Sierra Leone Telegraph: 15 April 2026:
Justice and civil liberty were murdered in Sierra Leone yesterday by a brutal president, who is known for committing some of the worst atrocities against his own people – especially political opponents, after Zainab Sheriff – a young female political activist was sentenced to four years and two months imprisonment, for simply expressing her views about electoral fraud in the country and how it should be addressed.
Zainab was found guilty on two counts of what the government described as incitement and the use of threatening language, contrary to the laws of Sierra Leone.
Her crime? She called for anyone caught stealing the people’s vote to be executed. President Bio knows all too well about carrying out extra-judicial executions as an ex-leader of a military junta, so this should not be a problem.
Whether we agree with Zainab’s views on electoral fraud and how those found guilty should be dealt with by the state, its her right, protected by the constitution to express her opinion. She did not incite anyone, nor did she stir public disorder.
Delivering his ignoble judgment, Magistrate Brima Jah at Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 1 said that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. Really?
This is a case that ought not to have gone to court in the first place. Common sense and measured justice should have taken its course.
According to the court, the sentences on both counts will run consecutively, resulting in a combined custodial term of four years and two months, for a young woman with a six year old son waiting for her to come home yesterday, 14th April 2026.
But he will now have to wait another four and half years, if his mum survives Sierra Leone’s harsh prison conditions.
While this sad and disgraceful ruling brings an end to a case that has drawn widespread condemnation – both in Sierra Leone and abroad, questions must now be asked about President Bio’s mental state as they are also being directed at President Trump.
With elections set to take place in less than two years, President Bio and his ruling SLPP party are on course to destroying the opposition, as they desperately fight to hang on to power and their stolen wealth running into Billions of Dollars.
There are fears many more critics of the SLPP government will be rounded up in the coming months and sent to jail before the 2028 elections, which the SLPP are predicted to lose, as calls for regime change grow louder.
Although Zainab’s remark about the persistent culture of vote stealing in Sierra Leone was not directed at any political leader, President Bio and his wife it seems, felt her remark was directed at them. The guilty will always be afraid of their murky shadows.
Many in Sierra Leone and abroad were yesterday expecting Magistrate Mustapha Brima Jah to have given a verdict devoid of political sentiments. But it seems the powers from above had long determined the guilty verdict – on the day Zainab was arrested early this year.
Zainab – the Chairperson of the “Wi Duti” (We Duty) movement and a vocal supporter of the opposition APC, was arrested in February 2026 after speaking at an opposition APC rally on 31st January 2026, where she expressed a view held by many Sierra Leoneans that; anyone caught and found guilty of stealing the peoples’ votes should be executed.
Its her opinion to which she is entitled, not a call to action directed at the public. So why should President Bio and his wife believe that Zainab’s remark is a crime, if they are not guilty of stealing the people’s votes?
Supporters of the brutal president and his SLPP party, as well as the police, claimed that Zainab’s public remark was threatening and inciting. Only in rogue and failed states like Sierra Leone will such a charge be made against its citizens.
Zainab has consistently maintained her innocence. She told the courts that her remark was a political speech not directed at anyone but aimed at discouraging electoral fraud, rather than inciting violence.
Her legal team had earlier filed a “no-case submission,” which was rejected by the rogue magistrate, who many believed was acting on behalf of the President and his wife.
The fear now for Zainab is whether she will come out of prison alive, given President Bio’s notorious record of brutality and extra-judicial killings.
There are calls for Zainab’s immediate release. May commonsense prevail.
This was Lucy Baindu Koroma – a civil liberty campaigner’s response to news of Zainab’s imprisonment yesterday:
“Today, I am heartbroken. Not just as a Sierra Leonean, but as a woman, as an advocate, and as a human being who believes in justice.
Zainab Sheriff has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison. Her crime? Speaking at a political rally. Expressing frustration about election integrity. Calling for those who steal the will of the people to be held accountable. She directed her words at no specific individual. She named no target. She wished harm on no one. She stood at a microphone and said what millions of Sierra Leoneans feel in their hearts every single day.
Four years and two months. Let that sink in.
She was denied bail not once, not twice, but six consecutive times while she sat in the Female Correctional Facility awaiting a trial that has now ended in this devastating sentence. Her own defense noted that no complainant or victim came forward, and that the case rested entirely on the police’s interpretation of her video. She maintained throughout that her words were meant to deter election rigging, not to incite violence.
I have lost all faith and credibility in the Sierra Leone judiciary today. A justice system that incarcerates a woman for passionate political speech while the real criminals of this nation walk free is not a justice system. It is a weapon.
What makes this even more painful is the silence and the betrayal from within. There are people who should be standing up for Zainab Sheriff right now, people who speak the language of women’s rights and sisterhood when it is convenient, who are nowhere to be found or worse, are actively working against her because they are too deeply embedded in the very system that condemned her.
The jealousy and insecurity among women who should know better is real, and it is devastating. We cannot claim to fight for women while abandoning the ones who need us most.
I say this as a Sierra Leonean woman living in America who has never met Zainab Sheriff, never spoken to her, and has no political affiliation with any party. I speak for her because she is a woman. I speak for her because what happened to her can happen to any one of us who dares to open our mouths.
To those intoxicated by proximity to power, I say this carefully and clearly. Power is temporary. History is permanent. If something happens to that woman in that prison, no title, no position, and no political connection will protect you from the judgment of history and the judgment of God. Be careful how drunk you get on power that was never truly yours to begin with.
Sierra Leone has eight million people suffering. Our youth are drowning in unemployment, addiction, and hopelessness. And the full force of the judiciary has been brought down on a woman who gave a speech. The priorities of this justice system are a disgrace.
And to those who ask why anyone would be upset about calls for accountability regarding election results, the answer is simple. Innocent people do not fear accountability. Only those planning to do wrong fear the consequences of doing wrong.
This is not about party colors. This is not about APC or SLPP. This is about the fundamental right of every Sierra Leonean to speak, to participate in democracy, and to hold power accountable without ending up behind bars. Today that right was sentenced to four years and two months in Pademba Road Prison.
Free Zainab Sheriff. And may God protect her.”
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