By Hassan Solokoh Bockarie
The Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) has cleared former Vice President Alhaji Chief Samuel Sam-Sumana to contest for Sierra Leone’s All People’s Congress (APC) flagbearer position, removing a major legal and procedural obstacle that has long overshadowed his political future within the party.
In a landmark ruling delivered on 23 December 2025, the Commission upheld a complaint filed by Sam-Sumana challenging questions surrounding his membership status and eligibility under the APC Constitution. The PPRC confirmed that he has been a continuous and legitimate member of the APC since his lawful readmission in September 2020, thereby satisfying the constitutional requirements to vie for the party’s top ticket.
As part of its directives, the Commission ordered the APC National Secretary General to withdraw the Honorary Foundation membership card issued to Sam-Sumana in 2023 and replace it with a card reflecting his 2020 readmission. The party has been given fourteen days to comply with this instruction and to regularise his membership records accordingly.
The PPRC also addressed Article 56(b) of the APC Constitution (2022), which requires a minimum of five years of continuous, paid-up membership for any aspirant seeking the party’s flagbearer position. While noting that the APC may seek legal advice on the retroactive application of this provision, the Commission affirmed that the article does not conflict with the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and therefore remains valid and binding unless lawfully amended.
Clarifying the former Vice President’s membership history, the Commission stated that his readmission into the APC was lawfully effected at an extended National Advisory Committee (NAC) meeting held on 8 September 2020. During the COVID-19 state of emergency, the NAC acted under emergency provisions as the National Delegates Conference (NDC) and unanimously agreed to readmit Sam-Sumana into the party.
The PPRC dismissed claims that his readmission was dependent on a later endorsement by the NDC, describing such assertions as improper and inserted in bad faith by the then APC Secretary General. It consequently ordered that all party records be corrected to reflect the 2020 readmission date rather than 2023.
While reaffirming that Sam-Sumana’s 2014 expulsion from the APC was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015 and is legally settled, the Commission emphasised that his political status fundamentally changed following his readmission in 2020. From that point onward, it said, he has been a legitimate and uninterrupted member of the APC.
The ruling further criticised the APC’s Interim Transitional Governance Committee (ITGC) and the Disciplinary and Grievance Handling Committee (DGHC) for acting in bad faith by disqualifying Sam-Sumana from the party’s 2023 flagbearer race without due process.
With five consecutive years of confirmed membership now established, the PPRC’s decision not only restores Sam-Sumana’s full standing within the APC but also rekindles his leadership ambitions. At the same time, it sends a strong signal to political parties on the importance of fairness, transparency, and adherence to constitutional procedures as Sierra Leone moves closer to another critical electoral cycle.
