President Julius Maada Bio speaking at the 80th UNGA in New York
By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
In any democracy, the government is meant to serve as a custodian of justice, accountability, and fairness. Sadly, under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone has witnessed an alarming culture of bullying, intimidation, and abuse of authority at the highest levels of governance. What should be a government of order and service has increasingly become a government of unchecked impunity. From the suspension of the Auditor General, Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce, and her deputy, to the victimization of Justice Allan B. Halloway, and now the disgraceful saga within the Ministry of Works under Dr. Denis Sandy, one trend remains clear: officials who refuse to bend to political interests or expose corruption are systematically bullied, harassed, and silenced.
The pattern began glaringly with the case of Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce, the Auditor General of Sierra Leone, a woman with impeccable credentials and a reputation for professional integrity. For years, her office served as a watchdog over government finances, often exposing irregularities in spending and misuse of public funds. Instead of being celebrated for her commitment to transparency, she was suspended under dubious circumstances, along with her deputy. This action was not merely administrative; it was a calculated act of bullying. It was an attempt to muzzle accountability and frighten other professionals who might dare to stand in the way of entrenched corruption. By removing her, President Bio signaled that loyalty to the regime mattered more than loyalty to the nation and its laws.
The bullying did not end there. The judiciary, the very institution tasked with upholding justice, also became a target of political interference. Justice Allan B. Halloway, a man who had shown himself willing to uphold the law, found himself isolated and undermined for decisions that did not please the ruling elite. Judges in Sierra Leone already operate under immense pressure, but when the state itself becomes the bully, justice is no longer blind, it is gagged. The intimidation of judicial figures sends a dangerous message: the courts are only useful when they serve the interests of the government. This undermines not only the rule of law but also public confidence in justice. Sierra Leoneans are left to wonder whether justice is still possible in a country where even the highest judges can be humiliated or disregarded.
The most recent and perhaps most disturbing case of bullying in government involves the Ministry of Works. At the center of this scandal is Dr. Denis Sandy, the Minister of Works, already plagued by serious allegations of rape, falsification of a divorce certificate, and other forms of corruption. Instead of addressing these grave accusations and subjecting Dr. Sandy to the due process of law, the government allowed him to wield unchecked power. His most brazen act of bullying was the dismissal of the administrative head of the ministry, an official whose responsibility was to ensure proper oversight and accountability within the institution. This dismissal was not rooted in professionalism or necessity; it was pure retaliation, an abuse of power aimed at silencing oversight and consolidating personal authority.
That President Bio eventually intervened to reinstate the head of the ministry only underscores the dysfunction in governance. Why should such blatant abuse even be allowed to happen in the first place? Why must the president act only after public outrage, instead of preventing such misconduct by setting clear standards of behavior for his ministers? This reactive leadership style reveals a lack of seriousness in managing his cabinet and demonstrates a dangerous tolerance for ministerial impunity. By allowing Dr. Sandy to act as law unto himself, President Bio has created an environment where bullying has become normalized within the machinery of government.
Bullying in government is not a matter of mere interpersonal disputes; it is a systemic failure that erodes the foundations of democracy. When professionals like Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce are bullied out of office, it is the nation’s financial accountability that suffers. When judges like Justice Halloway are undermined, it is the independence of the judiciary that collapses. When ministers accused of serious crimes can bully their subordinates without consequences, it is the entire administrative structure that crumbles. The victims are not just individuals but the whole population of Sierra Leone, who must live under a regime where corruption and intimidation thrive unchecked.
President Bio’s failure to instill proper discipline among his ministers is not an accident; it is a deliberate choice. His silence in the face of bullying by powerful officials reflects either complicity or indifference. Both are equally damning. In a functioning democracy, allegations of rape or falsification of legal documents by a sitting minister would trigger immediate suspension and investigation. Yet under Bio’s government, such an individual is free to punish others, fire administrators, and operate with impunity. This double standard reveals a president more concerned with protecting loyalists than with upholding the dignity of public office.
The consequences of this culture of bullying are far-reaching. It weakens institutions, demoralizes professionals, and fosters a climate of fear. Who will dare to speak out against corruption when the Auditor General herself can be silenced? Which judge will uphold the law without fear when Justice Halloway can be undermined? What civil servant will dare to challenge ministerial corruption when the administrative head of a ministry can be fired on a whim? This is how nations slide from fragile democracies into authoritarian regimes, where the will of a few overrides the rights of the many.
The government of Sierra Leone under President Bio has become a case study in how not to govern. Bullying is not governance. Intimidation is not leadership. Protecting corrupt ministers is not statesmanship. True leadership requires courage, the courage to confront wrongdoing even among allies, the courage to protect the integrity of institutions, and the courage to prioritize the welfare of citizens above political expediency. Sadly, these qualities have been glaringly absent in Bio’s presidency.
Sierra Leone cannot progress when its brightest professionals are hounded out of office and its institutions reduced to tools of political control. The president must understand that power is not eternal. Leaders come and go, but the damage inflicted on institutions can last generations. By allowing bullying to flourish, Bio is sowing seeds of distrust, resentment, and instability that will outlive his time in office.
It is not too late for a course correction, but it requires more than token gestures like reinstating an administrative head after a scandal. It requires a complete shift in governance philosophy. Ministers accused of criminal behavior must step aside pending investigations. Independent institutions like the Audit Service must be protected, not attacked. The judiciary must be allowed to operate without fear of reprisals. Civil servants must be shielded from ministerial bullying so they can serve the public without fear. Most importantly, the president must lead by example, showing that no one is above the law, not even those in his inner circle.
The people of Sierra Leone deserve better. They deserve a government that upholds justice, protects its institutions, and values accountability. They deserve a president who does not look the other way while his ministers intimidate, harass, and silence those who dare to stand for integrity. Bullying may offer short-term power for those who wield it, but in the long run, it corrodes trust, undermines democracy, and leaves behind a legacy of failure.
Mr. President, the writing is on the wall. Your government is not only failing to deliver on promises of development; it is actively undermining the very institutions that could make development possible. History will not remember kindly a leader who allowed bullying to define his administration. The time to act is now, not tomorrow, not after another scandal, not after another professional is bullied into silence. Sierra Leone is watching, and the people are taking note.
Bullying in government is not strength, it is weakness masquerading as authority. And until President Bio confronts this weakness within his government, Sierra Leone will remain trapped in a cycle of impunity and underdevelopment.
