By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has indicted former lawmaker, Kombor Kamara, over alleged misappropriation of public funds.
Kamara, who represented Constituency 056, which is now Constituency 074 (following the pre-2018 general elections boundary delimitation exercise), allegedly misappropriated the sum of Le1.3 billion.
He was indicted alongside Councilor Saidu Abass Kamara of Ward 246 in the same Constituency located in the Port Loko District, but on unrelated charges.
The region was home to one of the operations of the defunct iron ore miner, African Minerals Limited (AML).
According to a press statement issued by the anti-graft agency, the former MP was indicted on 24-count charges, including misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office, and failure to comply with applicable procedures and guidelines.
Councilor Kamara, on the other hand, was charged on one count of abuse of office.
“Between March 2011 and March 2012, Hon. Kombor Kamara, in his then capacity as Member of Parliament representing the then Constituency 056, which is now 074, misappropriated a total sum of One Billion Three Hundred and Twenty-three Million, Six Hundred and Forty-seven Thousand Leones (1,323,647,000/00), meant for the people of Lokomassama Chiefdom, by withdrawing and failing to account for the said funds from the bank account,” the ACC statement issued on Monday reads in part.
The money was reportedly provided by AML, as part of its royalty payment to the community, was used to fund a school project, according to other sources.
The former lawmaker denied the allegation when contacted by Politico, noting that the ACC believed that the money wasn’t expended as reported.
Kamara explained that the money was sent into the Chiefdom Account to which three of them were signatories. He said there was no way he could have withdrawn any amount alone.
“Some people wrote letter to the ACC that African Minerals were sending money into my personal account, which is not true. The account in question is a Chiefdom Account, for which two political heads representing Lokomasama Chiefdom, including me and Honourable Binneh Bangura, and the Section Chief, were signatories to the Account,” he said.
Kamara went on to say that the mandate of the account was that two people must sign before a withdrawal could be done.
“When there is money paid into the account as royalty, the chief will call us to a meeting for us to decide with the Chiefdom Development Committee on the project to execute with the money. The need for three schools were identified and it’s the Committee and the Chief who is the head of the Committee that identified the contractor, not me,” he added in a telephone interview.
Kamara said they built three schools: two Primary and One Secondary, noting that the schools were about 90% complete when the contractor died.
“I have tendered all receipts to the ACC. And if they are saying the money was misappropriated, then three people should have been held liable. But why target me alone is what I don’t understand,” he wondered.
Kombor Kamara served in parliament for one term, from 2012 to 2018. He was a dominant force in the House during this period, thanks to the role his Constituency played as host to AML within the period when the country experienced one of its fasted growth due to the development in the mining sector.
According to the ACC’s release, Councilor Saidu, while serving as Councilor of Ward 246, refused to hand over to the Pepel Community Health Center a 5KVA Generator and two hospital beds.
“He converted the said generator and bed for his benefits, thereby conferring an improper advantage on himself. The said generator and bed were donated by African Minerals limited,” the statement said.
The indicted persons are expected to appear at the High Court holding in Freetown on the 4th March 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
