As the clock ticks steadily toward 2028, Sierra Leoneans are once again burdened by a sense of political déjà vu. The All People’s Congress (APC), a party with a proud history of national influence and political dominance, appears to be speeding toward yet another avoidable electoral disaster—not because of rigging or external sabotage, but due to its own internal decay, ideological bankruptcy, and a stunning inability to learn from its past.
The APC is not inherently a losing party. Far from it. It once inspired hope and action across the country. But today, it is a hollow shell of its former self, driven more by tribalism, tokenism, and personal ambition than by any genuine commitment to national progress. The current structure of the party resembles a marketplace where loyalty and vision are auctioned to the highest bidder.
From the party chairman to many of its flagbearer aspirants and sitting parliamentarians, the APC’s leadership is disconnected from the daily struggles of ordinary Sierra Leoneans. The painful truth is that much of the leadership elite no longer resonates with the people. They are consumed by power games, social media optics, and pocket-deep politics rather than grassroots engagement, public service, or intellectual rejuvenation.
The party has become a magnet for recycled opportunists and smiling political assassins. New-age “vote buyers” such as Ady Macauley, Dr. Ibrahim Bangura, Mohamed Kamara (known as Jagaban), Chernor Bah (Chericoco), and Richard Conteh present themselves as change agents while offering little more than cleverly packaged self-interest. The resurgence of figures like Omrie Golley—whose links to the RUF remain a moral stain on our national conscience—further signals a worrying disregard for the lessons of our violent past.
Kelfala Marah and Osman Timbo have also thrown their hats into the ring. Marah has never convincingly distanced himself from allegations of financial mismanagement and poor leadership during the last APC administration. Timbo, whose political résumé rests largely on platitudes and wishful thinking, now harbors presidential ambitions. This is not just naïve—it’s an insult to the intelligence of a suffering electorate.
But perhaps the greatest betrayal is how the party has treated Dr. Samura Kamara. While far from perfect, Kamara remained one of the few symbolic links to continuity and diplomatic tact within the APC. Rather than rally behind him, the party elite—especially figures like Minkailu Mansaray and Osman Foday Yansaneh—engineered a palace coup to isolate and sideline him. Their actions reek of entitlement, greed, and desperation to maintain personal relevance.
These are the very same individuals who presided over the APC from 2007 to 2018—a period plagued by massive corruption scandals, poor infrastructure planning, and the erosion of state institutions. Today, they remain in control not because of their vision, but because the party continues to be remote-controlled by former President Ernest Bai Koroma from his Abuja hideout. The result is a paralyzed party, nostalgic for its glory days, allergic to reform, and increasingly irrelevant.
More damning still is the APC’s failure to function as a credible opposition. At a time when Sierra Leone desperately needs strong checks and balances, the APC has chosen silence—or worse, complicity. When the ruling SLPP fumbled the controversial midterm census, when the judiciary was allegedly politicized, when the Anti-Corruption Commission danced to the government’s tune, and when the 2023 electoral process was called into question, the APC failed to mount meaningful resistance. It neither led mass protests nor offered compelling alternatives.
Instead, the party has been mired in internal court cases, suspensions, expulsions, and backstabbing. Its youth wing is fragmented and dominated by cyber mercenaries who spend more time insulting critics online than crafting policy ideas. There is no national outreach. No unifying message. No credible economic roadmap. The only unity seems to emerge during events that offer appearance fees or photo ops with the diaspora elite.
Even more troubling is the culture among APC supporters who, rather than demand accountability, continue to defend incompetence and amplify tribal sentiments. This unwillingness to reflect and reform has only widened internal fractures and handed the SLPP a free pass.
The APC is not fighting to save Sierra Leone. It is fighting over who gets the biggest slice of a pie it hasn’t earned.
The party desperately needs cleansing—an ideological baptism and a structural overhaul. Ernest Bai Koroma must step aside completely to allow fresh, untainted leadership to emerge. Tribal arithmetic must give way to genuine national unity. The APC must return to the people—not in SUVs or filtered Instagram posts, but through town halls, community service, and transparent conversations.
It must also end the culture of sidelining strong, independent voices, especially women. The marginalisation of figures like Dr. Sylvia Blyden, once a promising force in Sierra Leone’s political landscape, is not only shortsighted but politically suicidal. Her intellect and influence were systematically downplayed, revealing the party’s resistance to progressive internal change.
The 2028 elections will not be won through WhatsApp forwards, flashy endorsements, or recycled campaign songs. They will be won—or lost—on trust, integrity, and vision. Right now, the APC has none of these. It has become a caricature of its former self.
Unless it undergoes a total reset, the APC won’t just lose the 2028 elections—it will lose its legitimacy as Sierra Leone’s alternative political voice.
Sierra Leone deserves better. And better does not mean recycled failure dressed in new slogans. If the APC does not evolve, reform, and reconnect with the suffering masses, then yes—they will lose again. And this time, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
