Residents of Lei Chiefdom in Kono District have pledged their support to the fight against corruption. They made the disclosure at a community outreach event organized by the Public Education Unit of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s Regional Office in Kono, held on the 21st of March 2025 at the Sendekor community Court Barray in Lei Chiefdom, Kono District.
Welcoming the team from the ACC, the Regen Chief Sahr Gbondo thanked the ACC for disseminating anti-graft messages in their chiefdom, adding that as a chiefdom, they are in readiness to embrace the fight against corruption in their various communities and towns. He also added that corruption has been an impediment to development in Kono district and that the establishment of the ACC has been an eye opener for the people of Sierra Leone to identify and report corruption.
The Regent Chief urged the community people to make complaints to the ACC for any professional misconduct or suspicious activity that would eventually lead to corruption during the discharge of their duties. He concluded by admonishing the chiefdom stakeholders to mainstream anti-corruption policies in their day-to-day administrative work in their various villages and to reject and resist all forms of corruption in the chiefdom.
Giving the keynote address, the Regional Manager, ACC office in Kono, Hawanatu Omotayo Kamara, stated that the engagement with the chiefdom authorities and community people is to ensure effective partnership for development and corruption prevention in the Lei Chiefdom. The Manager informed the gathering that the ACC has placed prominence on corruption prevention in order to build strong institutions.
Mrs. Kamara furthered that the Commission, under the leadership of Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., has waged war against corrupt individuals placed in a position of trust to handle resources for the country’s development. “The ACC has recovered unprecedented cash amounting to over 60 Million (new) Leones and secured several convictions,” the Manager added. Mrs. Kamara firmly asserted that the Commission would keep intensifying the fight against corruption at all levels of society and encouraged all participants to render their unflinching support to the ACC against corruption.
ACC’s Public Education Officer Patricia Jenneh Sannoh dilated on the damaging effects of corruption and told the participants that corruption erodes public trust, stagnates development and discourages both domestic and foreign investors. She added that petty bribery and extortion are the most common forms of corruption at the chiefdom level. She advised all present to be focused, determined, and vigilant in identifying and reporting corruption to the ACC.
The Youth Chairman, Senior Section Chief, and the Mammy Queen also made significant contributions.
