By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone’s former President Ernest Bai Koroma has been invited for questioning over the alleged failed attempted coup late last month, the government said on Thursday.
A statement issued by Information Minister Cherno Bah said President Koroma was summoned by the Sierra Leone Police to report to the Criminal Investigation Department within 24 hours.
“The former president is invited to assist the police in the ongoing criminal investigations into the November 26 failed attempted coup in Sierra Leone,” the statement signed by the minister himself read, as shared via a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as twitter.
The news comes a day after an interfaith funeral service for 18 soldiers killed in the incident, when unknown gun men attacked the country’s main military barracks and other strategic parts of the capital city.
At the funeral service, current President Julius Maada Bio vowed to ensure anyone involved in the attack face the full force of the law, regardless of their rank in society.
Also on Wednesday, the government released what it says is an image by surveillance placing one of the alleged top planners of the attack, Amadu Koita, to a scene on the day of the attack. Koita who was reportedly detained earlier in the week is one of several former bodyguards of former president Koroma accused of involvement in the alleged failed coup.
As of Wednesday, the government said it had arrested 57 people suspected of involvement in the plot to forcefully remove the democratically elected government of President Bio from power.
Following reports of his invitation by police on Thursday, Koroma’s office has issued a statement confirming receipt of a summon from the Inspector General of Police. In it, the former President is quoted calling for calm among his supporters and promising to travel to Freetown.
Koroma is thought to be currently in Makeni, where he has been based most of the time since his retirement.
“I maintain an open mind and stand ready to support the police investigations to the fullest. Let the rule of law reign supreme in our democracy, ” Koroma is quoted in the statement.
