West Africa

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah President Julius Maada Bio’s propagandists are working strenuously to make the world believe that Bio and his ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) are the popular choice among voters. In Freetown, the Institute of Governance Reform (IGR), a local civil society organization led by SLPP activist Andrew Lavalie, has even …

Subverting Democracy: President Bio Rents Crowds to Join Campaign Rallies Read More »

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah  Why has Kandeh Yumkella of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) denied his party supporters and sympathizers the opportunity to elect an NGC presidential candidate in the upcoming June 2023 election? Will Yumkella’s one vote be enough to give the incumbent candidate, Julius Maada Bio, a second term? And is Yumkella …

Sierra Leone: Kandeh Yumkella’s One Vote Will Not Give Maada Bio a Second Term Read More »

By Matthew Anderson, Mark Feldman, and Nik Harris Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) in Sierra Leone collaborated with ruling party politicians to legitimize the controversial appointment of Adrian Fisher to the High Courts of Sierra Leone, parliamentary papers reviewed by Africanist Press have shown. Adrian Fisher was appointed to the position of high court judge …

Sierra Leone: Opposition MPs supported judiciary’s hatchet man against democracy Read More »

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, Matthew Anderson, and Mark Feldman  Sierra Leone’s president, Julius Maada Bio and First Lady Fatima Bio cumulatively withdrew over Le71.4 billion as international travel per diem in 2022 alone, new financial records of the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) accessed by the Africanist Press has revealed. The transactions included direct …

Sierra Leone: President and First Lady withdrew over Le71.4 billion as international travel per diem in 2022 Read More »

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, Matthew Anderson, and Mark Feldman In this report, Africanist Press provided transaction details from bank statements of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs showing how funds transferred to New York for the alleged construction work at the Sierra Leone Mission Headquarters at the United Nations were squandered between 2018 and …

Sierra Leone: President’s diplomats unable to account for over US$4.6 million transferred in 2019 to New York for Chancery Building construction Read More »

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, Matthew Anderson, and Mark Feldman In the last two reports, Africanist Press published documentary evidence showing that the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) awarded two procurement contracts worth over US$10 million to two Freetown companies that did not show technical capacity to supply the requested voter registration technology and …

Sierra Leone: Electoral Commission inflated Election Procurement Contract by US$6.3 Million Read More »

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, Anne B. Wallis, and Matthew Anderson Details on bank transfers and withdrawal records from the President’s Office in Freetown show that over US$500, 000 was withdrawn from the Central Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) to allegedly fund personal expenses of the country’s president, Julius Maada Bio, who is currently visiting …

Sierra Leone: Over US$500,000 Withdrawn for President Bio’s Expenses in New York Read More »