Sierra Leone: Former President Ernest Bai Koroma charged with treason and other offenses in connection with attempted coup
In a case that has shaken the country, Sierra Leone has charged former President Ernest Bai Koroma with treason and other offenses in connection with what authorities said was an attempted coup on November 26.
Ernest Bai Koroma, who led the West African nation from 2007 to 2018, had already been questioned by authorities and named as an official suspect in organizing the coup attempt.
“The former president is charged with four offenses, including treason, aiding and abetting treason and two counts of hiding,” said a statement signed by Information Minister Chernor Bah.
On November 26, armed attackers stormed a military armory, two barracks, two prisons and two police stations, clashing with security forces.
Twenty-one people were killed and hundreds of prisoners escaped before authorities managed to regain control after what they say was an attempted coup by members of the armed forces.
At least 80 people were arrested in connection with the clashes, most of whom were soldiers.
At the beginning of December, the authorities announced that the former president was under house arrest as part of his interrogation.
“The former president is going home,” Koroma’s lawyer Ady Macauley told AFP on Wednesday, adding that the case had been adjourned until January 17.
Heavy security was set up near the court in the capital, Freetown, where Koroma’s hearing was taking place.
On Tuesday, Sierra Leone also charged 12 people with treason in connection with the coup attempt, including Amadu Koita, a former soldier and Koroma’s bodyguard.
According to police, Koita had a large following on social media where he criticized the government of current president Julius Maada Bio.
ECOWAS Mission
An adviser to Koroma, Sheriff Mahmud Ismail, told AFP before the charges were announced that the former president was discussing exile in Nigeria, a regional heavyweight which currently holds the presidency of the ECOWAS regional bloc.
An ECOWAS delegation led by the leaders of Senegal and Ghana visited Sierra Leone on December 23 to prepare for a “security mission” following the attempted coup.
At a recent ECOWAS summit, the delegation was tasked with “facilitating the deployment of a security mission to Sierra Leone to help stabilize the country.”
Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba insisted the mission would not be a military intervention, pointing to the existence of similar forces in Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
Violence in Sierra Leone in late November has sparked fears of another coup in West Africa, where Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea have all experienced putsches since 2020.