SIERRA LEONE 2028: THE CASE FOR IMMEDIATE RESIGNATIONS

By Samuel Wise Bangura

As Sierra Leone looks toward the 2028 elections, a troubling pattern is emerging within President Julius Maada Bio's administration. Ministers and heads of critical parastatals are increasingly, whether openly or subtly, positioning themselves to succeed their boss. They are building political camps and strategizing while still holding offices of immense public trust. Although the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone has a provision meant to manage this conflict, it is dangerously out of step with today's political reality, creating a situation that is actively stalling national progress and threatening institutional integrity.

The 1991 Constitution provides a basic framework. Specifically, Section 76(1) states: "Any Minister, Deputy Minister or other person holding an office in the public service who is elected as a Member of Parliament shall resign from that office on or before the date upon which he is required to take the oath as a Member of Parliament."

While this directly addresses parliamentary elections, the principle it establishes is clear: you cannot simultaneously hold an appointed public office and actively seek an elected one. The spirit of the law is to prevent a conflict of interest. However, the assumption that this conflict only arises in the final year before an election is fundamentally flawed. In modern Sierra Leonean politics, the election cycle effectively begins at least two years in advance, with intense intra-party maneuvering, coalition-building, and early campaigning. To wait until the final year is to ignore a long period where governance is already being sacrificed for ambition.

The cost of this premature campaigning is not abstract; it is paid daily in neglected duties and distorted priorities. Consider the key positions currently held by some of these intending aspirants. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). This institution's credibility is its only currency. When its leadership is seen to have political ambitions, every investigation, every dropped case, and every public statement is viewed through a political lens. The risk of weaponizing anti-corruption efforts against opponents while shielding allies becomes a clear and present danger, destroying years of painstaking work to build public trust.   

The Office of the Chief Minister. This role is the engine of policy coordination and implementation across government. When the Chief Minister is focused on a presidential run, policy decisions risk being evaluated not for their national benefit, but for their potential to build a personal political base. Resource allocation can become skewed, and the crucial coordination of government business suffers as attention is diverted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This portfolio offers unparalleled access to international networks and platforms. When used as a stage for a future campaign, it turns diplomacy into a personal publicity tour, potentially compromising the nation's foreign policy objectives and diplomatic credibility for individual gain. Economic and Financial Portfolios. Ministers controlling budgets, contracts, and natural resources face immense temptation. There is a severe risk of directing public funds, projects, or lucrative licenses to curry favor with key constituencies or fund political operations, diverting resources from national development plans.

The downsides of keeping these intending aspirants in office are severe and multifaceted, institutional paralysis, misuse of public resources, erosion of professionalism, deepening social division and policy short-termism. While the constitution may specify a one-year timeline, stronger principles demand action now. A public servant's loyalty must be to the people and the responsibilities of their office, not to their future political career. These two loyalties are now in direct conflict, and the only honorable resolution is to relinquish the appointed office.

The harm done to bodies like the ACC or the civil service in two years of politicization may take a decade to repair. Protecting these institutions is more important than accommodating an individual's political timeline. Allowing ministers to campaign from office gives them an unbeatable, state-funded advantage over other potential candidates within and outside the ruling party. This undermines the very democratic process they seek to lead. True leadership is about sacrifice for the greater good. Anyone aspiring to the nation's highest office should first be willing to sacrifice their current powerful position to avoid crippling its functions. Staying in office while campaigning demonstrates the opposite: a preference for personal advantage over national interest.

President Julius Maada Bio has a clear choice and a significant responsibility. He can allow the slow decay of his administration's effectiveness as his team becomes distracted by succession battles, or he can demand higher standards. By asking or requiring all appointed officials with presidential ambitions for 2028 to resign immediately, he would remove a major source of conflict and distraction from his government, protect the integrity of critical state institutions, set a powerful precedent for ethical governance that puts country before career, potentially uplift the quality of his own administration by appointing focused, non-distracted individuals to these vital roles. 

For the intending aspirants themselves, the message should be clear; If you want to lead Sierra Leone, first prove your commitment by leaving your powerful post. Campaign on your own time and with your own resources, not from the driver's seat of the state. The development of Sierra Leone cannot be held hostage to the prolonged political campaigns of its current custodians. The national interest demands their immediate resignation.