Sierra Leone (SLE)West Africa, AfricaMarch 23, 1967
Event Summary
On March 23, 1967 a group of senior Sierra Leone army officers repudiated Brigadier David Lansana, arrested him, and established a military junta, the National Reformation Council, two days after Lansana had seized power to block the opposition's election victory. Lansana's naked partisanship, blocking the swearing-in of Siaka Stevens on behalf of the defeated Albert Margai, alienated the officer corps. On March 23 the officers, associated with figures including Major Charles Blake and Lieutenant Colonel Ambrose Genda (the army deputy commander Margai had dismissed in 1966), staged a bloodless counter-coup, arresting Lansana along with Margai, Stevens, and Governor-General Lightfoot Boston and taking them to Pademba Road prison.
They suspended the constitution, dissolved political parties, and set up the eight-member NRC. Genda, abroad at the time, was replaced as chairman before he could return; Leslie William Leigh served as interim head until Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Juxon-Smith, a Creole officer summoned from abroad, returned on March 28 to lead the council. The NRC ruled until a 1968 sergeants' revolt restored Stevens.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Brigadier David Lansana, arrested by the senior officers on March 23, 1967 and imprisoned at Pademba Road prison; the deposed civilian politicians Margai and Stevens were detained alongside him.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
David Lansana (coup-maker of March 21, now arrested)
Andrew Juxon-Smith (lieutenant colonel who returned to chair the NRC)
Ambrose Genda and Charles Blake (officers who led the counter-coup)
Siaka Stevens and Albert Margai (politicians detained alongside Lansana)
Sources
Just two days after Lansana's coup, on March 23, 1967, a group of dissenting military officers staged a counter-coup, arresting Lansana and Margai and imprisoning them alongside Lightfoot Boston and Stevens, and established a military junta called the National Reformation Council of eight members, then asked Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Juxon-Smith, who was abroad, to return and lead the new government, with Leslie William Leigh serving as interim head until Juxon-Smith arrived on March 28.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, 1967 Sierra Leonean coups d'etatopen source ↗
The National Reformation Council, with Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith as chairman, seized control of the Sierra Leone government on March 23, 1967 and suspended the constitution, arresting Brigadier David Lansana, Commander of the Armed Forces, a few days after Lansana had placed Siaka Stevens under house arrest and declared martial law; the NRC was later overthrown in April 1968 by the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, National Reformation Councilopen source ↗
A Reuters archive report records that Sierra Leone became the tenth African state to go under military rule when army officers swept political leaders into protective custody, dissolved all political parties, and suspended the constitution on Thursday, March 23, carried out efficiently and without bloodshed, with the governor under house arrest, Stevens and Margai in protective custody, and Brigadier David Lansana detained by his own officers.
SOURCE REVIEWEDReuters Archive, Sierra Leone: Army Coup Ousts Civil Governmentopen source ↗
An eyewitness account records that on March 23 junior officers led by Majors Charles Blake, Bockarie Jumu, and B.S. Kai-Samba arrested Brigadier Lansana and formed the National Reformation Council, and that the army also arrested Sir Albert Margai and Siaka Stevens and took them to Pademba Road Prisons.
SOURCE REVIEWEDCocorioko, The 1967 elections, Brig. Lansana and Sierra Leone's first military coupopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Paired record care: this March 23 record is the NRC counter-coup deposing Lansana; the companion record 1967-03-21 is Lansana's own coup deposing PM Stevens, and the two must stay distinct. Fate coding: Lansana was arrested and jailed at Pademba Road (the dataset's fate for this record). Leadership nuance: sources vary on who led the counter-coup (Blake, Genda, and others named) and note that Genda was replaced by Juxon-Smith as chairman before he could return from abroad; both are recorded rather than resolved. Arc note: the NRC was overthrown in April 1968 by a sergeants' revolt (the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement) that finally restored Stevens as prime minister, a later event.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Brigadier David Lansana, arrested by the senior officers on March 23, 1967 and imprisoned at Pademba Road prison; the deposed civilian politicians Margai and Stevens were detained alongside him..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; arrested or jailed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
“Army in Sierra Leon Detaining Newly Inducted Prime Minister,” March 22, 1967
“Army Takes Over in Sierra Leone,” March 25, 1967
“Genda Receives Siera Leone Bid,” by Sam Pope Brewer, March 26, 1967
“Coup Reported in Sierra Leone; Junta Chiefs Said to be Arrested,” April 19, 1968
“SIERRA LEONE CALLS EX-CHIEF A TRAITOR,” September 26, 1968
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →