Hon. Amb. Bishop Dr Alimamy Coleson Turay
Your Excellency,
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As a Bishop of the Most High God, a diplomat of peace, and a former Member of Parliament of this beloved nation, I write to you with the utmost respect, humility, and a heavy heart. On the sacred day of April 27th, when Sierra Leone marked another year of her hard-won independence, you—our constitutional Fountain of Honour—were absent from the soil that birthed your mandate, attending instead the funeral of His Holiness the Pope.
While the passing of the Pope is indeed significant to the global Christian family, and diplomatic courtesy has its value in global relations, I respectfully submit that your absence from our national Independence Day celebration has caused disquiet among many faithful citizens. It is a matter not of condemnation, but of reflection—an opportunity to weigh the balance between our duty to the world and our sacred responsibility at home.
As it is written in the Gospel according to Luke 9:60, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” The message of this verse is not one of dishonor to the dead but a call to discern spiritual priority. The living must always be prioritized over the dead. In our national context, the living people of Sierra Leone—struggling with hardship, poverty, insecurity, and division—deserve to see their leader at home, standing with them, especially on the most sacred day of our national calendar.
Your presence on Independence Day is not ceremonial alone—it is a sacrament of leadership, a national reassurance that unity, patriotism, and hope are alive and well. As the shepherd of the nation, your physical and spiritual presence sends a message far more powerful than any words ever could.
I pray you will receive this letter in the spirit of love and constructive rebuke. As a bishop, I am bound to speak truth to power with compassion. As a former parliamentarian, I understand the weight of state obligations. And as a servant of God, I entreat you to reflect prayerfully on the legacy you are building for this nation.
May God grant you wisdom to govern with justice, courage to lead with integrity, and humility to prioritize the people of Sierra Leone above all foreign allegiances.
In faith, hope, and national love,
Hon. Amb. Bishop Dr Alimamy Coleson Turay
Bishop & Servant of God,
Diplomat of Peace
Former Member of Parliament
