Former Sierra Leone president confined to home after questioning

Former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma has been confined to his residence under house supervision, a move labeled as house arrest by the opposition in response to recent violence.

Koroma faced police questioning on Monday (Dec. 11) for the third time regarding the events of November 26, characterized by authorities as an attempted coup d’état. Despite government assertions of placing him under a house arrest-like regime, one of Koroma’s lawyers contested this information.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information stated that the ex-president was released with the condition to stay within his property in Freetown and entertain a limited number of guests. On Monday, a significant police presence was observed around his residence.

Authorities suspect some of Koroma’s former guards to have participated in the unrest on November 26, during which assailants attacked a military armory, two barracks, two prisons, and two police stations in the early hours. The Minister of Information reported 21 casualties, including 18 members of the security services and three assailants.