and the people retaliated. The British administration had precipitated the resistance war of 1898. After its outbreak, in February, Bai Bureh pursued a well-organised guerrilla war that kept British troops engaged until November, when he surrendered.

Cardew proposed that he be tried for treason, but the British crown law officers ruled that the Protectorate was ‘foreign,’ so that he owed no allegiance to Queen Victoria, and therefore could not commit treason. He was therefore detained by ordinance. It was proposed to release him later, but when it was suspected that he was sending messages to his people telling them that he was going to return, the administration feared that the precarious Pax Britannia might be endangered.

On July 30, 1899, Bai Bureh was banished to the Gold Coast (now Ghana). He returned in 1905, and in the following year was reinstated as chief of Kasseh. He died in about 1908.

ARTHUR ABRAHAM