SIERRA LEONE, Freetown – A former Peace Corps volunteer who later returned to make Sierra Leone his adopted home by becoming a naturalised citizen, has taken to facebook to bemoan the use by the Bank of Sierra Leone of the fake Bai Bureh picture.
As a Peace Corps in the 1960’s, it was Gary who commissioned a local sculptor (named Marsh) to do a statue of Bai Bureh. By then the only picture of Bai Bureh was a sketch done by a British soldier as he sat on a box enroute to the Gold Coast now Ghana where he was imprisoned by the British colonialists.
Later in 2013 Gary who is extremely passionate about Sierra Leone discovered and bought on ebay the true picture of Bai Bureh after it was offered for sale. Gary had been involved with the National Museum when it was being managed by Dr S. Easmon. It was during this period that the statue was made and was put in the museum, which at that time was struggling to get items on display worthy of the true history of Sierra Leone.
Gary has taken to his facebook page to express his disappointment with the use of the picture. He wrote “I’m very disappointed in the Central Bank of Sierra Leone for their decision to re-issue devalued currency with a portrait of the Bai Bureh statue I commissioned when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. When I discovered the original photograph of Bai Bureh in 2013 I was told that the next time they issued currency they would use the new image. They have not and I understand the new currency has already been printed.”
Several people have commented that the action is all but “shameful.” It is not clear why the Bank of Sierra Leone has decided to go with the old picture. The argument that they do not want to create confusion by creating a brand new Leone which might not be easily recognisable by some local Sierra Leoneans is untenable. Infact it is a disservice to the revered warrior and a blatant tarnishing of the true image of a great Sierra Leonean icon. 13/6/2022
