Following what authorities have labeled an attempted coup, a court in Sierra Leone found 11 persons guilty of treason and other offenses, and their commander was given a sentence of over 200 years in jail, a spokeswoman for the judiciary said on Tuesday. Numerous gunmen stormed the nation's arsenal and a prison in November, when most of the over 2,000 prisoners were set free. Eighteen security forces were killed in the confrontations. At the time, authorities claimed to have detained some 80 people; twelve of them—among them, former president Ernest Bai Koroma—were charged in January and eventually given medical leave. Amadu Koita Makalo, the man suspected of spearheading the attack, was given an 182 year prison term on Monday for the crimes of treason, murder, and firing with the intent to kill.
Makalo, a former bodyguard for President Koroma, has been a prominent dissident from Julius Maada Bio on social media. The other eleven were given long prison terms ranging from 30 to 112 years after being convicted guilty of treason and murder. Koroma is still a prominent member of his political party even if he has formally retired from politics. Numerous individuals detained in relation to the assault were once the previous president's cronies.