By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Freetown — Sierra Leone’s main opposition party says its National Secretary General, Lansana Dumbuya, has been detained by police following comments he made questioning the credibility of the country’s 2023 general elections, a vote that has remained controversial more than two years on.
In a detailed statement addressed to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Sierra Leone Police, Mr Dumbuya said his remarks were political opinions expressed in good faith, based on publicly available reports by domestic and international election observation bodies.
He rejected any suggestion that his comments were criminal, malicious or intended to incite unrest, describing them instead as a reflection of the long-standing position of the All People’s Congress (APC), the country’s main opposition party.
“The position I expressed has not been new or personal,” Mr Dumbuya said. “It has been consistently maintained by my political party since the conclusion of the 2023 elections.”
A disputed vote
Sierra Leone held presidential, parliamentary and local council elections in June 2023. The Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) declared President Julius Maada Bio of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) the winner, securing a second term in office.
However, opposition parties rejected the outcome, citing concerns over the transparency of vote tallying and result verification. Central to the dispute was the failure to publish disaggregated polling station results, which are widely regarded as essential for independent scrutiny of election outcomes.
Several international and domestic observer missions reported procedural and transparency shortcomings, although none formally invalidated the elections.
The APC has argued that without detailed results, the credibility of the process cannot be conclusively established.
Mr Dumbuya said the absence of comprehensive and verifiable results remains a key issue of national concern.
“To the best of my knowledge and understanding, no comprehensive, transparent and disaggregated official results were conclusively published or validated,” he said.
Freedom of expression
In his statement, Mr Dumbuya defended his right and that of political parties more broadly to comment on matters of governance and democracy, citing constitutional protections for freedom of expression.
He insisted that his comments did not promote violence, hatred or instability, and said he remained committed to peaceful and lawful means of political engagement.
“I reject any suggestion that my statement was made with malice or criminal intent,” he said. “I stand by my position as a political opinion based on public reports and unresolved electoral concerns.”
Mr Dumbuya also disclosed that he had been detained by the Inspector General of Police, describing the action as punishment for what he called “normal democratic discussion”.
Regional and international scrutiny
The APC has copied Mr Dumbuya’s statement to several international bodies and partners, including ECOWAS, the African Union, the Commonwealth, development partners and Sierra Leone’s Peace Commission.
Political analysts say the detention risks drawing renewed international attention to the country’s post-election environment and the broader question of civic and political space in Sierra Leone.
The country emerged from a decade-long civil war in 2002 and has since been widely regarded as a relative success story in democratic recovery in West Africa. However, recent political tensions have raised concerns among some civil society groups and international observers about tolerance for dissent.
At the time of publication, the Sierra Leone Police had not issued a detailed public statement outlining the specific legal basis for Mr Dumbuya’s detention.
