ACC charges former APC member of Sierra Leone’s parliament to court for stealing Le1.32 billion

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 26 February 2020:

Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), on Monday 24th February, 2020, charged Komboh Kamara – a former ruling APC party member of Parliament, residing at 5 Carlos Drive, Goderich, Freetown to court for corruption.

He has been charged with twenty-four counts of corruption offences, relating to the misappropriation of public funds, contrary to Section 36(1), abuse of office, contrary to Section 42(1), abuse of position, contrary to Section 43, and failure to comply with applicable procedures and guidelines, contrary to Section 42(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008.

The ACC also charged the opposition APC party local councillor of Ward 246 in the Port Loko District – Saidu Abass Kamara, with one count of abuse of office, contrary to Section 42(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008.

According to the ACC, between March 2011 and March 2012, Komboh Kamara, in his then capacity as member of parliament representing the then Constituency 056, which is now Constituency 074, misappropriated a total sum of one billion, three hundred and twenty-three million, six hundred and forty-seven thousand Leones (Le: 1,323,647,000) which should have been spent in his constituency to benefit local people of Lokomasama Chiefdom.

Komboh Kamara withdrew the money from the bank account of the Lokomasama Development Fund and failed to account for the funds.

Saidu Abass Kamara, while serving as Councillor of Ward 246 in the Port Loko District, between January 2009 and December 2014, abused his office by improperly refusing to handover to the Pepel community health center a 5KVA electricity generator and two hospital beds he received to help improve the lives of people in the community.

The ACC said that Saidu Abass Kamara instead took possession of the generator and beds for his own personal use, thereby conferring an improper advantage on himself. The said generator and beds were donated by African Minerals Ltd.

Both accused are expected to appear in the High Court in Freetown on 4th March, 2020.

The ACC says that it wishes to reassure the general public of its determination to curb graft at all levels in Sierra Leone. But the opposition APC says that the ACC is using selective justice in dispensing its duties, and that it is deliberately failing to properly investigate and charge ruling SLPP politicians and public officials to court for corruption, which they say is becoming endemic in the Bio led government.

The Auditor General of Sierra Leone in her 2018 report found that over Le 141 billion – representing funds allocated to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Local Councils were missing in the first 9 months of the Bio led government. No one has been charged with corruption offences for crimes relating to the missing Le141 Billion.

1 Comment

  1. True. It’s all selective justice. They will never arrest and prosecute those behind the PAOPA “valley of the shadow of death”. Never. But the “New Order” to “get SALONE sorted” will bring all of them hiding behind the PAOPA “valley of the shadow of death” to justice. God bless and help all those who are victims of this selective justice.

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