The Independent (Freetown)
21 January 2008
President Ernest Bai Koroma is expected to be a guest of the royal family this year.
He will be the first since Sierra Leone became a republic in 1971 . The minister of information Mr. Ibrahim Ben Kargbo says president Koroma has been invited by prince Charles to the Buckingham palace.
Sierra Leone was colonized by Britain and gained independence in 1961.
The first two prime ministers of post-independence Sierra Leone Milton Margai and Albert Margai were knighted by Her Majesty.
When the ten- year civil war intensified in Sierra Leone, Britain sent troops and marines to protect the beleaguered country from the onslaught of rebels.
Britain also gave tremendous financial aid through DFID to the country in post war era and is still supporting it to rise from the ashes of war.
President koroma's visit to the Buckingham palace will give the royal family a chance to get a clear picture of the current situation in the former British colony.
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