KEMOKO BILALI

Kemoko Bilali (who flourished in the later 19th century) was a Mandinka from Torong in what is now the Republic of Guinea. He became one of the chief lieutenants of Samori Touré, the Mandinka empire-builder in upper Guinea. As governor of Samori’s territories in northern Sierra Leone, Bilali played an important part in negotiations with the British over control of trade routes to Freetown.

Bilali is said to have been captured by Samori in 1875 while he was still a child, and won his master’s confidence even as a boy by his distinguished conduct. It was during Samori’s siege of Sikasso in the upper Ivory Coast in the 1880s that Bilali proved himself an outstanding soldier and was made a leading general. During this campaign, rebellion broke out in the southern area of Samori’s empire, including northern Sierra Leone. Abandoning the fruitless siege, Samori set about the reconquest of his empire and early in 1890 sent Kemoko Bilali at the head of a contingent to subdue northern Sierra Leone. Within a few months, Bilali had accomplished his mission, and became governor of this region, which included parts of Soso country north of Kambia, the former Solima state of Solimana, and large areas of Koranko country in present-day Koinadugu district.

This was an area of great importance to Samori, as the trade routes to Freetown passed through it, and Freetown was his main source of arms. Bilali’s major task as governor was to secure these routes, a matter which put him in direct communication with local rulers in the area as well as the colonial administration in Sierra Leone. The latter, keenly interested in trade with the north, were also at this point in imperial expansion very concerned with the activities of the French, who were progressively annexing parts of Samori’s empire and claiming them by right of conquest. This alarmed the British, since it meant that Sierra Leone colony would be hemmed in by French control. Negotiations between the British administration and Bilali were therefore stepped up in a bid to persuade him to give up areas west of the upper Niger which they wished to claim.

The British maintained that in 1885 Samori had relinquished all claim to territories between Port Loko, inland from Freetown, and Falaba, in the far northeast. From 1890 to 1892 Bilali, as governor of the area, refrained from interfering south of Falaba and left the responsibility for this part of the trade route to the British but while the British were anxious to extend this area of non-interference, they failed to protect the trade route which was Bilali’s concern, in spite of numerous complaints by him that local rulers were
obstructing the flow of merchandise.

In 1891, hostilities broke out between Sayo, the ruler of Kaliere, in northeast Sierra Leone (once part of the Solima state), and Bilali. Sayo, who had once been a Sofa, but had broken with these followers of Samori over a dispute involving his father, Isa, attacked his former allies and refused to join Bilali when invited to do so. Bilali declared that he would attack Kaliere to punish Sayo, but the British backed Sayo in his refusal to join Bilali on the strength of their 1885 agreement with Samori. Kaliere being north of Falaba, however, Bilali’s action was not a violation of the agreement. When one of Bilali’s lieutenants advanced towards Kaliere threatening to attack, Sayo fled, and Bilali ordered soldiers to pursue him. He apparently called off the pursuit, for he then ordered the detachment to join his master Samori further in the interior.

Nothing further is known of him after this episode.

C. MAGBAILY FYLE