Bai Bureh

Bai Bureh
Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean policeman stands guard next to him
Personal details
Born	(1840-02-15)February 15, 1840 Kasseh, Sierra Leone
Died	August 24, 1908(1908-08-24) (aged 68) Kasseh, Sierra Leone
Nationality	Sierra Leonean
Residence	Kasseh, Sierra Leone
Occupation	Leader in the Hut Tax War of 1898 in Northern Sierra Leone against British rule and Krio dominance
Profession	Warrior, tribal leader
Religion	Sunni Islam

Bai Bureh (February 15, 1840 – August 24, 1908) was a Sierra Leonean ruler and military strategist who led the Temne and Loko uprising against British rule in 1898 in Northern Sierra Leone.

Bai Bureh was born in 1840 in Kasseh, a village near Port Loko in Northern Sierra Leone. Bureh's father was a Muslim cleric and an important Loko war-chief and his mother was a Temne trader from Makeni. Bureh himself was a devout Muslim of the Suffi tradition of Sunni Islam; and he also held on to his strong African traditions and values.

When Bureh was a young man his father sent him to the small village of Gbendembu in northern Sierra Leone, where he was trained to become a warrior. During his training at the village, he showed that he was a formidable warrior and was given the nickname of Kebalai which translates as ‘one who doesn’t tire of war’. When Kebalai returned to his home village, he was crowned ruler of Kasseh.

During the 1860s and 1870s, Bureh had become the top warrior of Port Loko and the entire Northern Sierra Leone. He successfully fought and won wars against other villagers and tribal leaders who were against his plan to establish correct islamic and indigenous practices throughout Northern Sierra Leone. In 1882, Bureh fought against the Susu people from French Guinea (now Guinea) who invaded Kambia, a town in northern Sierra Leone. Bai Bureh's fighters defeated the Susu, pushed them back into French Guinea and returned the land to the local Kambia people. After winning several major wars, his popularity spread. The people of the north felt they had found a warrior who would defend their land. In 1886, Bai Bureh was crowned as the chief of Northern Sierra Leone.