Ernest Bai Koroma, the former president of Sierra Leone, is accused of four charges of treason in relation to a coup attempt.
On Wednesday, January 3, a court in the West African nation’s capital, Freetown, announced that he had been charged with four offenses, including treason, for his alleged involvement in an unsuccessful military effort to overthrow the government in November.
In November of last year, gunmen in Freetown broke into multiple prisons and a military armory, releasing about two thousand prisoners.
During the fighting, at least eighteen security force members lost their lives. So far, more than fifty suspects—including military officers—have been taken into custody.
He has denied any involvement in the attack which killed about 20 people.
The charges against Koroma were announced a day after a dozen people were charged with similar offenses in connection with the failed coup.
There have been political tensions in Sierra Leone since President Julius Maada Bio was reelected for a second term in a disputed vote in June. Two months after he was reelected, police said they arrested several people, including senior military officers, for allegedly planning to use protests “to undermine peace.”