The Principal Prosecution witness for Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Joseph Bockarie Noah, as well as several exhibits tendered in court have repeatedly and emphatically put Dr. Ali Kabba front and center of the ongoing ACC trial of Dr. Samura Kamara and four others.

The leading flag bearer aspirant for the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC), Dr. Samura Kamara and four Sierra Leoneans have been slammed with 46 count charges by the ACC. The indictment include failure to comply with Procurement Processes and Procedures, Misappropriation of Public Funds and Deceiving a principal. Exhibits tendered in court of bank deposits, wire transfers of the funds, as well as exhibits of testimonies of witnesses and depositions of the accused persons clearly show that Dr. Ali Kabba’s tenures both at helm and of the foreign ministry and the Sierra Leone Permanent Mission at the United Nations in New York, fall well within the period and scope of the investigation.

 

Of note, it is now on record that the ACC Chief Investigating Officer, and First Prosecution witness, Joseph Bockarie Noah, has told the Court that when Dr. Francis Kaikai, Sierra Leone Permanent Representative to the United Nations, requested for assistance from the Chinese for funds to renovate the Sierra Leone UN Mission Chancery in New York, he directed that the funds be paid into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ account in Sierra Leone.

However, and according to PW1. Dr. Ali Kabba, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, directed the Chinese to pay the money into a private account and never told the government that the money had been paid until Chinese Ambassador to the UN informed Dr. Francis Kaikai that the money had been paid into the private account provided by Dr. Ali Kabba.

The witness said further that when the money was finally transferred by Dr. Ali Kabba into the Ministry’s account “it was short by significant sum”. Mr. Bockarie Noah stated further that $2 million was remitted in 2019 under the instructions of Dr. Kaikai, adding: “As we all know Dr. Samura, APC leading flag-bearer, was out of the office in late 2017.”

Notwithstanding the above, as recent as Monday 7th March 2022, Dr. Samura Kamara was again made to appear in court to answer to questions about funds allegedly misappropriated at a time when he no longer at the foreign ministry.

While the nation patiently awaits the outcome of the UN Chancery Building trial, what however lingers on in the hearts and minds of Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad is: why is Ali Kabba not appearing in court?

This is especially in view of the fact that Ali Kabba is right under our nose campaigning and urging supporters of the Sierra Leone People’s Party to shelve their differences and unite to keep the party strong and ready to win the upcoming 2023 national elections hands down.

On observer noted that: “at least in reverence to the doctrine that ‘justice must also be seen to be done Kabba ought to have been in court answering question on what transpired under his stewardship of the two institutions where the funds allegedly disappeared”.

When all is said and done in this whole affair, the reputation of the ACC is greatly at stake and its fight against corruption, which we all cherish, is rapidly losing steam and credibility by the day. This is due to the perception that corruption, whether grand or petty, should not be fought selectively or its fight used as a witch-hunt with the sole aim of discrediting and destroying political opponents.