By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested two staff of the Immigration Department at the Lungi International Airport for corruption. The suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested on Tuesday following a positive identification from a traveler who claimed she paid US$80 as visa fee but was not given a receipt.
The ACC said they mounted a raid on the airport on receiving the information.
“The raid was conducted with the help of a lady who had gone through the airport after visiting Sierra Leone from the UK; and the Immigration staff collected the required $80 from her and then failed to provide her a receipt. The airport officers in fact encouraged her (the lady) to go through a back door straight into the baggage claim area to avoid giving her receipt. The two staff were positively identified,” a statement from the Public Relations Department of the Commission explained the circumstances of the arrest.
In September this year, the government of Sierra Leone introduced a visa on arrival policy in the country to boost tourism in the country. This means that travelers from anywhere in the world can come to the country pay for the visa at any entry port to immigration officials.
There had always been concerns that the system was being abuse by crooked immigration officials.
Tuesday’s arrest by the ACC comes just before the festive season when a lot of travelers mostly from America and Europe are expected to travel home to their country.
But crucially, the development has also raised questions around accountability checks in the immigration systems at the airport.
Politico contacted the Sierra Leone Immigration Department for comments on the arrest and their possible action to avoid this situation in the future. It’s Public Relations Officer, Hanafi Sesay, declined to comment.
ACC did not release the names of the suspects, whose faces were published alongside the press release.
The Commission said they have since been transported to its headquarters in Freetown for further questioning.
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