By JOSHUA MCNAMARA
The president of the Sierra Leone Football Association, Thomas Daddy Brima, has in a letter dated 19th July, instructed the Acting Sectary General of the Association, Benson Bawoh, to put on hold the entire electoral process until FIFA investigates the alleged violations and give directive to the road map. This was due to the Ethics Board’s decision to disqualify the candidature of the incumbent, Thomas Daddy Brima, who according to the committee’s decision, was found guilty of forgery and falsification of his passport; and Aminata Bangura for forgery of a police clearance.
The president, in his letter, cited the many violations of the committee, which amongst others, include failure to conduct integrity checks which is mandatory on each candidate prior to election. Such, according to his instruction, is a blatant contravention of Article 60(3) of the SLFA Statues of 2019, improper appointment of the electoral committee members and other independent bodies of SLFA, non-compliance with mandatory electoral deadlines, defying several key deadlines in violation of Article 60(d) of SLFA Electoral Code of 2012, Ethics Committee violating Article 68 of the SLFA Ethics Code, which requires all decisions to be properly reasoned and formally communicated.
The committee’s decision to disqualify two presidential candidates was done without the issuance of a ruling. According to the president, such circumstances would seriously undermine the integrity and credibility of the ongoing electoral process, and therefore put a halt to it until the proper procedures are followed.
The weather hanging above Sierra Leone football seems to be gloomy with mudslinging between the two camps: the Thomas Daddy Brima Camp and Babadi Kamara Camp, casting a shadow of doubt over the holding of the SLFA Elections to elect a new executive on the slated date.
