Sierra Leone’s Vice President Sam Sumana has applied for
asylum at the US embassy in Freetown and is in hiding while his request is
considered, a source close to him said.
Sumana has applied
for asylum at the US embassy in Freetown and is in hiding while his request is
considered, a source close to him said.
Sumana, 52, was expelled from the governing All People’s
Congress (APC) party this month for what was described as “his anti-party
activities, including fomenting violence”, although he denied the allegations
and has appealed against his suspension to the party leadership.
Sumana “is now in hiding at a secure location awaiting a
reply to a request he has made by telephone to the American embassy for asylum
for himself and his wife”, a member of his entourage said.
Heavily armed soldiers stormed Sumana’s hilltop residence on
Saturday but he was not there, witnesses said.
The soldiers left with bundles of files, one witness added.
The BBC said Saturday it had spoken to Sumana and reported
that the vice president and his wife had fled their home in Freetown and
requested asylum at the embassy. Their current whereabouts was not clear.
According toDeputy government spokesman Abdulai Bayratay “the vice president is not under any threat”,
amid reports that Sumana believed his life was in danger.
In a statement issued late Saturday, the APC said it “has
been informed by the American embassy in Freetown that Vice President Samuel
Sam Sumana has requested to seek asylum… alleging that his life is under threat
and that his residence has been looted.”
The party denied that he been threatened and his home
vandalised, adding that Sumana’s allegations and conduct were likely to
embarrass the party and bring it into disrepute.
Sumana’s house was under military surveillance Saturday,
according to an AFP reporter who visited the site but was unable to approach
his residence.
Military checkpoints in the neighbourhood were seen turning
away people attempting to go to the house.
Witnesses said troops had disarmed Sumana’s guards.
“Some officers then went into the house but after about an
hour or more of searching they left with bundles of papers,” one neighbour told
AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Late Saturday evening the military presence was reduced and
the house was deserted, residents said.
“But there is no evidence that the house was vandalised,” a
neighbour said.
Announcing his expulsion on March 6, APC secretary general
Osman Yansaneh said the party accused Sumana of falsely claiming to be a
Muslim, and claiming to hold a degree from a US university.
He is also accused of being responsible for “frequent
unrest” in his eastern home district of Kono and the party believes he was
plotting to set up a breakaway political party.
Sumana’s expulsion came a few days after he had quarantined
himself due to the death of one of his bodyguards from Ebola.
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