A United States Congressman, Frank R. Wolf has called on US Secretary of State John Kerry to wade into the issue of the former RUF kingpin and alleged Charles Taylor aide, Ibrahim Bah aka Ibrahim Baldeh.
“I write to urge the State Department to press the Government of Sierra Leone to open a criminal investigation against Ibrahim Bah”, Wolf writes in a letter to Secretary Kerry.
The Chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Justice Department’s counter-terrorism programme said such a move by Sierra Leone would prove significant as “most of Africa's worst crimes are not usually adjudicated by and within the country they occurred especially when the criminal activity involves non-residents”.
He expressed “concern about recent development in Sierra Leone involving conflict diamonds” describing Bah as “a key figure in the conflict diamond trade”. Wolf said Bah was a trusted emissary of Mr Taylor and received diamonds from the convicted war criminal and former rebel RUF leader, Issa Sesay.
He entreated Secretary Kerry to add his voice “in pressing Sierra Leone to take effective action against Ibrahim Bah” reminding him that as a Senator he had co-sponsored the clean diamond act.
Last week Human Rights watch and the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law called on the Sierra Leone government to investigate Ibrahim Bah/Baldeh who's reportedly in police custody, and bring him to trial.
Police have confirmed holding a man called Ibrahim Baldeh but said they were still unsure as to whether he is the same man on a UN travel ban for his activities in Sierra Leone during the rebel war in the country.
Both Human Rights Watch and Global Witness plan to urge President Obama to make a statement on the matter during his visit to Senegal this week.
