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Reuters

Sierra Leone’s ex-president Ernest Bai Koroma has been charged with four offences including treason for his alleged role in a failed military attempt to topple the West African country’s government in November, a court in the capital Freetown said.
The court’s decision could escalate tensions in Sierra Leone coming after the attempted coup and a contentious election in which President Julius Maada Bio was reelected for a second term in June 2023.
Tensions have been on the rise in the country that is still recovering from a 1991-2002 civil war in which more than 50,000 were killed.
The result of the election was rejected by the main opposition candidate, and questioned by international partners including the United States and the European Union.

Gunmen on November 26 attacked military barracks, a prison and other locations in Sierra Leone, freeing about 2,200 inmates and killing more than 20 people.
The government said later that it was a foiled coup led mostly by Koroma’s bodyguards. They summoned the ex-president for questioning at the start of December.
West Africa leaders recognise Niger’s junta, but sanctions to stay
The former president condemned the attacks in a statement shortly after they happened.
Koroma’s charges, which also include misprision of treason and two counts of harbouring, were read out on Wednesday while he stood in the dock and some of his supporters cried in the courtroom .
“A dangerous precedent has been set... We are dragging a former head of state - democratically elected - on trumped up charges under a political vendetta,” Koroma’s lawyer, Joseph Kamara, said.
A high court later on Wednesday granted bail to the former president, who is currently restricted at his home in the capital. The case was adjourned until January 17.
According to Sierra Leone’s penal code, a person found guilty of treason could face imprisonment for life.
A letter from West Africa’s main regional bloc, ECOWAS, dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters, said Nigeria had offered to host Koroma on a temporary basis, and that the former president had accepted the offer.


Sierra Leone’s foreign minister, Timothy Kabba, told Reuters the government had received the letter, which he said did not accurately reflect the meeting President Bio has recently held with an ECOWAS delegation in Freetown.
Kabba said the government will “not countenance” the proposal to relocate Koroma.
Twelve other people also have been charged with treason in connection with the failed coup, including ex-police and correctional officers and a member of Koromoa’s security detail, the government said on Tuesday.
There is growing concern about democracy in West Africa following a slew of coups in recent years. In 2023, armies staged coups in Niger and Gabon.
Guinea, which borders Sierra Leone, and its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso are also ruled by military leaders who promise a return to democracy in the medium term, though this has yet to materialise.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


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Africa

Sierra Leone charges ex-president Koroma with treason over foiled coup

Ernest Bai Koroma as Sierra Leonne’s president in 2014. File photo: AP

A soldier in Freetown, Sierra Leone on November 27. Photo: EPA-EFE

West Africa leaders recognise Niger’s junta, but sanctions to stay

Niger in July became the latest Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member to undergo a coup. File photo: TNS

Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is current chair of ECOWAS. Photo: AFP

Sierra Leone government says army base attack was coup attempt

Soldiers riding in the back of army pickups in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

A soldier in Freetown, Sierra Leone on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Burkina Faso junta says it foiled coup attempt

Burkina Faso’s military leader:Captain Ibrahim Traore. File photo: AP

Gabon coup leader Brice Oligui Nguema sworn in as interim president, promises ‘free, transparent elections’

General Brice Oligui Nguema looks on as he is inaugurated as Gabon’s interim President. Photo: AFP

General Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn in as interim president in Libreville, Gabon. Photo: Reuters

Ali Bongo Ondimba was ousted as president of Gabon in a coup last week. Photo: dpa

News

World

Gunmen attacked a military armory and overran prisons in Freetown on November 26, in what was called a coup attempt
Kernest Bai Koroma, who ruled Sierra Leonne from 2007 to 2018, condemned the attacks after they happened


Gunmen attacked a military armory and overran prisons in Freetown on November 26, in what was called a coup attempt.


Gabon

Sierra Leone charges ex-president Koroma with treason over foiled coup

Gunmen attacked a military armory and overran prisons in Freetown on November 26, in what was called a coup attempt Kernest Bai Koroma, who ruled Sierra Leonne from 2007 to 2018, condemned the attacks after they happened

Gunmen attacked a military armory and overran prisons in Freetown on November 26, in what was called a coup attempt

Kernest Bai Koroma, who ruled Sierra Leonne from 2007 to 2018, condemned the attacks after they happened