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Valentine Esegragbo Melvin Strasser became Africa’s youngest president in 1992, when on April 29, he took over power in Sierra Leone through a military coup. This was only three days after he turned 25-years-old.
Capt. Valentine Strasser became a leading member of a group of six equally young fellow officers who overthrew President Joseph Saidu Momoh and established a military junta called the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC).
How Valentine Strasser became president at 25
The young military officer, who was born on April 26, 1967, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and had enlisted in the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Forces (RSLMF), probably never imagined being the world’s youngest leader and founding leader of the NPRC at the age of 25.
Events that unfolded landed him these huge opportunities.
The young and ambitious Strasser had then been dispatched to the eastern district of Kailahun to deal with a rebellion and insurgency that was led by a former army corporal who was fighting against the legitimate government of Momoh.
As things heated up at the war front, Strasser and his colleague soldiers ran out of supplies such as boots and other necessary military equipment.
Their numerous appeals to the Sierra Leonean government to get them these items fell on deaf ears, coupled with the frequent delays in their salaries.
According to a face2faceafrica.com report, on April 29, 1992, Strasser led a team of young soldiers to march in their combat gear from Kailahun to the State House in protest of their conditions.
Reports say that the appearance of the soldiers in the capital shocked many, with President Momoh even being forced to flee the country into exile in Conakry, Guinea.
This created a power vacuum, and Strasser and his men took advantage of that; they seized power, formed the NPRC and made Strasser its leader and Head of State.
Young people were so elated to have Strasser in power, with the belief that he had come to fight for their cause.
Strasser’s youthfulness, however, became his doom, according to records. Right after coming to power, he pursued the rebel war against rebel leader Foday Sankoh and made it one of his top priorities. But he was not successful.
He was further accused of killing 29 unarmed Sierra Leoneans six months after coming into power, as well as the torturing of several other unarmed civilians.
His reign did not last as long as he would have expected.
In January 1996, after nearly four years in power, Strasser was ousted in another military coup, this time coming from his own NPRC members who were not satisfied with the way he handled affairs.
It became a sad event for his rule.
Valentine Strasser’s Leg Sadly Amputated in Ghana
In a July 4, 2019 report, it said that family sources of the former president in Sierra Leone confirmed that Valentine Strasser’s left leg, which had been tormenting him for many years, was, unfortunately, cut-off for medical reasons.
This took place at a hospital in Ghana’s capital, Accra.
Reports say the surgery was only done in Ghana as a last resort because Valentine Strasser could not be taken to the United States or Europe for advanced medical treatment, as advised by doctors, where his leg could have survived the sad amputation.
“Unfortunate that a former African leader who needed further medical assistance to prevent amputation could not receive it due to the lack of financial help,” a surgeon in Ghana is reported to have said.
Where is Valentine Strasser?
After his overthrow in January 1196, Strasser left for the United Kingdom, where he studied law at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
For reasons unknown, he stopped his studies after a year and left for the Gambia in 2000, only to have his entry to that country denied.
He then moved back to Sierra Leone where he reportedly lived a rather poor life, unlike that of a a retired leader.
It is, however, unclear where his current whereabout is, although there are reports that he is under house arrest in Sierra Leone.
