Former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma has said in a statement on Wednesday that, the allegations made against him in the Reports of the Commissions of Inquiry and the White Paper are without merit.
The allegations are linked to wrongdoings touching on mining, construction and procurement contracts.
The reports recommend that houses of former President Ernest Bai Koroma and some Ministers and heads of parastatals who served under his regime be forfeited to the State; and funds amounting to millions of dollars allegedly stolen by the former public officials be refunded to the State.
“While it is apparent that the allegations against me are without merit and are a politically motivated charade calculated to impugn my hard – earned reputation, I further believe that the government’s relentless heckling around me has reached undue and unacceptable levels that amount to political harassment,” Koroma said.
His statement came following an invitation from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to appear before the Commission on Monday to answer questions about alleged corruption.
“For ten years, I served my country diligently, fairly and with honour and integrity. My government was widely recognised for its robust fight against corruption, for consolidating peace, rebuilding the country’s battered infrastructure, for improving the lives of our people in many ways and for the peaceful, smooth democratic transition I superintended,” he said.
He added that It is unfortunate that the government has chosen this route to unduly tarnish his reputation because of politics. “Such ridiculous political witch hunt does not only scare good and well-meaning citizens from getting involved in governance; it also has the propensity of undermining peaceful democratic transitions on the continent as current leaders following these unfortunate events in Sierra Leone might find it difficult to readily hand over power, especially to opposition political parties,” he said.
“On my part, whilst I will always support the fight against corruption and the quest for accountability in public office, I will muster all available legitimate and democratic means to robustly defend my reputation which is being tarnished so mindlessly. In that vein, I will once again defer to my lawyers to look into the Reports, the White Paper and the series of maligning actions being instituted against me; to advise on my next course of action.”
By Alusine Sesay
2/10/2020. ISSUE NO: 7922