Although he carries a saint-like figure, Ernest Koroma is being considered a demon incarnate for his indifference to sorrow and tragedy that has befallen his men who secure him throughout his presidency.
The attempted Coup of November, 2023 led to his arrest and detention as a financier while countless men mostly his former military aides also fell in police net, and others fatally injured.
They were killed without a court order (extra judicial executions).
But, Ernest Koroma safely enjoys the light of a free day while his men languish in prison cells where they are sure to rot.
Many of his close protection guards especially Sorie Bah and Idris Hamid Kamara aka Leather Boot were gunned down in the process.
Credible sources within the APC said it was Ernest Koroma who called the boys to do the dirty job with full knowledge of what was to come. Currently, he is safe while they are not safe.
The question of how does the former President feel about his men who are bearing the heavy brunt about the coup remains the most frequently asked.
The question has become one of the hottest topics for discussion within and outside public domain.
A great part of the discussion holds that if the former President is out of prison, the other coupísts also must be out as what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
A teacher and civil rights campaigner, Ibrahim Bangura says the former President should be the right person to advocate a clemency from the presidency for his men.
“Ernest Koroma should be the right man to talk to his colleague President, Julius Maada Bio for the freedom of the other guys since he is free,” Bangura suggests.
He accused the former President of failing to fight for the freedom of his men who had been risking it all for his safety and security during the presidency.
Another view also holds that the former President is heartless about the peril of the men who once guarded him. It further states that he facilitates the presidency of Julius Maada Bio and must be in position to advocate the freedom of his imprisoned men.
Nurturing Bio’s presidency was a project he embarked on in his early days of his leadership.
Even when senior members of the Sierra Leone People’s Party were about to boot Bio out of the presidential race after his 2012 election defeat, it was former President Koroma stood by Bio by way of sponsorship.
It was Koroma’s help that brought Bio to power, but could not prevail on him to release the the incarcerated men.
As he fails to protect the interest of his former military aides now in prison, it would be difficult for the former President to continue to enjoy his usual political popularity in the North-West regions. The seed which has germinated today was sowed by top-notch SLPP officials.
It all began in early 2018 when former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Lahai Lawrence Leema accused former President Ernest Koroma of plotting to overthrow his successor, President Bio.
The allegation came in the aftermath of the 2018 election, a time in which President Bio was trying to put his new government together.
The allegation was not dug deep since no evidence existed at that time.
In August, 2022, police and military were also accused of trying to overthrow the Bio regime, resulting into intermittent waves of arrest.
It was as a result of the coup allegation that a senior police officer, Chief Superintendent, Mohamed Turay aka Yaitay Yaitay was arrested in neighbouring Liberia and extradited to Sierra Leone for trial. He was held at the Pa Demba Road prison not until another coup was staged in November, 2023 which landed Ernest Koroma in a house arrest where he spent days before he was flown to exile in Nigeria.
The former President was picked up by police in his hometown of Makeni and bundled to Freetown.
Instead of being humbled in a court in his country, he chose to go to exile in Nigeria.
While in Abuja, Nigeria, Koroma was expected to protect APC’s interest since Abuja is the seat of governance.
Koroma however chooses to secretly support the SLPP/PAOPA regime while purporting to protect his party’s interest.
In one of his widely circulated audios, Ernest Koroma informed Sierra Leoneans that the election was over and that the people should prepare for another election in 2028.
Banking on his election observation experience, ex-President Koroma made it clear that a peace deal was one of the main tactics used by the international community to solve a post-election gridlock.
The aim is to indirectly tell Samura Kamara that the election game is over as long as he participates in the peace table with Bio. He emphasised that Samura Kamara ought to have consulted him before taking part in the October, 2023 Communique.
Koroma, political analysts maintain, indulged in all such gimmicks and shenanigans to protect Bio’s second term so that accountability could be whittled down. Credible sources have intimated this press that Ernest Koroma, for the most part of his regime, is said to have dealings with drug dealers and money launderers for which he could be indicted by an international tribunal, at anytime, with Bio’s endorsement.
It was also reported that Ernest Koroma, while in Nigeria took part in a vigorous campaign to ensure the two-term chairmanship of ECOWAS, but lost the fight in Lungi where the baton of leadership was handed over to the Senegalese President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Yet, Ernest Koroma continues to protect the Bio regime to ensure his safety from the long arm of the law as long às Bio remains in power regardless of the number of years.
Bio too has also indirectly committed several offences particularly murder, arson, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence among others.
The murders under the Bio regime, legal experts argue, are genocidal and could also warrant charges by the International Criminal Court.
The only way to get off the hook is to delay and derail Samura Kamara’s presidency, but Samura does not seem to know the political game as he takes the struggle for electoral with an easy ride.
Ernest, at the moment, will explore every avenue and will leave no stone unturned to ensure that Bio continues in power and a successor different from Samura Kamara takes over.
But, he will never speak about the continued incarceration of the coupists as long his head is kept above waters.