By Richmond B. Tholley
Residents of Nieni Chiefdom, in the Northern District of Koinadugu, are worried over what they say is the illegal and unlawful detention of a popular candidate in the chiefdom’s last paramount chieftaincy elections.
According to residents, the arrest of Robert Yirah Balla Koroma on Tuesday 11th of February 2025 is not only illegal and unlawful, but it’s also politically motivated.
Koroma was reportedly arrested in his Cause Canada office in Kabala town and dragged to the Kabala police station and later in Makeni for allegedly leading a group of men that molested and threatened to kill the Paramount Chief of Nieni Chiefdom, PC Foday Manso Koroma III.
However, residents said what baffled them is the fact that the candidate left the chiefdom after the disputed paramount chieftaincy elections, and he wasn’t around when the alleged incident reportedly occurred.
For the majority of the residents, the arrest and detention of the former candidate is just another form of intimidation and harassment.
“Robert Yirah Balla Koroma, those perceived as his supporters, have faced countless persecution and harassment in Nieni,” a resident said.
The Paramount Chief and the man in detention were arch-rivals and opponents in Nieni Chiefdom’s last Paramount Chieftaincy elections that left a divided community and people.
In the first elections conducted by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone alongside the Local Government Ministry, PC Foday Manso Koroma III, who is the uncle of Umaro Napoleon Koroma, Secretary General of the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party and current Deputy Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, lost to Robert Yirah Balla Koroma, who is now in detention.
Surprisingly, the elections that saw the now-detained candidate winner were later disqualified, and a rerun was held this time outside Yifin, Nieni Chiefdom headquarters, an anonymous resident who fears for his security said.
What residents referred to as the most bloody chieftaincy elections later brought in the uncle of the SLPP Secretary General as paramount chief of Nieni after he was announced winner.
During the elections, live gunshots were reportedly fired, preventing scores of the tribal authorities from voting.
Immediately after the disputed elections, Robert Yirah Balla Koroma and all his perceived supporters have been persistently and perpetually harassed, intimidated, molested, and threatened in and outside the chiefdom.
“My brother, the outcome of the last chieftaincy elections in Nieni has divided the community, and its effects are negatively affecting all sectors,” another resident said.
Nieni Chiefdom residents are calling for the intervention of the Civil and Human Rights Groups because they consider the arrest of Robert Yirah Balla Koroma as unlawful and a violation of his human rights.
Currently, Koroma was detained at the Mena Police Station in Makeni, but was granted bail a few days ago.
