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President Julius Maada Bio has publicly recalled a controversial political statement allegedly made by Sierra Leone’s former President, the late Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, concerning his presidential ambition.
Speaking during a public engagement, President Bio stated that he was once told that the late former President repeatedly declared that he would only become President “over his dead body.”
“While we are in this politics, someone was saying ‘on his dead body I become a President.’ And on his grave I became a president,” President Bio said.
The President further explained that he was not in Sierra Leone at the time the alleged remarks were made and therefore could not personally confirm the circumstances surrounding the statement.
“He is not here today, I don’t even know how it happened because I was not in this country, he was making that statement repeatedly, saying, ‘on my dead body,’” Bio added.
Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who served as President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 2007, died in 2014 after years of public service and leadership during the country’s civil war and post-war recovery period.
President Bio, who previously served as military Head of State in 1996 before becoming democratically elected President in 2018, has remained one of the country’s most influential political figures.
President Bio’s latest remarks appear to reference political tensions and disagreements that existed during earlier periods of Sierra Leone’s political history. However, the President did not provide specific details regarding when or where the alleged statement by the late President Kabbah was made.
As public debate continues, political observers say the remarks are likely to reignite conversations about the historical relationship between former President Kabbah and President Bio within the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
The Presidency has not issued any further clarification on the statement as of press time.
