Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, David Moinina Sengeh, recently announced that he has thoroughly reviewed the Tribunal’s report on the Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General.

He acknowledged that the Tribunal’s proceedings have been a significant topic of discussion among politicians, development partners, civil society organizations, the media, and the general public.

Minister Sengeh expressed his gratitude to the Tribunal’s Chairperson, Hon. Mrs. Justice Nyawo Matturi Jones JSC (Rtd), and the other two members for their transparent hearings and for producing a detailed, accessible final report. He also thanked H.E. President Bio for adhering to the constitution by establishing an independent and credible Tribunal, rather than unconstitutionally removing the Auditor-General, despite evidence of misconduct and unprofessional behavior.

He commended the President for subjecting himself and his office to scrutiny that many would not have anticipated for a Head of State, including the release of records containing personal medical and security details that would typically remain classified. By making the Tribunal’s report available for public review, the President demonstrated a commitment to transparency.

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Minister Sengeh described the document as a valuable guide for future generations, praising its meticulous record-keeping, detailed reporting, and the balanced use of both inquisitorial and adversarial legal methods, as well as the involvement of technical, local, and international experts.

Below is the substance of his takeaways from the report

  1. “Hypocrisy of Service. The Auditor-General and her deputy went to all odds to audit the President and his office (including breaching confidentiality) but failed and actively prohibited the auditing of Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer’s Transform Freetown projects during the same period. Even after her Audit SL team indicated Madam Mayor and her team couldn’t produce records for projects, the Auditor-General and her Deputy refused to sanction the auditing of the mayor in detail (par 145-161). This level of double standards in service could only be attributed to witch hunting of the highest office of the land. In paragraph 253, in what the report says the “evidence remains uncontroverted and unchallenged” that the Auditor-General “refused to sign the letter of request to contact the other parties involved in the Projects” is almost unbelievable. Yet, the Auditor-General went on her own to find third-party information on the office of the President, which she didn’t share with anyone or verify.

  2. Improper and unethical behavior. Now, as someone who has led an MDA for 6 years, I read every draft and final audit report of my institutions (and now, the entire report). I can proudly say that in all institutions I have led, at the time of audits and after, we have resolved all issues we could. One thing is clear, it is inappropriate for the Auditor-General to change a final draft audit presented at the exit interviews without reverting back to the auditors or the auditee. That’s plain and simply inappropriate. From records in the report, the Auditor-General and her Deputy singlehandedly changed the draft audit reports they received from their auditors to malign the office of the president (par 225-227). This is gross misconduct.

  3. Conflict of interest and poor leadership. Now, the Deputy Auditor-General, while in active service to the government, was having a side hustle leading a private firm to deliver audit services to other public institutions? What? The Auditor-General, whose mandate to provide overall leadership of the institution, allowed this to happen repeatedly (par 121-128, 207-209). How is this ok?
    Now, there are many other issues to take away and I can’t wait for the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Sierra Leone Bar Association and other bodies who closely followed this matter with great interest to share their views (I can only assume they are still reading the report but their silence is defeaning). As citizens, we want to hear from them,”

As Chief Minister, he emphasized  there are three out of the four recommendations (par 314) that he will pay great attention to.

1.The second recommendation : the 2nd Respondent be removed from Audit Service Sierra Leone by the Audit Service Board Sierra Leone. He noted that apparently, the accused had submitted a resignation letter during the Tribunal. However, clarified that this couldn’t be honored by the Board then (you can’t resign during an investigation).  He affirmed his job is to ensure that Boards of government institutions deliver on their mandates.

  1. The third recommendation : for the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate both accused for their conduct of the 2020 Audit Report paying particular attention to the Office of the President and the Freetown City Council.  He pointed out that the Transform Freetown project has been linked repeatedly to corruption (including repayment of funds by the FCC).  A move he described as not witch hunting but rather asking the ACC to look at the recommendations critically.

  2. As someone closely involved with the ongoing constitutional review process, he added that he will closely pay attention to fourth recommendation which speaks to the issue of reviewing the Constitution (Section 137) “with a view to providing an effective mechanism for the monitoring and disciplining of the Auditor-General”.