By Alpha Amadu Jalloh, Author of Monopoly of Happiness: Unveiling Sierra Leone’s Social Imbalance
Yet again, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, chairman of everything and anything under President Bio, has spoken. And once more, it’s not with the wisdom of a statesman, but with the entitlement of someone who believes Sierra Leone is his personal estate. Dr. Yumkella, what do you truly think you are today in this country? More importantly, what authority do you believe you possess to tell another Sierra Leonean, Ambassador Alimamy Bangura or anyone else for that matter, to step aside, or shut up?
This recurring arrogance, which was once hidden under the glow of your international profile, has now become an open sore, a sign of a man who has let power and proximity to the presidency blind him. Who gave you the moral or legal license to act like a gatekeeper of patriotism, belonging, or participation in national dialogue?
Let’s rewind a bit. Remember the days of the KKY Movement? That chapter of political theater where you position yourself as the “third force” to break the SLPP-APC duopoly. You walked away from both parties, labeling them “Alhassan and Alusine,” twin evils that held Sierra Leone hostage. Back then, your voice was one of opposition, your stance bold and rebellious. Yet, here we are, watching you hold the megaphone of state authority to silence others. The same you who spoke against exclusion is now its chief architect.
Dr. Yumkella, you recently used your role as “special adviser” to President Julius Maada Bio to target Ambassador Alimamy Bangura, an individual who served this country as ambassador. What was his crime? That he dares speak to his people in Kambia? That he continues to participate in the civic space as a free Sierra Leonean? Or is it the unspoken grudge you’ve been nursing since that infamous day you were locked out of the SLPP party office?
Yes, let us talk about that day. According to multiple accounts, it was not Alimamy Bangura who single-handedly locked you out. He was acting on instructions from higher authorities in the party, the very same individuals you now hobnob with and publicly defend. They were the ones who deemed you and others “anti-Maada Bio” and gave the orders to bar your entry. Yet, none of those others have uttered a word against Alimamy Bangura. Why? Because they have moved on. They understand that politics is not a perpetual grudge match. You, on the other hand, seem to carry your bitterness like a medal of honor.
What happened to the Dr. Yumkella who once claimed to be a servant of the people? The one who stood on podiums and challenged the corrupt and the elite? Today, you stand on different podiums, this time backed by the state, using taxpayer money and state media to campaign not for policy reform or youth empowerment, but for your personal relevance.
The Ministry of Information’s recent roadshows in Kambia, ostensibly to inform citizens, have turned into your campaign stops. This isn’t about government transparency; it’s about Dr. Kandeh Yumkella trying to repackage himself for a second shot at political dominance. The fanfare, the staged questions, the choreographed applause, they are all desperate attempts to overwrite the rejection you received at the ballot box.
Dr. Yumkella, you must remember this truth: the people of Sierra Leone already gave you their answer. When they had the chance to make you their leader, they declined. They saw beyond the foreign degrees and global positions. They saw the contradictions, the opportunism, the political vanity. And when the time came to choose, they didn’t choose you.
What is most alarming is how you now wield your current position not to uplift Sierra Leoneans, but to push them aside. You forget that political appointments do not equate to ownership of a nation. Being an adviser does not make you the people’s conscience, judge, and executioner.
Let us be very clear: the Constitution of Sierra Leone does not place you above the law or above the people. Every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, tribe, or background, has a right to speak, assemble, and belong. Whether it is in Kambia or Kailahun, Freetown or Pujehun, no presidential adviser has the right to trample on that.
And who are you to suggest that Ambassador Bangura should sit this one out? That he should not speak to his people? Until he is found guilty of wrongdoing, he remains an innocent man, just like you were when the SLPP shut you out. That was wrong then, and what you are doing now is just as wrong.
What is perhaps most revealing is your disdainful comment about NGC supporters and their “hundred dollars.” You mocked those who supported your dream, scoffing that their small donations do not entitle them to question your dealings with the president. That one statement stripped away the façade. It showed a man who sees the people not as stakeholders, but as spectators. It exposed a leader who does not want accountability but adoration.
Sierra Leone does not need this kind of politics, not now, not ever. The nation is crying out for leaders who unite, not divide; who empower, not suppress; who serve, not rule. We need humility, not hubris. Inclusion, not intimidation.
Dr. Yumkella, go stand before a mirror. Look deeply into it, not with vanity, but with honesty. Do you recognize the man staring back at you? Is he the reformer of yesterday or the enforcer of today? Is he the dreamer who wanted to save Sierra Leone or the careerist clinging to relevance?
Because as it stands, you are a nobody in the SLPP. You know it. They know it. The people know it. You may be tolerated because of your usefulness, but you are not embraced. You are not trusted. And should the winds of politics shift, you will be left where you started: alone and disillusioned.
The real power lies with the people. And they have grown weary of the endless circle of leaders who rise on the backs of hope only to betray it. Your story, once one of promises, is fast becoming a cautionary tale, a lesson in how power corrupts and how ego destroys.
Ambassador Alimamy Bangura may not have the platform you have. But he has something more valuable: the freedom to speak his truth without hypocrisy. He was not the one who declared both parties unworthy and then jumped into bed with one of them. He is not the one who talks about democracy and then practices exclusion.
You, Dr. Yumkella, are now the very thing you once warned us about. And Sierra Leoneans are watching.
