Former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who stepped down as leader of his APC party in 2018, has suddenly become the victim of vilification as everybody blames him for their own political failures.

Ernest Koroma assumed the leadership of the APC when that party was in opposition more than 20 years ago.

He worked hard to bring the party together in readiness for the 2007 elections. During that period, he recruited many people, including members of other political parties such as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He also recruited non- partisan citizens who joined him in the APC.

In promoting inclusiveness, Ernest Koroma appointed many people from all the districts into his government, effectively covering all the five regions of Sierra Leone.

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Even before he retired, he encouraged many of his friends to remain loyal and steadfast to the party. unfortunately, some of his friends who held many important positions switched over to the now ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), after the 2023 elections.

The challenges confronting the party in opposition have caused some people within the party to crack as the threw unfair accusations at Ernest Bai Koroma for any single error.

Ernest Koroma had left the Office of President close to 7 years ago, yet some people continue to accuse him for all the current failures within the party.

Even though Ernest Koroma singlehandedly made Dr. Samura Kamara what he is at the moment in the APC, yet Dr. Samura Kamara’s followers blame Ernest Koroma for all the problems confronting Dr. Samura Kamara.

By all standards, Samura Kamara is an extremely lucky man within the party. Dr. Ernest Koroma, when he was in power, appointed him to the most influential positions within the government, and the party.

Ernest Koroma did not hesitate to appoint Samura Kamara Bank Governor of the Central Bank. When it became clear that Samura did not qualify for the position of cabinet minister because he did not register as a voter and therefore was disqualified by the constitution, Ernest Koroma still wanted Samura to be minister; so once the local council elections were announced, Ernest Koroma engaged him to register as a voter, after which he was appointed Minister of Finance immediately.

How can Ernest Koroma work against the interest of Samura when it was Ernest who later transferred Samura from Finance Minister to Foreign Affairs? When Ernest learnt about the vacancy in the African Development Bank (ADB), he recommended Samura Kamara, but Samura lost because the Nigerian candidate was better prepared.

To the surprise of everybody, immediately after the Ebola crisis when President Koroma could not attend the Heads-of-State conference at the United Nations, he appointed Samura Kamara to represent Sierra Leone.

When it became obvious that Ernest Koroma needed to be replaced at the party level, he almost singlehandedly appointed Samura Kamara as the flag bearer for the 2018 Presidential elections.

The bloggers on social media continue to humiliate, insult the former President, accusing him of undermining the aspirations of Samura Kamara.

Ernest Koroma earned a bad name just so that he could push Samura Kamara to the top of government and party, yet today he is the victim of vilification in the Samura Kamara Camp.