SIERRA LEONE CANNOT ANOTHER DEMOCRATIC COLLAPSE AND WAR, BUT MAADA BIO IS DRIVING US RAPIDLY BACK INTO IT
By Kabs Kanu
Sierra Leone’s democratic crisis deepened today when
Parliament controversially passed constitutional amendments with procedural illegitimacy that should alarm every Sierra Leonean who believes in the peace and stability of our nation.
Democracy means more than holding elections.
Since Maada Bio came to power in 2018, there have been days in the life of a nation when Parliament did unlawful things that transcends party politics and became a a national embarrassment . Today was another of those days.
What happened in Sierra Leone’s Parliament over the Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025 should trouble every citizen who cares about the survival of constitutional democracy in our country.
As we all saw today, the government side proceeded with the constitutional amendments after the opposition All People’s Congress walked out in protest over the voting procedure. The reported vote was 97 in favour and 46 against. The votes did not meet the procedural 2/3rd majority demanded by the constitution. The Speaker said however that he will not go by the statutory procedure but a simple majority. subsequently , after abusing the process and disregarding the constitution, he referred the constitutional question to the Supreme Court for an opinion.
That referral itself tells us something important: there is a serious constitutional question that cannot simply be wished away by political majorities.
The Constitution is not an ordinary piece of legislation. It is the supreme legal framework governing the relationship between the state and its citizens. Parliament cannot treat constitutional safeguards as inconvenient obstacles to be circumvented whenever a governing party possesses the numbers. That is precisely why Section 108 of the 1991 Constitution contains special requirements for constitutional alteration, including the requirement for a two-thirds parliamentary majority in circumstances covered by that provision.
The question confronting Sierra Leone today is therefore bigger than the APC versus the SLPP. It is bigger than President Julius Maada Bio. It is bigger than the 2028 elections. It is about whether the Constitution still stands above the political parties.
A democracy cannot survive when the people begin to believe that constitutional rules can be interpreted or manipulated according to the convenience of whoever controls Parliament. That is the danger we are facing since Maada Bio came to power in 2018.
The government may argue that Parliament acted within its procedural powers, but the fact is that the constitutionally required threshold was not met. Speaker Segepor Thomas committed treason by subverting the constitution. Then to abuse the minds of the people , the Speaker referred the matter to the Supreme Court.
But even before the Court speaks, Sierra Leoneans have every right to ask a profound political question:
Why should a government seek to change fundamental rules governing the nation’s democratic system without the broadest possible political consensus? The constitution should be abided by .
Constitutional amendments should enhance democracy, not destroy it. But President Bio has never shown any inclination to rule by democratic tenets. He is the worst dictator West Africa has ever produced. Maada Bio can even be equated with the most heinous dictators Africa has known , like Idi Amin, Jean Bedell Bokassa, Marcias Nguema and Joseph Mobutu.
Constitutions are not created to be raped. Constitutions should be products of consultation, accommodation and national consensus. They should not become instruments through which one political party can redesign the rules of the political game while the principal opposition party is outside the chamber protesting the procedure. That is how war comes to a country.
President Maada Bio is rapidly driving Sierra Leone back to war. This is very unfortunate. Sierra Leone suffered the most deadly of wars that killed half a million people and destroyed the country’s infrastructure. We cannot afford to go back into war but Bio’s provocation of the people will soon spark another war.
The SLPP government cannot expect Sierra Leoneans to ignore the cumulative effect of controversies and provocation surrounding elections, Parliament, the judiciary, political freedoms and the independence of state institutions. One day, the people will snap.
One controversy by itself may be explained away.
Two may be dismissed as political disagreement.
But when controversy after controversy continues to surround the institutions that are supposed to protect democracy, citizens naturally will lose their patience and begin to question whether they should remain loyal to the government.
We do not want another war in Sierra Leone but this is the direction Maada Bio is driving the country.
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