Chief Bai Bureh

Bai Bureh was born near Makeni, Bombali District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. He is believed by some, to be of Temne and Loko origin.

In 1887, he was chosen by Temne elders of Kasseh Chiefdom to become ruler of Kasseh. It was then that he took on the name, Bai Bureh. In 1896, the Sierra Leone Protectorate was declared and by 1898, a house (Hut) tax was imposed. Many local chiefs and residents in the Protectorate opposed the tax, which they felt was unjust and unfairly imposed.

Bai Bureh led a cross-section of resistance against the hut tax and for months, fighting occurred. He was considered the Colonial Government’s principal opponent to paying the Hut Tax. Bai Bureh consistently escaped several attempts by colonial troops to capture him.