Albert David KAMARA: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 21 September 2026: Sierra Leone today stands at a danger zone of governance where criminal enterprise, political fragility, and institutional decay collide with devastating force. What began as whispers of foreign “investors” arriving with unexplained wealth has expanded dangerously into a full‑scale national security emergency, one that threatens the country’s international reputation, economic stability, and diplomatic standing. At the centre of this storm is the drug lord whose presence has become synonymous with narco‑capital infiltration: Jos Leijdekkers alias Omar Sheriff, a man internationally wanted for drug trafficking, money laundering, and violent organized crime. His politically shielded operations inside Sierra Leone represent not merely a criminal scandal, but a catastrophic failure of governance. The penetration of Sierra Leone’s political and administrative structures by a foreign criminal network exposes a deeply vulnerable immigration channel compromised. A security services co‑opted, government officials reportedly intimidated or influenced, and...

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 21 September 2026: The two leaders addressed the security challenges hindering peace and stability in West Africa, including terrorism, organized crime, insecurity, cybercrime, cross-border crime, misinformation, and disinformation. Marc Fonbaustier reiterated France’s commitment to further supporting ECOWAS’s efforts to address these challenges and promote regional peace, security, and stability. He congratulated Gen. Birame Diop – the new Chairperson of the ECOWAS Commission and assured him of his support in fulfilling and successfully carrying out his mission within the regional organization. Gen. Birame Diop expressed his gratitude to his host and praised the strong ties of friendship and cooperation between ECOWAS and France. He reiterated his determination to contribute to improving and strengthening these ties. “We will add our own values to these relationships that we have inherited from our predecessors,” he said. Speaking about global relations, the President of the ECOWAS Commission expressed his conviction that tomorrow’s...

Sheriff Mahmoud Ismail: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 20 September 2026: The sound of prayer had barely settled over the congregation at Makeni Central Masjid when another kind of emotion began to fill the great hall. Men rose from their seats. Hands reached out. Voices called his name. Some smiled; others simply stared, as if reassuring themselves that the man sitting among them was indeed back in Makeni. There were old men and school-age children, women at the edges of the gathering, young people pressing forward for a glimpse. There were the poor and the well-dressed, the elderly and the adolescent, people with visual impairments and those who had come simply to see the former president after years away. Former President Koroma had arrived at Makeni Central Mosque for Friday prayers, accompanied by members of his entourage including the Mayor of the municipality His Worship Abu Bakarr Kamara, Dr. Mohamed MB Sisay,...

Yoni Emmanuel Sesay: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 20 September 2026: Sometimes history does not announce its return. It simply walks through the door wearing a familiar face. On 6 September 2026, former President Ernest Bai Koroma returned to Sierra Leone from Nigeria after the Government discontinued the criminal proceedings against him. ECOWAS welcomed the decision, linking his return to national reconciliation, unity and lasting peace. Koroma subsequently reaffirmed his commitment to national cohesion, peace and Sierra Leone’s continued development. His return is more than a personal homecoming. It is a moment of political and moral significance — for Sierra Leone, and especially for the All People’s Congress. For many Sierra Leoneans, Koroma’s political journey evokes the image of Moses. The comparison must be used with humility. Koroma is not a prophet, Sierra Leone is not biblical Israel, and political opponents are not Pharaoh. But biblical stories endure because they speak to...