Post a comment 
Sierra Leone’s Foreign Ministry has launched an urgent investigation into the alleged misuse of official diplomatic documents after former ECOWAS Parliament Speaker Sidie Mohamed Tunis was denied a U.S. visa and confronted with a 2023 note verbale linked to an unknown individual.
The Ministry confirmed on September 5 that it had assembled an internal committee to review the circumstances surrounding the document, which reportedly facilitated a U.S. visa for a person identified as Chapator Bah under the designation “Executive Assistant to the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament”. The probe aims to identify possible institutional weaknesses and determine whether official procedures were circumvented.
Tunis, a longtime SLPP Member of Parliament for Pujehun District, attended a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown on September 3, 2026. According to his formal complaint, a consular officer told him that a note verbale from the Foreign Ministry had requested visas for both Tunis and Bah in 2023. The officer further indicated that Bah had travelled to the United States under that capacity and allegedly failed to return to Sierra Leone—a circumstance Tunis says was linked to his own visa denial.
In a letter dated the same day and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Tunis categorically denied any knowledge of Bah. “I never had an Executive Assistant in the name of CHAPATOR BAH whilst serving in the capacity as Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament,” he wrote, adding that he had never known anyone by that name. Tunis described the allegation as a serious embarrassment to himself, the state of Sierra Leone, and the entire West African sub-region.
The former Speaker formally requested that the Ministry investigate the origin and authenticity of the note verbale. He warned that if the matter is not resolved within seven working days of receipt of his letter, he would institute legal action to protect his reputation and integrity. Copies of the letter were forwarded to the Speaker of Parliament, the Secretary to the President, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Leader of Government Business, the Leader of the Opposition, and Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the United States.
The U.S. Embassy in Freetown declined to comment on the specific case, citing its policy on individual visa matters. The Ministry has stated that anyone found to have breached procedures will face strict administrative or legal action, stressing that the investigation will be conducted with accountability and transparency. No individual has been officially found guilty of wrongdoing, and the inquiry remains ongoing.
