Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 December 2021:
Court of Appeal Judge Reginald Fynn, yesterday acquitted and discharged Sierra Leone’s former Vice President, Victor Bockarie Foh, and two others – Abu Bakarr Carew and Ibrahim Fakeh of all corruption charges brought against them by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Justice Fynn however sentenced first accused Sheka Sahid Kamara to three years’ imprisonment for misappropriation of public funds.
According to a statement issued by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday, the ACC said it “secured a conviction against Sheka Sahid Kamara, former Special Assistant to ex-President, Dr Ernest Bai Koroma and former Secretary of the Hajj Coordinating Committee on two counts of corruption offences bordering on Misappropriation of Public Funds, contrary to Section 36 of the Anti-Corruption Act No.12 of 2008.”
Justice Reginald S. Fynn found the 1st accused – Sheka Sahid Kamara guilty on counts 4 and 7, Misappropriation of Public Funds, and sentenced him to three years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently.
Sheka Sahid Kamara; Victor Bockarie Foh – former Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone (Photo left); Minkailu Mansaray – former Minister of Mines and Marine Resources (Photo right); Mohamed Alie Bah – former Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President; Ibrahim Fackeh Conteh – Community Worker; and Abu Bakarr Carew – former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs were all charged to court by the ACC in August 2018 on Eight counts indictment related to the 2018 annual Pilgrimage to the Muslim Holy Land of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, dubbed the ‘HAJJ GATE’.
The second, fourth and sixth accused – Victor Bockarie Foh, Ibrahim Fackeh Conteh and Abu Bakarr Carew were respectively acquitted and discharged yesterday.
You can read the full judgement read out by Justice Fynn below:
Frankly speaking, Dr. Victor Foh is a smarts politician, hey guys you have to cover your butt man!, this du knows how to move. In 1992, when the gallants NPRC kicked out the dictatorship one party state in our beloved country, one of our prominent politician who used to own over” one hundred vehicles”, Mr. Edward Kargb, may his gentle soul rests in peace. This eloquent smart politician what he does?, he told the regime(NPRC) whatever vehicles you wanted to use fighting against the enemies take it, they do not belong to me only but for the entire country. Folks; was he not smarts? well Dr. Victor Foh is from that same class. Also one thing you’ve forgotten about this man, he’s a lucky guy. Can you remember when he was convicted and jailed for whatever reasons, you tell me, he became an Ambassador and from there to Vice president?. Anyway man can say what you likes to, I don’t know his field of study or profession. I gave him credit to allowed the Bio’s administration to used one of his building as their offices in Kenema, to benefits the country.
Dr. Foh wasn’t acquitted because of his tribal status, is just because he’s not guilty period. A suspect pleaded innocent until the court of law found him guilty, am I right? that’s all. Many of the regime ministers were battered on the street by NPRC at the time, but Mr. Edward Kargbo was well protected nobody messes with him, can someone disputes that?. do you want to call him a traitor?. Some of my fellow writers and commentators, if you don’t know someone do not say nothing about him, readers will continue to enjoy reading your articles if it contain with fair, firm and consistent. If we want to say the truth, all politicians are liars and they are professionally “thieves corrupts”.
Where is the (EBOLA and MUDSLIDES fund) that was brought to this country to aide the victims?. I don’t believe if anyone in this noble platform would like us to “pill off the onion” trying to prove if it carries seed, brothers and sisters, if you manage to take your time, trust me you’ll find some. Take care.
I never thought Victor Foh would be convicted of anything. I don’t know much about his career in politics, he only came to my attention during the Koroma Administration. But from the little that I know, some of it from people that have had dealings with him, I tend to agree with Alusine Fallay. He is a clever thief, who knows how to cover his tracks and backside – no fingerprints either.
Soon after SLPP came into office, he offered them one of his properties in Kenema for use as an office – an ace of a move to draw sympathy from the new administration . Could he have been a defector-in-place as he sensed victory for SLPP? Politics is a nasty game full of betrayals.
Hahaha, someone makes me laughed and reminded me about many stuff. Let me say this, Dr. Victor Bockarie Foh is a smarts fellow gentleman period. I admired him when he said, if I could have not accepted the Vice presidentship offer from President Koroma, he could have kill me, that’s why I said “yes’, that was amazing. He’s well educated to look after himself guys, common now. This 75 years old man doesn’t want to spent his remaining years behind bar, that’s a smart du. Victor Foh, good luck!.
I’m not really surprised that former Vice President Victor Foh survived this investigation. Even late President Steven used to lavish praise on him during the Vouchergate Investigation in the 80’s that he is “a professional thief”. To his credit, he is a very smart politician who most people believe as then Secretary of the APC party, was esponsible for the 2007 elections victory. I personally believe that former President Koroma should have kept him closer for advice about how to steal without any paper trail, but unfortunately brought him back as his Vice President just to humiliate him.
Finally, I wish him good luck for honoring his word of retiring from politics to serve as an elderly statesman like his predecessor late Vice President Solomon Berewa.
What do you expect? Because he is Mende, he has been left off the hook. OOOOOH SLPP
“Because he is Mende, he has been left off the hook. OOOOOH SLPP” – papanii Kamara
Here we go again! Victor Foh was indicted under this regime even though the investigation started under the former Limba president. Victor was indicted with Minkalu Mansaray, a Temne who also had an eye to lead the APC as fkagbeaer. He was the first that was freed by the same judge and for the same reason, that is lack of evidence. To the ilk of Papanii Kamara freeing Minkalu Mansaray was proper but freeing Victor Foh is because he is a mende. Some people truly needs mental emancipation as they have been wired to hate, think, smell and hear tribalism. May God help you see and assess life and human behaviour objectively and not tribalistically.