5 notable traditional African leaders who stood their grounds against colonialists [2]

Samori Touré

Samori Touré

A charismatic and revered leader in his time, Samori Toure was a Guinean Muslim cleric and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire of West Africa. Besides south-eastern Guinea, the Islamic Empire stretched to parts of the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Mali. Samori Touré led an armed resistance against French colonial rule from 1882 until his capture in 1898. He was then exiled to Gabon where he died on June 2, 1900.

Statue of Samori Touré in Conakry, Guinea — Photo Credit: guineeculture.org

PS: He was the great-grandfather of Guinea’s first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré.