Rev. Dr. Andrew T. Gbandeh-Mitta: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 11 February 2026:
In the devastating aftermath of Koidu Limited’s (formerly known as Koidu Holdings) abrupt shutdown in May 2025, which resulted in the mass layoff of over 1,000 local workers amid bitter disputes over wages, exchange rates, working conditions, and inadequate benefits, the silence from Kono’s key parliamentary representatives remains one of the most glaring failures in recent district politics.
Saa Emerson Lamina, Chairman of the Parliamentary Mines and Mineral Resources Committee, and Rebecca Yei Kamara, Chairperson of the Committee on Employment, Labour and Social Security—both ruling SLPP members representing Kono constituencies—have come under intense fire for what critics describe as a shocking dereliction of duty.
Holding pivotal oversight roles in mining and labour affairs, they have failed to mount any robust public defence, demand accountability from the company, initiate emergency parliamentary hearings, or advocate forcefully for severance, reinstatement, or government intervention to ease the humanitarian crisis that followed.
The consequences have been tragic and irreversible: widespread poverty, shuttered local economies, and the heartbreaking loss of at least twelve lives among former workers directly attributed to the despair, hardship, and inability to cope following the sack by late 2025.
These twelve deaths stand as a stark and irreversible effect of the mass dismissals, underscoring the human cost of corporate decisions unchecked by political oversight.
Yet, as families mourn, struggle, and fracture, these elected officials—tasked precisely with protecting Kono’s mining-dependent livelihoods—have offered no substantive response, no calls for investigations into potential labour law violations, and no visible push to hold Koidu Limited accountable for its handling of the dispute.
Lamina’s Self-Serving Silence and Pattern of Opportunism
As Mines Committee chair, Lamina wields significant authority to scrutinise mining operations, enforce community agreements, summon executives, and recommend remedial actions in Sierra Leone’s diamond epicentre.
Public records and resident accounts reveal zero aggressive engagement—no committee summons, no formal inquiries into the shutdown, no demands for fair compensation or compliance with labour standards. This passivity is seen as particularly egregious given Kono’s historical exploitation in the mining sector.
This inaction fits a broader pattern of political opportunism. Previously the parliamentary caucus leader for the Coalition for Change (C4C), Lamina defected to the SLPP before the 2023 elections without an honourable resignation from his prior role—a move widely blamed for undermining C4C’s strength in Kono and paving his own path to re-election under the ruling party banner.
Critics charge that his career has repeatedly prioritised personal ambition and party allegiance over constituent welfare, turning what could have been principled leadership into calculated self-preservation.
“Hon. Lamina chairs the Mines Committee, yet he has said nothing substantial while over 1,000 of our people lose everything—and twelve have lost their lives because of it,” said a former Koidu worker now struggling to feed his family. “This is not leadership; it is abandonment dressed in political robes.”
Kamara’s Profound Failure on Labour Rights
Rebecca Yei Kamara’s near-total silence is equally condemnable. As head of the Parliamentary Labour Committee, she is directly responsible for championing employment rights, mediating disputes, and ensuring compliance with Sierra Leone’s labour laws.
The committee could have launched probes, pressed for mediation, advocated emergency relief, or highlighted violations such as inadequate severance or unsafe conditions. Instead, no prominent actions or statements have emerged, leaving workers without a legislative voice at their most vulnerable moment.
Despite her pioneering role as Kono’s first female MP and past advocacy on community issues, this passivity has sparked outrage, with many viewing it as evidence that SLPP loyalty supersedes duty to constituents—especially when the crisis involves a major employer in her district and has already claimed twelve lives through its fallout.
“As head of the Labour Committee, Hon. Kamara should be leading the charge for justice,” said a civil society activist with the Kono Citizens’ Rights Forum. “Her silence is louder than any speech; it tells workers and grieving families that their suffering—and the deaths of twelve of our own—does not matter when party interests are at stake.”
Rumours of Revival Under New Guise Fuel Outrage
Recent whispers in Kono suggest that Koidu Holdings may be preparing a comeback under a different name or structure, with reports of recruitment drives for new workers already under way.
If true, this development raises profound questions about the state of governance in Sierra Leone. How can a company shut down abruptly, dismiss over 1,000 loyal employees without fair compensation or notice, cause the loss of at least twelve lives through ensuing hardship, and then seemingly re-emerge to hire afresh—potentially bypassing obligations to the very workers who built its operations?
Many residents now ask whether Sierra Leone has become a banana republic, where the rule of law is absent, and politicians operate as criminal enterprises shielding corporate interests over citizens. Where is the rule of law? Where is morality, integrity, patriotism, and love for humanity?
Such manoeuvres, if unchecked, mock the suffering of families left destitute, the grief of those who buried loved ones, and undermine any pretence of justice in the mining sector.
Rev. Dr. Gbandeh-mitta’s Stark Warning
Rev. Dr. Andrew T. Gbandeh-mitta, in his capacity as author and community voice, emphasises the depth of this betrayal: Our politicians are the modern-day Judases, selling out the people of Kono for peanuts. They have no fear of God, but God fears them—this is appalling.
These leaders, who profess service to the nation, have turned their backs on the vulnerable for personal gain and political expediency, allowing twelve souls to be lost to the effects of the sack they refused to challenge.
2028 Ambitions vs. Citizen Demands for Accountability
With Sierra Leone’s next general elections slated for 2028—marking the end of President Julius Maada Bio’s second and final term—both Lamina and Kamara are now actively positioning themselves to secure another tenure in parliament or higher roles within the SLPP. Party preparations are under way, with internal discussions and unity calls emphasising readiness for the polls.
Yet concerned citizens in Kono are demanding payback time. Many argue that betrayal on the Koidu crisis—culminating in the tragic loss of twelve lives—cannot go unpunished and are calling for voters to kick them out of office in 2028.
The chorus grows: leaders who failed to act during crisis, leading to such irreversible human cost, deserve no renewal of mandate.
This frustration extends upward. President Bio, who campaigned vigorously on addressing historical injustices in resource-rich areas like Kono—including exploitation in diamond mining—has not delivered meaningfully on those manifesto promises for the district.
Despite high-profile gestures, such as the First Lady’s visible support during the 2025 protests, broader executive action to prevent or reverse the layoffs, enforce fair practices, or deliver lasting development has fallen short.
Like president, like ministers and MPs: the pattern of rhetoric over results, party loyalty over people, and unfulfilled commitments to rectify Kono’s long-standing grievances has fuelled deep disillusionment—especially when twelve lives have already been paid as the price.
Contrast with Symbolic Gestures
The leaders’ absence stands in sharp contrast to the First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio’s public solidarity in March 2025, when she joined protesting workers and criticised Koidu Limited’s treatment of employees. While some hailed her stance, others decry the lack of follow-through from the highest levels of government that might have prevented the twelve deaths that followed.
Rising Calls for Reckoning
Civil society, including the Kono Citizens’ Rights Forum, intensifies demands for a parliamentary inquiry into the layoffs, company practices, the oversight failures of Lamina and Kamara, and any potential rebranding or restart efforts by Koidu.
Residents warn that ongoing political hypocrisy—shielding positions while communities suffer and lives are lost—will face electoral consequences.
As hardship persists in Kono and the memory of those twelve lost lives lingers, the message is unequivocal: 2028 offers a chance for reckoning. True leaders must serve the people, not abandon them in pursuit of power. The people of Kono remember, and they demand change.
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