They found a $6.5 million ‘peace diamond’ and turned it in: Their reward? Just $72,000
Two 16-year-olds discovered a 709-carat stone while working in a Sierra Leone mine.
The historical relationship between Sierra Leone and diamonds has always been a troubled one. Between 1991 and 2002, this West African country endured a bloody civil war that left more than 70,000 people dead and displaced 2.6 million others—funded largely through the trade of so-called blood diamonds. Since then, the diamond industry has been plagued by corruption and exploitation, which is why it’s especially remarkable when a positive story emerges from the mines of Sierra Leone.
One such story took place in 2017, when two teenagers found a 709-carat peace diamond while working as miners. After the discovery, the mine owner was advised to sell the diamond on the black market—but he chose instead to hand it over to the authorities.
A $6 million diamond
Komba Johnbull and Andrew Saffea, both 16 years old at the time, were the youngest among a group of five diggers in Koyadu, a small village in eastern Sierra Leone. While working in the mine, they unearthed a diamond that immediately caught their attention. Johnbull, the first to spot it, later told the BBC he had never seen a diamond before, and recognizing it was pure instinct.
“It was really cold. As soon as I pulled it out, they took it from me and said, ‘This is a diamond!’” the teen recalled. And it wasn’t just any diamond—at 709 carats, it became the fourteenth-largest diamond ever recorded in the world.
Sadly, discoveries like this one rarely make international headlines, as many are sold on the black market and never officially documented. But pastor Emmanuel Momoh, the owner of the mine, decided to hand the diamond over to the government. It was later auctioned and sold for $6.5 million to British jeweler and billionaire Laurence Graff.
A bittersweet story
Komba Johnbull and Andrew Saffea were not salaried workers; they were given food and supplies for themselves and their families in exchange for their labor. When they found the diamond, they believed their lives had changed forever. In a way, they had—but not as dramatically as they had hoped.
When Emmanuel Momoh handed the diamond over to authorities, an agreement was reached: everyone involved would receive a share of the money, and a portion would go to the government for local development.
Each of the boys received around approximately $72,000. While a significant sum, it was far less than they had imagined upon discovering the gem. Komba Johnbull used much of the money to buy a house in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital. Andrew Saffea, who had dropped out of school to work, hoped to study in Canada, but his visa was denied.
Today, Johnbull works as a window maker, and Saffea takes care of horses at a stable. Pastor Momoh did build a school in the village, but broader improvements to Koyadu’s infrastructure never fully materialized. The two young men admit they could have spent their money more wisely, but also say they feel they never received the recognition they deserved for their extraordinary discovery.
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