By Alvin Lansana Kargbo

More than two decades after the guns fell silent in Sierra Leone, the legacy of its 11-years brutal civil war still casts a long shadow especially on those who were forced into battle as children. Despite early strides through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), many former child soldiers say justice has faded into silence.

While some, like Ishmael Alfred Charles, have emerged from the horrors of war to become powerful humanitarians and advocates, others remain trapped by the very past the country seems eager to forget.

Ishmael Alfred Charles, who was abducted at the age of nine by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Kono District, narrowly escaped death multiple times before returning to Freetown.

“There was no counseling, no reintegration support. We were left to figure life out on our own,” he recalls. His eventual rise as a humanitarian is remarkable; he now leads major health and development initiatives through Caritas Freetown and the Sick Pikin Project. But he is quick to point out that his case is an exception.

“I’ve done well, but what about the others?” Ishmael Alfred Charles asks. “Most of us were just dumped back into society. No support. No healing. No future.”

One of those “others” is Osman Kawuta Turay, known during the war as “Colonel Kawuta.” Now 33 years old, he is a father of three and struggling to make ends meet. His story is harrowing: he was abducted around the age of nine while on an errand to buy pepper in Tonko Limba Chiefdom, Kambia District. Trained to kill under the command of a rebel leader named Major Lamin Jalloh, he narrowly escaped what he believes would have been his death and fled to Freetown to be disarmed.

“We came to Government Wharf and were taken to State House to the ECOMOG,” he recalls. “The ECOMOG troops suspected we were spies. We were terrified. Later, the Government promised reintegration, but it never really happened.”

Now, decades later, Osman Kawuta Turay is still labeled a “rebel” in the eyes of society. “We were children. We didn’t choose this. But we’re still judged,” he says. He struggles with stigma, poverty and lack of access to education. He dreams of continuing his studies and being a role model in his community but feels trapped by the past and ignored by the present.

“We were promised support. They started it then they forgot us,” he says, calling on the Government to revisit their pledge to former child soldiers. “We need help, education, housing. We want to live like people, not shadows.”

Sierra Leone’s post-conflict justice mechanisms had initially held global promise. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which concluded its work in 2004, issued clear recommendations: reparations, psychosocial support, memorialization of the war and inclusive governance reforms. The Special Court for Sierra Leone, meanwhile, tried those most responsible for atrocities.

As the TRC stated in Volume 2, Chapter 4 of its 2004 comprehensive report:

“Children who were forcibly conscripted, indoctrinated and used as combatants must be provided with appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, including education, skills training and psychosocial support.”

But according to Ishmael Alfred Charles and Osman Kawuta Turay, those steps were only the beginning and far from enough.

“Most people today don’t even know why the war happened,” Ishmael Alfred Charles says. “That’s dangerous. If we don’t talk about it, if we don’t learn from it, we’ll repeat it.”

Senior officials seem to agree, at least in principle. Former Chief Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards noted in a 2023 meeting that “access to justice, judicial independence and integrity are integral to transitional justice.” He praised the legal frameworks established by the 1991 Constitution but admitted that implementation remains incomplete.

In March 2025, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to justice reforms and constitutional review. He emphasized inclusivity, fairness and eradicating discrimination.

Still, civil society remains skeptical. A 2023 report by Campaign for Good Governance noted that “while legal reforms are welcome, they often overlook the grassroots needs of war-affected populations, particularly former child soldiers, who remain marginalized and excluded from development programs.”

For Ishmael Alfred Charles, healing must go beyond formal institutions. He points to Fambul Tok, a community-led reconciliation project in Kailahun, as a model for inclusive healing. “It should have been expanded nationwide,” he says. “Healing needs time, space and national will.”

Both Ishmael Alfred Charles and Osman Kawuta Turay argue that transitional justice must include real psychosocial support, public education and a commitment to recognizing lived experiences. “Those who lived it should be the ones to teach it,” Ishmael Alfred Charles says. “Ignoring our stories doesn’t erase the past. It only buries it deeper.”

Sierra Leone stands at a pivotal moment in shaping its future, yet the unfinished business of transitional justice still calls for renewed attention. Survivors like Osman Kawuta Turay remain in search of more than just support; they seek recognition, dignity and justice.

“We don’t want pity,” Turay says. “We want a chance to be whole again.”

This story is brought to you with support from the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) through the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), under the project: ‘Engaging Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice Issues in Sierra Leone.’