Ms. Afsatu Kabba
Ex-Minister of Fisheries &
Marine Resources
When President Koroma was elected to office in 2007, he immediately set himself a number of priority tasks and principal amongst which was his declared ‘zero tolerance’ on corruption. In walking his talk, he appointed a new Commissioner to head the country’s anti-graft body who sought to amend the Anti-Corruption Act with notable innovations such as an increase in corruption-related offences, declaration of assets and liabilities by public officers, and prosecutorial powers without recourse to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. The President’s stance in singling out for destruction arguably the greatest evil of all times in the country was lauded by many as limited transparency and accountability undermines governmental capacity for the implementation of important development policies, especially for the poor and marginalized. He even ventured far afield when he said that there would be no sacred cows, not even his family members, in his determination to make this deadly scourge history in a country that has been consistently ranked at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index- a notoriety that has been attributed mainly to high levels of corruption and the lack of integrity in organizational governance.
Since the amendment of the ACC Act (2008), a number of eventful things have been happening in the country’s fight to drastically curtail, and if possible, make extinct that vicious enemy of our society. A number of public officers have been indicted for corruption including Judges, heads of state institutions and even ministers of state. In fact there has been some high profile convictions such as the former Ombudsman, Francis Gabbidon, the former Director of the state broadcasting corporation, Kasho Wellington, and recently, Sheku Tejan Koroma, who was, before his indictment, the Minister of Health and Sanitation. In addition, quite substantial amounts in assets have been recovered from persons convicted for corrupt practices. Consequently, the country has made a modest progress in the fight against corruption by being ranked 148 of the 180 most corrupt nations surveyed according to the Transparency International Report in 2009.
In spite of the progress being made in combating this menace, some recent happenings continue to pose a severe threat to undermining the President’s rhetoric of ‘zero tolerance’ on corruption. For instance, the relieving of duty of Mr. Balogun Koroma, Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office, under suspicious circumstances leaves the public with more questions than answers. Also, there have been allegations of blatant disregard for the Public Procurement Act of 2004 which established the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) to regulate and monitor public procurements as an estimated 60-70% of all the country’s corruption takes place within the area of procurements.[i] These allegations, if true, will tend to make the President’s cliché, ‘zero tolerance on corruption’ meaningless, and by extension cause the public to view the ACC with a jaundiced eye. Neither the sacking of the Health Minister, a ‘neophyte’ in the scheme of politics, after his indictment, nor his conviction scored high with the public as was evident in the media courage of the story; instead, some even accused the ACC of ‘selective justice’- a view that tends to undermine public confidence in the institution to impartially combat corruption.
In a solid response to proving its doubters wrong, the ACC, in a startling move, filed a 17 count indictment against Afsatu Kabba, who, prior to her indictment and arraignment, was the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources in the Koroma-led administration. The Commission alleges that Afsatu Olayinka Ebishola Kabba, being a public officer, solicited and accepted an advantage from Lilian Ada Lisk contrary to Section 28(2) (a) of the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 12 of 2008; that she also abused her office by causing the employment of her two sons, Ibrahim Kabba and Abdul Wahid Kabba, and another Abdul Malik Jobe “without proper employment procedures being followed,” contrary to Section 42(1) of same; and is also jointly charged with Paul Sandi, who, before his indictment, was the Permanent Secretary in the same Ministry, on 2 counts of conspiracy to commit a corrupt offence contrary to Section 128(1) of same.
The one-time minister, was arraigned at High Court No. 1 presided over by Justice Nicholas Browne-Marke, to answer to the ACC allegations. After the charges were read, the prosecuting counsel for the ACC, Zimbabwean-born Calvin T. Mantsebo, made an application for the said matter to be adjourned for 8 weeks so that “the prosecution will decide on the line of action we will tend to take in dealing with the matter.” This application was met with stout objection from the defence team led by Foday Daboh, who termed it as ‘inconsiderate’ The learned presiding Judge, however, ruled on the application by giving the matter a 5 week adjournment.
Afsatu Kabba’s indictment has been a hot topic in public circles and amongst all walks of life with the media making the most of it. It has been regarded as probably the most contentious case in the history of the ACC and as such is likely to be the most publicised corruption trial in Sierra Leonean jurisprudence thus far. The reason for this is obvious: Afsatu Kabba is a heavyweight, an old hand in the body polity of the ruling All Peoples’ Congress (APC) party. This perhaps partly explains why, unlike Kemoh Sesay and Sheku Tejan Koroma, former Ministers of Transport and Aviation and Health and Sanitation respectively, State House was quick to have gone to her rescue by issuing a Press Release stating that she was to continue to hold her office until such a time necessary; which is at the pleasure of the President, after she was invited for questioning by the ACC.
This is not the first time though Afsatu Kabba’s name has been subject of public discourse since the coming to power of the APC. During her tenure at the Ministry of Energy and Power, she presided over the award of a controversial contract to Income Electrix Ltd. for the supply of thermal equipment for immediate and medium term supply of electricity to the capital, Freetown, which was evident in Messrs Tani Pratt and Professor Jonas AS Redwood-Sawyer’s, letter of “Concerns on recent development in respect of decisions taken by the Task Force.” Both men as members of the Presidential Energy Emergency Task Force (PEETF) set up to look at supply of power to the capital wrote a strongly worded letter stating serious concerns about certain irregularities relating to the signing of Income Electrix Ltd contract “without due consideration for the financial implications to Government”.
Following this, the ACC instituted a finding into the award of the contract. The ACCs Report titled: “Faulty Lines in a Flawed and Costly Contract” seriously incriminated Afsatu Kabba. The findings of the Commission, states that: “It is the opinion of the Commission that the Minister of Energy and Power, Haja Mrs. Hafsatu Kabba, played a key role in getting the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to make a joint financial commitment on behalf of Government to Income Electrix Limited even before the signing of the contract. In addition, the Minister, despite the caution by the Minister of Finance and Development and Development and Economic Planning about the huge financial implication to Government amounting to about US$ 65.5 M if this contract should go ahead, went ahead and signed the contract.” The Report further states that: “The arbitrary decision of Dr. Lancelot Lake and the Minister of Energy and Power, Mrs. Haja Afsatu Kabba, to overturn the professional recommendation of the Technical Committee …clearly manifests the gross abuse of executive authority resulting to loss of public funds.” In fact the ACC recommended, among others, that: “government should seriously consider terminating the contract with immediate effect within the requisite legal framework to avoid further costs and embarrassment;”
The question that was on lips of many Sierra Leoneans was why did the ACC not indict Afsatu Kabba? The ACC could not have indicted Afsatu Kabba at that time because under the previous Act (ACC Act, 2000), which was in force at the time of the award of the contract to Income Electrix Ltd., willfully failing to comply with laws and procedures and guidelines relating to procurement, tendering of contracts and management of funds, was not considered an offence. It is highly likely that this incident (breach of procedures in the award of the contract of Income Electrix Ltd.) is one of the chief reasons for making such an offence under the amended ACC Act of 2008. In fact it is under the said offence, inter alia, that the former Minister of Health and Sanitation, Sheku Tejan Koroma, was convicted for, among others, “failing to carry out the ruling of the Independent Procurement Review Committee when ordered by them to award the contract to the most responsive bidder.”[ii]
Both the indictment and arraignment of Afsatu Kabba has set tongues wagging in the public domain as to her guilt or innocence in the matter before the court. One thing is clear though, many people, including media practitioners, have already taken sides in the said legal suit. This is nothing new whenever Afsatu Kabba’s name is under the integrity microscope; it was the same during the Income Electrix Ltd. outburst. Some columnists, some real and others imagined, were garrulous in their bid to make her a superwoman whilst others even charged the public of ingratitude. Some even went as far as discrediting the report of the ACC as “lacking the basic investigative principles of hearing all sides” albeit the fact that a draft copy of the report was sent inter alia to her and she responded in writing and her comments were taken into consideration.
Unlike the Income Electrix saga, she has actually been indicted and is now standing trial for corruption-related offences. Her backers are at it again and have amassed all the deadly weaponry at their disposal in order to get her off the ACC net. The temerity demonstrated by a Mr. Edward Kallon, who wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transparency and Accountability, asking the Chairman to request the ACC boss to clear the air on “numerous non transparency and non accountability” issues underscores their desperation to absolve the former Minister of any wrong-doing even if it means besmearing the ACC boss. Some have accused the ACC boss of sheer arrogance and others have insinuated corrupt practices within the Commission itself. Others have accused the President of being “totally unserious to combat true corruption in Sierra Leone” and have touted incessantly how much billions she generated whilst being Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources; all of which undermines the public’s sincerity in the fight against corruption.
This case is definitely a litmus test for all: the ACC, the Government, the judiciary, and the general public; and as such stands the chance of heralding a new dawn in the country’s fight in eradicating what remains the foremost development challenge which has infested every level of post-colonial government in Sierra Leone.
With the matter now in court, the ACC should know that there duty is to prosecute and not to persecute; the Government should stop short at exerting undue influence, whether overtly or covertly, on the trial process, let alone enter a nolle prosequi, pursuant to Section 44(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1965; the judiciary, perceived by many to be the temple of justice, should thus act accordingly; and the public should understand that the matter is now in a court of law and not a court of public opinion or sentiment.
It therefore behooves all to support the fight against corruption because of its myriad evils in our society, taking into cognizance the human dignity of the accused as provided for by law, thereby ensuring that the ends of justice is served.
[i] Interview with Abdul Tejan-Cole by Julia Szybala
A Prospective on the Anti-Corruption Commission
The Monitor, vol.28,July 2008, pp2
[ii] Summary of Evidence
The State v Sheku Tejan Koroma (unreported)
