By Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, Esq
A deeply concerning provision, embedded within the proposed Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Bill, 2025, threatens to undermine the ethical integrity of our highest office.
The current Constitution establishes a critical safeguard: to be eligible for the Presidency, one must first be qualified to serve as a Member of Parliament. This deliberate design ensures that individuals whose conduct has breached public trust are barred from the nation’s leadership.
While the Bill rightly amends Section 76 to disqualify persons convicted of grave offences, including treason, murder, rape, corruption, fraud, and election-related crimes from parliamentary election, it simultaneously introduces a profound loophole.
The legislation stipulates that such disqualification is automatically lifted if the individual receives a pardon.
A pardon is an act of executive clemency; it does not constitute an exoneration or a declaration of innocence. Yet, this Bill effectively transforms a pardon into a constitutional reset button, erasing the most serious disqualifications and restoring eligibility for Parliament and, by direct extension, for the Presidency.
Should this clause be enacted, Sierra Leone would institutionalize a system whereby:
· Grave criminal convictions cease to be a permanent barrier to seeking the nation’s highest leadership.
· The executive branch could pardon a convict today and promote them as a viable presidential candidate tomorrow.
· Access to the Presidency could be granted through political favor rather than demonstrated integrity.
This sends a dangerous signal to a nation striving for greater accountability, justice, and democratic legitimacy. It represents nothing less than a backdoor to State House, quietly constructed under the guise of constitutional reform.
I urge Parliament, civil society, the media, religious leaders, and all Sierra Leoneans to scrutinize and firmly reject this provision. The Presidency must be reserved for those who have earned it through unwavering character and credibility, not for those whose disqualifications have been merely set aside by executive pardon.
