By Alpha Amadu Jalloh.
When the Party Turns Against Its Own. The SLPP Rebellion is Brewing
Mr. President,
This is not just about power anymore. It is about how you have taken a historic political party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), once proud and rooted in democratic principles, and turned it into your personal hostage. But even hostages eventually rebel, Mr. President. And the rumblings inside the SLPP are no longer whispers; they are warning shots.
Let me say this without ambiguity: there is a rebellion brewing inside your own house.
You have successfully silenced the open campaigns. You have muzzled would-be contenders. You have surrounded yourself with praise singers who have mastered the art of public deception and private fear. But, Mr. President, fear is like fire; it consumes everything, including the hands that ignite it.
Inside the SLPP, there are men and women who know better. Who knows that this dance toward dictatorship is not what Sir Milton Margai stood for? Who knows that you are not grooming successors; you are eliminating them. These are not just opposition voices, Mr. President. They are your people. Your comrades. Your party stalwarts. They believed in you once, but now, they fear for the soul of the SLPP under your grip.
Let’s name the truth clearly: You have weaponized succession.
A sitting minister or senior party figure cannot so much as hint at future presidential ambition without being called a traitor. You have created a political desert, where only your shadow is allowed to loom. And behind that shadow, no tree is allowed to grow.
Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, who once returned home to help rebuild, now walks a political tightrope, afraid that one public misstep could end his career. Musa Tarawally, Dr. Alie Kabba, and even Dr. David Sengeh, young, bright minds who should be preparing to carry the SLPP forward, now walk on eggshells, waiting for a signal from the top that never comes. Why? Because the message from you, Mr. President, is clear: there is no SLPP after Bio, unless Bio says so.
And what have you done instead?
You’ve turned the Ministry of Information and Civic Education into a propaganda hub, where your minister is more concerned with spin than substance. His recent press conference, a mess of contradictions and vague justifications, did nothing but fuel suspicion. The people heard him loud and clear: there is no plan for a third term, but we’re keeping our options open. That is not democracy. That is dishonesty wrapped in double-speak.
And now, to make matters worse, there are strong whispers, credible, calculated whispers, that you and Guinea’s Mamady Doumbouya are preparing a geopolitical game that could throw this region into flames.
Let’s not mince words, Mr. President. Any attempt to manufacture conflict with Guinea or exploit minor cross-border incidents to proclaim a “state of war” under Section 49(2) is nothing short of
treason against the people. You would not be defending Sierra Leone; you would be attacking its constitution.
Doumbouya is playing the same game. He said he would not run. He looked the Guinean people in the eye and promised a transition. But now, he is setting the stage, rewriting the rules, and pushing for a constitutional reset that will allow him to do exactly what he vowed not to. And suddenly, your government is singing the same tune.
Coincidence? The people don’t think so.
Pattern? Most definitely.
Mr. President, West Africa is bleeding from coups, transitions that never end, and leaders who forget when to leave. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso are all devoured by the same disease of prolonged power. Is this the company you want to keep?
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), for all its flaws, is watching. The African Union is watching. Even your Western partners, yes, those who hand you awards while winking in denial, are now privately expressing concern. You think you can hold on without consequence? Ask Alpha Condé. Ask Blaise Compaoré. Ask Yahya Jammeh. Power is temporary; disgrace can be permanent.
But there is a path back, Mr. President. If you truly care for your legacy, if you care for the SLPP, then let it breathe. Let the party organize a fair, open, and democratic succession process. Let young voices be heard. Let elders guide, not control. Let Sierra Leone see that it is possible to lead and leave without fear, without force, without a façade.
You once promised a new direction. What we have now is Lost Compass. You promised to be different. You have become the very thing we once fought to remove.
The internal rebellion is real. You may not see it now, or worse, your advisers may be hiding it from you, but the SLPP is not united behind a third term. The SLPP is not a monolith of “yes men.” And soon, voices will rise. Some quietly, others openly. They will demand a future beyond you. And you will either listen now or be confronted later.
You still have a moment to redeem yourself. You can begin by publicly declaring, without ambiguity, that you will not seek a third term. That there will be no backdoor extensions. That there will be no gazetted state of emergency designed to delay elections.
Then, allow your party to hold free and fair internal primaries, where candidates are not chosen by your mood or your fear, but by merit and public support. Step back.
Be a statesman. Let your final years be a celebration of leadership, not a slow-motion collapse into dictatorship.
Mr. President, the people are watching. Your party is watching. History is watching. You can still choose how you are remembered, but that choice window is closing.
Can we still talk, Mr. President? Or are we already too late?
