Dissent

24/08/2025

On the 22nd of August 2025, the leading flagbearer aspirant of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr. Ibrahim Bangura (DIB), held a crucial engagement with a cross-section of APC Bo District Regional and Constituency Executives at the Bo Coronation Field.

The meeting, which drew a large turnout, was chaired by the APC Bo District Chairman, Comrade Alimamy Kather, who warmly introduced the executive members in attendance. In his remarks, Chairman Kather reaffirmed his leadership’s unwavering commitment to the vision and mission of Dr. Ibrahim Bangura, assuring the audience that the Bo District APC remains solidly behind him in his bid to secure the standard bearer position at the 2026 National Delegates Convention.

Speaking at the gathering, the former National Publicity Secretary and former Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Comrade Cornelius Deveaux, expressed gratitude to the regional and constituency executives for their timely show of support and massive turnout. He noted that this was a strong signal of the confidence and trust reposed in Dr. Bangura’s leadership qualities.

According to Deveaux, DIB stands as the most preferred candidate capable of leading the APC back to State House in 2028. He emphasized that Dr. Bangura possesses a wealth of experience in policy reforms, public financial management, peace building, and conflict resolution mechanisms. qualities that are deeply embedded in his campaign agenda, which is anchored on the themes: HEAL, BUILD, and UNITE.

Dr. Bangura himself, in a passionate address, thanked all attendees for their overwhelming support and encouragement. He reminded party stakeholders that his aspiration for the flagbearer position is not just about winning the 2028 elections, but about rescuing Sierra Leone from its current state of economic hardship, miscalculated governance , and social despair under the ruling government.

He stressed the need for unity within the APC, urging members to set aside individual Camp affiliation and instead focusing on the bigger picture of reclaiming State House in 2028. According to him, only a united APC can achieve victory and deliver the transformation that Sierra Leoneans are yearning for.

"In the struggles of APC, there is always victory for us,” Dr. Bangura declared, drawing applause from all present

Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s vision, backed by his academic credentials, peace and conflict and development expertise, and philanthropic contributions, continue to inspire confidence across the party’s grassroots base. The Bo engagement reaffirmed his growing popularity and the strong momentum of the DIB Movement as the APC prepares for its upcoming National Delegates Convention and, ultimately, the 2028 General Elections.

19/08/2025

Sierra Leone has one of the worst connectivity in the world. A nation in the grip of powerful companies that have taken Sierra Leoneans for granted with unreliable connectivity and exorbitant prices will hardly spark the fire of creativity in its youthful population who have turned to providing employment for themselves online.

Renowned journalist Umaru Fofana has expressed his concern about a worthless mobile data package which companies are providing their customers. According to him, it is insane and unfair to have mobile companies offering 1mbps in an era where other countries are thriving with 5G and fibre optic connectivity. Citizens pay an exorbitant subscription price for this package when they should rather be getting more for same price. Umaru's post on his page questions the effectiveness and efficiency of the National Telecommunications Authority (NatCA).

This institution seems to be in a state of slumber while the people it should be serving are being extorted and ripped off by greedy telecommunications companies.
We join Umaru in asking the same question: Where are you ?

19/08/2025

Justice Allan Halloway in a letter dated 11 August 2025 and addressed to the Chief Justice Komba Kamanda has expressed his disappointment over his unpaid monthly wages.

In his letter, he expressed how he was barred from getting his fuel allocation based on orders from above and his request for a change of battery and tyres to the vehicle allocated to him has been consistently ignored since February of this year.

Citing section 138(3) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991 which emphatically provides that the salary, allowance, privileges and gratuity of a judge of the superior court shall not be varied to his disadvantage, Justice Halloway accused the Chief Justice of violating the constitution and eroding the independence of the judiciary.

Also, he alleged that a number of judges within the judiciary are dissatisfied with the manner in which the Chief Justice is running the judiciary and as the oldest judge in the superior court of judicature, he has the moral fortitude to speak up against oppression and the unconstitutional manner in which the judiciary is run.

In his letter, the aggrieved judge went at length to elaborate on the ordeal he's being put through as a result of the Chief Justice's orders. He claims a gross violation of his fundamental human rights and his right to seek redress in accordance with the constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

What does this mean for the independence of the judiciary? Why is Justice Allan Halloway's wages withheld? Why have his privileges not been met?

We have many questions with no answers. The judiciary needs to clear the air on these serious allegations which portray it in a bad light under the auspices of Chief Justice Komba Kamanda.

16/08/2025

Detested and considered a traitor by some supporters of the APC because he caved-in and allowed the SLPP to get away with the plethora of issues that compromised the fairness and transparency of the 2023 presidential election, Dr Samura Kamara will not be vying for the flag-bearer position in his party for the 2028 election.

The National Advisory Council has approved the Internal Elections Rules and Regulations which will guide and govern the conduct of the next internal elections within the APC party that will be conducted under the new APC construction of 2022.

A notable provision in the regulations is section 14 rule 7 which bars a member from getting nominated for the flag-bearer position more than twice. The provision only allows for a third nomination if a member won the presidential election .

With the Internal Elections Rules and Regulations having been gazetted, it becomes effective and binding on the conduct of the forthcoming elections within the party.

This is the end of the road for Dr Samura Kamara who has been on an advocacy journey for electoral justice after getting robbed of his victory in the 2023 presidential poll. This opens the door and creates an opportunity for emerging leaders within the party to contest for the revered flag-bearer position on an equal footing.

Who will be the APC's next flag-bearer?

14/08/2025

The government of Sierra Leone and All Peoples Congress signed an agreement for national unity in October 2023 after several months of instability ignited by allegations of rigging and fraud in the presidential election in June of the same year.

The outcome of a three-day dialogue was an agreement to promote unity, set-up a committee on electoral systems and management bodies to review the electoral framework in Sierra Leone in order to avert another debacle that would plunge the country into conflict.

Since the agreement was signed there have been several concerns from both parties to the agreement about implementation of the provisions by the government on one hand and the lack of cooperation by the opposition on the other. After several engagements and admonishment by the joint mediation team for the parties to the agreement to implement every provision in good faith and within the enshrined timeframe, the government of Sierra Leone through the Office of the Attorney General has today released 37 political prisoners who were incarcerated on several politically-allegations including subversion.

These individuals were part of a list of political prisoners the APC requested to be released. The AG's office said in a press statement that the person's released are not "subjects of any criminal investigation and are therefore free to go about their normal business without any interruptions."

As more clauses in the Agreement are yet to be implemented, this recent development indicates the government's commitment to implementing every clause in it.

13/08/2025

The ripple effect of what transpired in parliament will not subside in a jiffy as many had thought.

After going on Facebook live to maintain she won't apologise for her behaviour in parliament and reprimanding the speaker of parliament for failing to protect her from being bullied, the first lady has gone on the offensive again as she accused Umaru Napoleon Koroma of being dishonest and positioning him at the centre as the mastermind behind everything that happened at the party's delegate conference and the state opening of parliament.

When Napoleon published a piece on his page in an attempt to project the party as one happy and united family after the delegates conference and to support the first lady during this dark moment, the first lady hastingly refuted his sugar-coated words which she considered to be deceptive, dishonest and a deliberate ploy to cover-up the party's internal wrangling.

She accompanied her comment with a video in which Umaru Napoleon Koroma and some senior members of the party were claiming they've got their party back. That utterance in the video which the first lady made reference to unravels a deep-seated impasse in the SLPP which may have eluded a lot of people and may also have some effect on the government's terrible performance.

Will this banter end anytime soon? Well, your guess is as best as ours. But we will keep our ears and eyes wide open.

12/08/2025

The drama continues. After taking offence for a song some MPs cheerfully sang during her entrance at the state opening of parliament, the first lady in a video has emphatically informed the speak of parliament Hon. Sengepoh Thomas that she will not apologise for her behaviour. In this video, the first lady expressed how she was embarrassed and humiliated and she accused the speaker for leaving her out to dry without intervening to protect her.

Do you think Fatima Bio needs the apologise?

10/08/2025

As the race for the APC flag-bearer position intensifies, we conducted an online poll to assess who is the preferred candidate to be the next flag-bearer of the party.
10 candidates were selected based on visibility of their campaigns. The candidates were : Dr. Suffian Kalokoh, Ady Macauley Esq, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara Esq, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, Bai Mahmoud Bangura, Osman Timbo, Chernor Maju Bah, Omrie Golley, Dr. Kelfala Marah and Dr. Ibrahim Bangura.

Dissent collated 87 total votes cast. Here's a breakdown of the poll:

1. Dr. Suffian Kalokoh 0 votes 0%

2. Ady Macauley Esq 1 vote 1%

3. Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara Esq 4 votes 4%

4. Yvonne Aki-Sawyer 0 votes 0%

5. Bai Mahmoud Bangura 12 votes 13%

6. Osman Timbo 4 votes 4%

7. Chernor Maju Bah 7 votes 8%

8. Omrie Golley 0 vote 0%

9. Dr. Kelfala Marah 18 votes 18%

10. Dr. Ibrahim Bangura 42 votes 48%

These votes do not reflect our view but those of our followers who took part in it. While 87 votes might seem small as compared to over 1,000 delegates who will be voting in the party's election, the poll gives us an understanding of how the political race is evolving and who stands as the favourite to pull through. The dynamics may change, so bear in mind that this isn't static. We will conduct another poll in September to assess what has changed and what hasn't.

09/08/2025

Is the first lady of Sierra Leone losing her grip on the party that once revered her during their first term in office? Was she influencing decisions in the party because her husband still had a second term to go and there were members in the hierarchy who couldn't afford to upset her?

The recent video that has spiralled out of control online depicting SLPP members of parliament singing and jeering at the first lady as she walked into the well of parliament during the state opening ceremony has evoked a plethora of critical questions and humourous views from Sierra Leoneans. Why did she receive such an embarrassment from her party members?

Well, many would have noticed the heated and confrontational intra-party dynamics between one camp allegedly sponsored and supported by Fatima Bio and another camp suspectedly pioneered by some older members in the party who wanted to show they were still superior to her in the SLPP.

From what we have found out so far, almost all the members who were vying for national positions with the support of the first lady, lost. Her camp didn't succeed in mounting authority and presence in the party's national executive.

This, we strongly believe has diminished her influence in the party. If there's anything she can learn from this latest setback is; the chickens have come home to roost. Being the wife of the president who won on the party's ticket made her overconfident and a bit delusional about the influence she has in the SLPP.

"You cocoa roast", a song which was first launched at the party's delegate conference by Dr. Prince Harding and reverberated in the well of parliament, is a clear indication that, the SLPP is preparing for life without the Bios at the helm.

In a video she posted on her page, the first lady unequivocally downplayed the theatrics of SLPP MPs in parliament and blamed a handful of old mean who envy her. She said it is not the SLPP party that is against her. While her assertion may have some elements of truth, she should be concerned that her party members would resort to jeering at her in parliament at such a significant state function. As the politician that she professes to be, it is time to hit the drawing board and re-strategize. Because she is obviously losing her grip on things and it may only get worse.

©Dissent 2025

09/08/2025

We gained 1,892 followers, created 23 posts and received 442 reactions in the past 90 days! Thank you all for your continued support. We could not have done it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

07/08/2025

Bai Mahmoud Bangura launched his official campaign for the party's flag-bearer position after tendering his resignation as organising secretary of the APC. The former minister of youth affairs under the leadership of Ernest Bai Koroma now has his eyes fixated on becoming the president of Sierra Leone in 2028. Is he fit for that position?

It is an open secret that Bai Mahmoud's slate is tainted with corruption, ranging from embezzlement to misappropriation of public funds.

In the government's white paper on the commission of inquiry, it was explicitly established that the Commission found that Bai Mahmoud and others who had been allocated over 4billion old Leones for a youth village project that was designed to train and empower the youths did not use the fund for its intended purpose.

According to the report, Bai Mahmoud and others were found liable for impropriety and corruption which led to the misappropriation of Le. 2, 207, 818, 212. They were ordered to pay back all amount misappropriated into the consolidated revenue fund.

In 2019, Bai Mahmoud entered into a settlement agreement with the Anti-Corruption Commission in respect of funds provided to the Sierra Leone Movie Stars by the Road Maintenance Fund Administration which he misappropriated. He agreed to payback the sum of Le. 75,000,000.

The APC needs a candidate with a clean slate, who's upright and honest. Sierra Leoneans have suffered for too long and the country's situation has only been made worse by massive corruption in the present government. Bai Mahmoud has skeletons in his cupboard which will ruboff on the party badly if he's elected to vie for the presidency as the APC flag-bearer. Therefore, it is profoundly important for members of the APC party not to ignore these red flags when making a decision on the party's next flag-bearer.

Do you think he's the flag-bearer APC needs? Let's hear your views in the comment section.

04/08/2025

The APC will be holding its national delegate conference in 2026 to elect national officers and its next flag-bearer for the 2028 presidential polls. At the moment, over 10 politicians within the party have expressed their aspirations in becoming the next flag-bearer to lead the party into the upcoming elections in 2028.
We have launched an online poll to sound the opinions of the members of the party regarding whom they'll have as flag-bearer in 2028. Here is the link to take part in the poll https://smartpolls.co.uk/p/133523
Just click on it and vote for the candidate of your choice. This is a 48 hour poll. The results will be published on our page in case you are interested to know the outcome.

©Dissent 2025

Vote and see the results of the poll: Who do you think should be the next APC flag-bearer for the 2028 presidential election?