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The Deputy Minority Leader II in Parliament, Hon. Aaron Aruna Koroma, has accused the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) of allegedly attempting to take control of the Tonkolili District Council, warning that the move represents a dangerous distortion of democratic representation at the local level.
Hon. Koroma, who represents Tonkolili District under the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), claimed that recent developments suggest an effort to shift leadership authority from an APC-dominated council to a small group of SLPP councillors despite the opposition holding the overwhelming majority of elected seats.
According to him, the APC holds 25 out of 29 councillor positions in the district, while the SLPP occupies only four seats. He argued that any attempt to install leadership structures drawn from the minority councillors undermines the will of the electorate.
“In every serious democracy, numbers tell a story and represent the people’s choices,” Hon. Koroma stated. “That story in Tonkolili is simple and clear: the majority must not be replaced by the minority.”
The MP further alleged that an April 8 letter from the Tonkolili District Council indicated plans to appoint an “interim political leader” from among the four SLPP councillors, granting them financial and administrative authority—an action he described as a “distortion of democratic representation presented as administrative adjustment.”
He also referenced similar concerns previously raised in Freetown, where attempts to designate an acting mayor from a minority grouping reportedly collapsed following public backlash, suggesting a pattern of political overreach.
Hon. Koroma maintained that decentralisation laws, including the Local Government Act of 2004, were designed to protect elected mandates and prevent central interference in local governance structures.
“The belligerence by the governing SLPP in allegedly seizing the authority of opposition-led councils shows both bad faith and a lack of democratic culture,” he added. “We will not be coerced to accommodate wrongdoing. The right thing must be done, no matter how long it takes.”
The Chairperson of the Tonkolili District Council, Madam Yabom Sesay, also voiced resistance to the reported developments, insisting that council officials would stand firm in defence of electoral legitimacy.
“We cannot be intimidated. We will stand our ground until the right thing is done,” she said.
The controversy comes amid ongoing political tensions linked to the APC’s boycott of certain governance processes, which the opposition says stems from disputes over electoral governance reforms and the appointment of the Chief Electoral Commissioner.
The SLPP government, however, has maintained that administrative arrangements in local councils are intended to ensure continuity of service delivery, especially in the face of political deadlock and boycotts.
As tensions escalate in Tonkolili, calls are growing for dialogue and legal clarification to determine whether the reported administrative steps align with Sierra Leone’s decentralisation framework and local government laws.
For now, the dispute continues to deepen political divisions, raising broader questions about the balance between governance continuity and respect for electoral mandates in Sierra Leone’s local government system.
