Obituary of Ahmed Moiwa Koroma

Father, Husband, Brother, Uncle and Friend, Ahmed Moiwa Koroma was born on the 1st of January 1946 to the late Haroun Vandy Koroma and Mamie Sama Koroma in Sierra Leone.

His history dates all the way back to 13th Century Sudan when Mande peoples migrated from present day Mali and Guinea. His great grandfather Mahadhi Koroma was a Mandingo man from Guinea who eventually settled into the Gallines Perri Chiefdom in Bumpeh, Pujehun District in the southern section of Sierra Leone bordering Liberia. Great grandfather Mahadhi’s wife, affectionately named Kanijorjoh was an affluent Vai matriarch so wealthy she sat on a gold bench. It was said that no other woman could compete with her. From this union came Mahadhi Moiwa Koroma, a businessman and Paramount Chief married to a Vai woman named of Katumu. Grandfather Mahadhi and Katumu gave birth to Haroun Vandy Koroma, commonly referred to as HVK. HVK was a Member of Parliament under Sierra Leone’s first post-colonial independent government, under Prime minister, Sir Milton Margai. HV was also a government contractor and businessman that ran a rubber plantation supplying the Firestone Tire company. He eventually retired his civil servant role to assume the Paramount Chieftaincy role as his father before him. HV married Mamie Sama, and from that union came our beloved Ahmed, the eldest and patriarch of the Koroma clan.

Ahmed attended the Kenema Government Secondary School and the Bo Government School where he attained his A levels. He subsequently moved to Freetown in 1965 to do his Upper 6 at Albert Academy, later obtaining employment as an accountant at the National Diamond Mining Corporation (NDMC) and then, the Sierra Fishing Company. Though he was next in line for the Paramount Chieftaincy, following his father and grandfather before him, Ahmed chose to emigrate to the United States in the late 1980s to be with his wife and children.

In the US, he built a life full of laughter, joy and most importantly, music. If you knew nothing else about Ahmed, you know he was a lover of music. In fact, he had a transatlantic reputation as a DJ and was known for throwing the best parties in Sierra Leone and his adopted home in New Jersey. Ever the life of the party, his infectious smile and slick sense of humor always made everyone in his sphere feel as though they’ve known him forever.

Ahmed brought people in, both literally and figuratively. In the US, Ahmed continued the Koroma tradition of civil service. His home in the US became a safe space for his family to grow and for scores of others making the transition from Sierra Leone to the US to settle in and acclimate to their new country. On this side of the Atlantic, Ahmed became our Chief.

After nearly 20 years of declining health following a stroke, Ahmed Koroma passed on July 28, 2021, one day shy of 43 years wedding anniversary. He is survived by his wife, Regina Marie Koroma, his children Hawa Koroma in Liberia, Haroun Koroma and Susan Koroma in Sierra Leone, Kadie Kamara in England, Amida Koroma, Cherifa Koroma, and Natina Koroma in the USA with an honorable mention to David Koroma who has served as an adopted son and brother to the Koroma family. He also left behind grandchildren, Daniel Kamara Jr and Bryson Williams in the USA, and Favour Lansana in South Korea. The extended Koroma family from Bumpeh, Kenema, Freetown, the USA and Australia are grieving this tremendous loss of their patriarch