The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has a new leader, but questions over the constitutionality of the process threaten to overshadow the victory. Businessman and football administrator Babadi Kamara secured 43 votes to become SLFA president, defeating Aminata Bangura (11 votes) and Alhaji Umar Bah (1 vote).
The win would normally mark the start of a fresh chapter for Sierra Leone football, but the election has been clouded by disputes over its legality. According to the SLFA constitution, both the outgoing president and the outgoing Vice President 1 must be present for the elections to be valid. On election day, Thomas Daddy Brima, the outgoing president, and Harold Nat Johnson, the outgoing Vice President 1, were both absent.
Brima’s absence was particularly significant. Initially considered Kamara’s main rival, Brima was dramatically removed from the race after the SLFA Ethics Board disqualified him over charges of falsification and passport forgery. His supporters argue that his disqualification and absence from the polls undermine the legitimacy of the entire process.
Despite the controversy, the elections proceeded under the supervision of football stakeholders and observers.
In the Vice President 1 race, Alie Badara Tarawallie—previously Vice President 2—claimed 42 votes, defeating incumbent Harold Bankole Johnson (12 votes). One void vote was recorded.
The Vice President 2 position went to Prince Kai Saquee, who collected 41 votes against Christian Dauda Thompson’s 14. Saquee had represented the Eastern Region in the last executive committee.
For the three Ex-officio seats, the winners were:
• Mohamed Sorie Jalloh – 45 votes
• Kweku Melvin Lisk – 38 votes
• Ramatulai Kamara – 39 votes
They beat Kasho Joseph Holland Cole (6 votes), Musu Bangura (16 votes), Abdul Aziz Jalloh (17 votes), and Musa Komrabai Dura Mamoud (4 votes). All three return to their positions on the SLFA’s eleven-member executive.
While Kamara now takes charge of the SLFA, the legitimacy of his mandate may depend on whether football authorities, both domestic and international, choose to uphold or challenge the election’s outcome. For now, Sierra Leone football faces the paradox of new leadership born out of a process some say should never have taken place.
