By Dadson Musa
Sierra Leone pauses streets grow quieter, radios soften their tone, and communities across the nation bow their heads in remembrance. It is a day not only of national mourning but of reflection a day when the country listens to its soil, which carries the memories of resilience, sacrifice, and loss.
For rural farmers Radio, this year’s national Remembrance Day carried a particularly poignant theme, when the soil remembers, at the heart of the commemoration was rural farmers Radio (RFM 98.9 FM), Sierra Leone’s only national agricultural broadcaster, from its base in Kenema, the station dedicated its airwaves to honoring the thousands of farmers who perished during the country’s brutal civil war.
Among those remembered was Alhaji Umaru Koroma, a master cocoa farmer from Joijoma Town in Kailahun district, his story, once confined to the cocoa groves of Eastern Sierra Leone, has now become emblematic of the war’s silent casualties’ farmers who were targeted not for what they took, but for what they grew.
For George Nyambe Williams, the general Manager of rural farmers Radio 98.9 FM, remembrance is not a ceremonial act but a responsibility. “As the only agricultural radio station in Sierra Leone, we carry a sacred duty not just to inform, but to remember, he said, our microphone is more than a tool of communication; it is a vessel of justice for those whose voices were silenced.
On January 18, RFM aired a special feature programme, weaving together interviews, testimonies, and historical reflections, the broadcast was accompanied by a documentary titled the Soil Remembers and a national newspaper article, ensuring that the stories of fallen farmers reached audiences far beyond the rural communities where they lived and died.
Williams explained the significance of this multi-platform approach, we cannot allow these stories to fade into obscurity, by broadcasting them, by writing them, by filming them, we ensure that the soil continues to speak.
The remembrance was not only about loss but also about resilience, survivors who returned to ruined farms replanted hope in wounded soil. Today, cocoa once again flourishes in Kailahun, rice paddies shimmer across the provinces, and farmers rise before dawn not in fear, but in determination.
This is the victory the fallen never lived to see, Williams reflected, every seed planted today is an act of defiance against the destruction of yesterday. Every harvest is a tribute to those who paid the ultimate price.
Williams insists that remembrance must inspire action, we cannot stop at tears and ceremonies. We must translate remembrance into policies that protect farmers, into priorities that place agriculture at the center of peacebuilding.”
He warned that without strong protections, farmers remain vulnerable not only to conflict but also to climate shocks and economic hardship, Peace is incomplete without food security. If we fail to protect those who feed us, we risk repeating history.
As Sierra Leone bowed its head on January 18, the cocoa trees of Joijoma whispered the name of Alhaji Umaru Koroma to the wind. His blood-stained soil now yields generations of peace; his legacy preserved through remembrance.
May history never forget the farmers who paid the highest price, Williams concluded, lest we forget. Lest the soil forget.
George Nyambe Williams, the General Manager of Rural Farmers Radio 98.9 FM Sierra Leone
George Nyambe Williams at the graveside of the late Alhaji Umaru Koroma at Joijoma Town.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, 26th January 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
