Former President Ernest Bai Koroma, in office from 2007 to 2018, was questioned by the police on Friday as part of the investigation into the attack on a military armory and other facilities on November 26, which resulted in about twenty deaths. The current President, Julius Maada Bio, had denounced it as an attempted coup. Although Ernest Bai Koroma returned home on Friday, he is expected to appear before the authorities again on Saturday, December 9th.
Ernest Bai Koroma returned to his residence in the late afternoon on Friday after spending the day at the Criminal Investigations Department of the Sierra Leonean police, accompanied by his lawyers. On social media, the former president described the exchange as “professional” and specified that he would resume on Saturday. He added that he trusted “the rule of law.”
On December 7, he received a summons inviting him to answer questions related to the events of November 26. On that day, armed men attacked a military armory, barracks, prisons, and police stations: according to the government, 18 members of the security services and three assailants were killed, and more than 1,000 detainees escaped, some of whom were pursued for another destabilization attempt.
On social media, Ernest Bai Koroma reiterated that he “vehemently condemned” these “regrettable and tragic” events. So far, a total of 71 people, mostly military personnel, have been arrested, including, according to the police, former guards of the ex-president. His successor, President Julius Maada Bio, had denounced the incident as “premeditated, coordinated, and executed to overthrow the democratically elected government (…) and ruin decades of investment in peace and democracy.”