Former Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma has been charged with treason.
According to a statement shared by the Sierra Leone Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, the former president is being charged for his alleged involvement in the failed coup attempt of November 2023.
Koroma was charged with four offences, including treason and two counts of harbouring fugitives. It was not clear at press time if he had been arrested.
Gunmen attacked a military barracks, a prison and other locations in Sierra Leone on Nov. 26, freeing about 2,200 inmates and killing more than 20 people in what the authorities said afterwards was an attempt to overthrow the government.
The accused were arraigned before a magistrate in the capital Freetown on Tuesday, the information ministry said in a statement, adding that they included ex-police and correctional officers and former Koroma bodyguard Amadu Koita.
“Other accused persons are expected to be charged in the coming days,” the ministry said.
It was not immediately possible to reach Koita or his legal representative for comment.
He was invited for questioning in December following an attack on a military barracks, a prison, and other targets in Sierra Leone. The attacks, which the government later called a failed coup, led to the release of over 2,200 prisoners and the deaths of over 20 people.
