“I will never let you down,” was Victor Foh’s exact statement after his appointment as Vice President of Sierra Leone in March, 2015. Foh’s appointment came after former President Ernest Bai Koroma fell out with Chief Samuel Sam Sumana who was also Vice President between 2007 and 2015. Before his appointment as the country’s second gentleman, Foh was APC’s Secretary-General and later Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to China.
Upon taking up the Vice Presidential Office, Foh pledged unwavered loyalty to his boss, former President Koroma and the APC. He commended the then President for being a nationalist and not tribalist. “A man from Jimmi Bagbor has been appointed today as the number-2 man in the country,” Victor Foh said eight years ago.
He also took back the minds of APC members to such great men as Siaka Stevens and Sorie Ibrahim Koroma whose achievements still lingers in the sands of time.
Despite Foh’s sentiments of good will for the President and party, he was terribly proven wrong when APC lost to SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) in the 2018 elections. Owing to his rich political experience, Foh was expected to take on SLPP on several governance issues.
However, Foh was the first to abandon APC when the party went out of power. The move made many to raise large eyebrows on Victor Foh’s actions. Many APC members came to see him as a traitor and a man who cannot stand his grounds when the party goes into opposition.
Apart from switching over to APC, Foh is known to have gained notoriety for making uncomplimentary statements against the former President and the party. When the commissions of inquiry were set up in 2019, in a feat of hypocrisy, Foh called on former President Koroma to subject himself to the rule of law. He made it clear that the law was powerful than Ernest Koroma.
In April, 2023, during nomination day, Victor Foh also castigated the former President and the APC which he called a party of thieves and corrupt officials.
He made the scathing statements at the Attouga football field in Freetown.In contrast, Victor Foh will always shower praises on current President Julius Maada Bio for amazing development strides although Bio has achieved very little. In most of his public appearances, Victor Foh will eulogise the current President as the best President Sierra Leone has ever seen in history.
He would place emphasis on the construction of Lungi International Airport, the declaration of Free Quality Education, fight against corruption and other development projects that are unfolding under President Bio. The switch to SLPP was not done without a purpose.
The purpose is not to bring crowds to the SLPP but to free himself from the claws of the law. During the Koroma Presidency, Victor Foh occupied strategic posts that exposed him to corruption. Between 2017 and 2018, Foh was Hajj Committee Chairman to whom thousands of US dollars was entrusted. It came out clearly that the money was not properly managed as a huge chunk was allegedly converted to private use.
The Hajj case was the first SLPP looked into when it took over state governance in 2018. Former Secretary to the Vice President, Sheka Kamara was convicted and sentenced while Victor Bockarie walked free from the court, a move that generated awe and wonders among the public.
The public expected that Foh will be convicted in the corruption trial. Getting back his freedom after a protracted court proceedings signifies a big obligation Foh owes to the SLPP and President Bio. As if paying back, the former Vice President usually follows President Bio anywhere he goes as a sign of strong loyalty.
When President Bio visited Samu Chiefdom in Kambia district, the home of former NGC (National Grand Coalition) leader, Dr Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Victor Foh was part of the presidential entourage. In Kambia, Victor Foh also accused former President Koroma for lack of statesmanship. “I am a statesman for now as I have retired from active politics,” Victor Foh told Samu chiefs and elders. As the ground has already been laid, Bio made similar comments against former President Koroma.
When President Bio went to Bonthe to address his people, Victor Foh was also accompanied him. The former Vice President is ready to play second fiddle at all times. Apart from shielding himself from corruption trial, Foh’s move to SLPP was also ignited by the selection of Dr Samura Kamara as flag-bearer in 2017. As Vice President, Victor Foh had hoped to get the party’s flag to contest for the top office in the land.
He was therefore shocked when situation took a different turn. APC is however not threatened by Foh’s migration to SLPP. For many APC members, Foh is not a political heavyweight. Throughout his sojourn in the APC, the party has never got a councillor seat in Bo district let alone a parliamentary seat. His appointment as Vice President was a reward only for his long service and commitment to the APC.