The Secretary General of Sierra Leone’s main opposition party, the All People’s Congress (APC), Lansana Dumbuya, has been detained at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) following remarks he made at the party’s recent Mammoth Meeting at the Attouga Mini Stadium in Freetown.
The detention follows an earlier invitation from the CID, which came after the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) fined the APC Le350,000 for violations linked to statements delivered at the rally. Authorities have not publicly specified the exact remarks under investigation.
In a formal statement addressed to the Sierra Leone Police and issued after his detention, Mr Dumbuya defended his comments, describing them as political opinions expressed in good faith and grounded in publicly available reports by both domestic and international election observation missions on the country’s 2023 general elections.
He said the views he articulated were neither personal nor new, but reflected the APC’s long standing position since the elections, during which the party has consistently raised concerns about the conduct, transparency and outcome of the polls.
My statement was made in articulation of an established party position, Mr Dumbuya said, stressing that his remarks were expressed within the bounds of constitutional political discourse and democratic engagement.
Central to the APC’s position, he added, is what he described as the continued absence of comprehensive, transparent and disaggregated official election results, an issue he said remains a subject of public debate both within Sierra Leone and among international partners.
Responding to allegations that his speech was inciting or criminal in nature, Mr Dumbuya rejected the claims, insisting that he neither promoted violence nor hatred. He said political parties and citizens are constitutionally guaranteed the right to express opinions on governance, elections and democracy, provided such expression does not incite violence.
I stand by my position as a political opinion based on public reports and unresolved electoral concerns, he said. However, I do not stand by any interpretation that suggests violence, hatred or criminal intent.
Mr Dumbuya also reaffirmed his commitment to peace, the rule of law and the use of lawful and democratic means to resolve political disagreements, while confirming that he is being held by the police in connection with the matter.
As of the time of publication, neither the Criminal Investigations Department nor the APC leadership had issued an official statement clarifying the legal basis of the detention or the scope of the investigation.
