On this episode of the Human Touch, host Augustine Kanjia provides an update on the unstable political situation in Sierra Leone, where a democratic crisis deepens after a failed November 2023 coup resulted in 18 deaths, primarily of soldiers and police, and dozens of arrests.
The attempted coup, in which dissident military officers attacked a Freetown military armoury, comes in the wake of a contentious June election that secured re-election for President Julius Maada Bio and granted his party, the SLPP, a majority in parliament. Meanwhile their political rivals, the APC, have fiercely contested the validity of the election results, and their claims appear to be supported by independent EU observers that have cited statistical inconsistencies and a lack of transparency.
In relation to the coup, Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC has been arrested and charged with treason, though his involvement has yet to be proven.
Posted January 25th 2024 1:35am.