The 10th of August 2026 was a sad day for Sierra Leone. As predicted, at the end of a day in which Sierra Leone's Parliament concluded deliberations and voted on a Constitution Amendment Bill, citizens emerged as the ultimate losers. Despite all the rhetoric about seeking the interest of the people and approaching this constitutional amendment process from a nationalistic lens, Members of Parliament (MPs) on both sides of the aisle failed to put us and country first.
I have said before that politicians in Sierra Leone have become adept at talking the language of democracy and the rule of law while acting in ways that are contrary to the law and/or the interest of the people.
As the process unfolded, blow after blow was dealt to our democratic fabric and the rule of law: citizens’ exclusion from the lawmaking process; adoption of provisions that protect the political elite at the expense of the rights of the majority; the opposition walk-out; application of a section 91(1) simple majority as the voting standard for the Bill at 3rd reading rather than the clear requirements in section 108(2) of the Constitution of a two-thirds majority; referral of an issue to the Supreme Court that it likely has no jurisdiction to hear; and more.
Citizens have become the biggest losers in the process not only because of the disregard for key rights-protecting and procedural provisions of the 1991 Constitution, but more so because we have missed an opportunity as a nation. For 8 months, we heard citizens from across Sierra Leone expressing through radio, community meetings, social media, and neutral platforms that they do not know what is in the bill, they do not have avenues to engage their MPs on the bill, or they feel ignored or irrelevant in this process.
If there had been substantive citizen consultations on THIS bill, REAL work done to craft provisions that address our country’s needs and solve our problems rather than negotiate the interests of two political parties, and position papers were reflected in the Committee stage proposals, the final iteration of the Constitution Amendment Bill could have embodied a people-centered, progressive Constitution. We will never have a Constitution that perfectly captures every position, but we can have one that most citizens are satisfied truly reflects and protects us.
The events in Parliament on 10 August 2026 may have been a low point for the country, but I still believe in Sierra Leone, and that we are capable of righting our course. The leadership and standard have to come from citizens. It is the only way we stop being at the losing end in governance. We as citizens have to be able to remove the blinders of sycophancy and the false sense of patronage to say, respectfully, “MPs, Ministers, and Mr. President, you are fellow citizens whom we have given the opportunity to represent and work for us. This is what we demand and expect of you. And we will hold you to it because our lives and the future of Sierra Leone are at stake.”
Now that the 2025 Constitution Amendment Bill has gone through Parliament based on a procedure that is questionable at best and unconstitutional at worst, the bill rests in the hands of the President. I am sure that President Julius Maada Bio knows his legacy will be much better served by having delivered a new Constitution that that is substantively people-centered and procedurally sound rather than one forever tainted by politricks and illegality.
Though the President has not always heeded citizens’ and civil society’s calls to send legislation back to Parliament to correct areas where our MPs have gotten it wrong, this is a bill to amend the Constitution. It is not just any piece of legislation. This bill contains the rules by which we determine who governs us and by which generations of Sierra Leoneans will exercise key civil and political rights. If there was ever a time for the President to exercise that veto muscle, this is it.
The ball may be in the President’s court, but we as citizens are the wrist that determines how the President holds the racquet and hits the ball.
I know that citizens are tired. I know that people have lost hope. But generations yet unborn are counting on us.
We have the opportunity to tell President Bio what we want him to do with the Constitution Amendment Bill that’s before him — how he can be a living example of his appeal to MPs a day before the Parliamentary vote to put country and the people above self-interest.
How do we do that?
• Talk to the President (respectfully) through the media: radio, social media, TV, etc.
• Write open letters to President Bio and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay, as the Principal Legal Advisor to the President.
• Start or sign a petition.
• Litigate. While certain legal action may be limited by the Constitution, there are other constitutional violations that the Supreme Court can hear.
• Any other non-violent, lawful action to have your voice heard and share your views or requests to the President.
Your voice matters for you and for Mama Salone. 🇸🇱
