Alpha Amadu Jalloh – The Fox: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 20 May 2024:
In the ongoing drama that is Sierra Leonean politics, Francis Ben Kaifala, the country’s Anti-Corruption Commissioner, has emerged not as a hero but a villain.
The ACC – a watchdog of integrity and honesty has, ironically has become the embodiment of the very corruption it is supposed to combat.
Francis Ben Kaifala’s actions last weekend, particularly surrounding the controversial Sierra Leone Bar Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kenema Nongowa, have exposed him for what he truly is: a political gangster.
Kaifala, who harbours ambitions of succeeding President Julius Maada Bio, has repeatedly abused his position, showing blatant disregard for the legal system and the public trust.
His involvement in the controversial AGM, backed by president Bio, only underscores his moral and professional bankruptcy.
One glaring example of Kaifala’s duplicity is his refusal to take action against blatantly corrupt officials in the country.
The suspended Clerk of Parliament remains untouched, and Kaifala’s presence at a cocktail party where members of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) called for the clerk’s reinstatement is telling. His inaction speaks volumes. This is not an isolated incident but part of a troubling pattern.
Kaifala’s so-called anti-corruption crusade is a farce, evidenced by his theatrical displays of recovered funds. These stunts are nothing but smoke and mirrors designed to distract from his unwillingness to prosecute party members and other influential figures.
Consider the case of the former Chief Immigration Officer, Andrew Jaia Kai Kai, whose prosecution has been delayed indefinitely. Is it coincidence, or is it Kaifala’s unwillingness to go after his political allies?
Moreover, Kaifala’s selective blindness extends to those who have used fraudulent credentials to secure high-ranking government positions.
The former Inspector General of Police, a man who can scarcely string together a coherent English sentence, somehow possesses a doctorate degree. This is an egregious example of corruption that Kaifala has chosen to ignore, revealing his bias and complicity.
Francis Ben Kaifala who shuttles between Freetown and the United States of America to study at Harvard University whiles being paid thousands of dollars salary by the poor people of Sierra Leone, is not the guardian of justice but rather a political gangster, manipulating his role to serve his presidential ambitions and protect his allies.
His actions betray the trust of Sierra Leoneans who yearn for genuine accountability and transparency.
Instead of fighting corruption, Kaifala is entrenching it further, making a mockery of the Anti-Corruption Commission and undermining the very foundation of our legal system.
Sierra Leoneans must not be deceived by Kaifala’s charades. We must hold him accountable for his actions and demand genuine leadership that upholds the principles of justice and integrity.
The future of Sierra Leone depends on our collective ability to see through the political gangsterism that threatens to derail the nation’s progress.
We cannot afford to let individuals like Francis Ben Kaifala bend the rules for their own gain and the desires of President Julius Maada Bio. It is time for Sierra Leone to rise and reclaim the values of honesty, transparency, and accountability. Our nation deserves better than the likes of Francis Ben Kaifala.
In any well governed society, Kaifala would have been sacked by the President long ago. Will President Bio show him the door now?
The reality is, Mr. Francis Ben Kelfala had spent his time and money to be educated as a LAWYER so he is qualified to be elected as a returning officer of the election process. His role as the Anti Corruption Commissioner is just an appointment by the president who has the constitutional mandate to hire and fire whoever he pleases.
I personally believe that Mr. Francis Ben Kelfala choice to conduct the election is based on his exemplary performance as the Anti Corruption Commissioner which has been commended around the world , because our country has won the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) 5 years consecutively which foundation must be built on the fight against corruption.
He is the only ACC boss that has investigated the current office of the president for alleged corruption. He is commonly known as the “ people’s commissioner”. Unfortunately, he is hated by the APC party because he held their lifetime leader Earnest Koroma accountable for money laundering, although, he decided to apply barbaric tactics of using the secret society members, school children and women as human shields from facing justice.
The violence perpetrated by some APC lawyers against our security forces and electoral process should not go unpunished. Lawyers supposed to abide by the RULE OF LAW and if aggrieved, should file petition in court rather than resorting to violence. They supposed to use their brains and not their muscles to resolve challenges.
BEN KAIFALA IS A DISGRACE TO HIMSELF, THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND OUR NATION
Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman, Francis Ben Kaifala, will be arrested and put on trial when the next government takes over, hopefully. This is one of the corrupt, despicable and loathsome individuals serving this morally and spiritually bankrupt SLPP Government who must pay a very dire price when power changes over and Sierra Leoneans abroad must hound him if he ever escapes abroad.KAIFALA MUST BE MADE TO ENJOY NO PEACE IN EXILE.
If the likes of Ben Kaifala are not arrested and punished by the next government, not only will people lose confidence in that regime, but it would be the greatest miscarriage of justice ever perpetrated.
He was appointed and is being paid from the Consolidated Fund to deliver transparent and accountable service but he has been a wretched model of these ideals. Not only is he one of the progenitors of corruption himself, Corruption during his tenure has grown a green face. Once your face is green, you will not be investigated even if you commit the greatest fraud. You are only corrupt when you hail from the Northwest or bear a red color. Such a mindset deserves to be punished in our country.
Kaifala, being the shamelessly corrupt, tainted and marred product he is, should have had no business with last week’s Sierra Leone Bar Association election. Whoever imposed him to serve as returning officer was a criminal himself. It was conflict of interests of the highest order to have this manifestly pro- SLPP and irredeemably corrupt Anti- Corruption Commissioner Ben Keifala conduct the elections. A neutral person should have been selected.
The lawyers were right to have protested because Ben Keifala was not a credible choice for such an assignment where the degree of impartiality in conducting this process was expected to be perfect . Merely having a discredited and despised government functionary like Francis Ben Keifala voided the authenticity of the whole process. In one of many videos that have gone viral on social media, lawyers could be seen protesting that they were not allowed to vote and over 70% of their colleagues were barred from voting.
The margin of victory for SLPP’s Tuma Gento Kamara was very large and it raises many questions about why lawyers went berserk and are claiming that the election was rigged. But the reason was obvious One lawyer was heard contending that only Keifala knew where he got that result because it did not reflect how the votes were cast. Kaifala cooked the results paopa-style. This is the wretched face of anti-corruption endeavors in our sick country. Kaifala deserves to hang his hydra-headed monster head in shame.
But again, I blame the hypocritical U.S and the international community for the irreparable havoc bandits like Kaifala continue to commit in Sierra Leone. Only a country that is sick in the head morally will continue to commend a criminal like Kaifala and give him fake and bogus awards.
By the way, what happened to the travel ban imposed by the U.S on individuals who undermined democracy in Sierra Leone? Kaifala was one of the kingpins of the elections robbery committed by the SLPP Government and the Mafia boss, President Maada Bio last year. For him not to be affected by the ban clearly demonstrates that the U.S itself is a farce.
Anyway, as we say in Sierra Leone, TIME GO FIT CLOCK. Judgement Day is coming in Sierra Leone as it did in Ghana ( Thanks to Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings ), Liberia and the Congo. It may tarry but it will surely come and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Kaifala can continue provoking the nation by publicly dancing with the equally destructive and pagan First Lady Fatima Bio in celebration. The time of the people will come. Run with this to the bank.
It’s a shame and disgrace that instead of the ACC Commissioner acting a role model for young people having been given a huge responsibility that would have turned the corner on corruption, has become tainted with the very corruption he was meant to fight.
Its not the University you attended or the number of degrees you acquire for yourself that will be the measure of success in a role he has clearly failed to perform with his position now untenable.
Francis Ben Kaifala needs to grow up first before even brazenly considering to aspire to lead a political party. It is only in Sierra Leome under an incompetent leadership that jokers like these can be parading as heads of important government agencies.