The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) wishes to inform the general public that the Parliament of Sierra Leone has, on Thursday 27th July, 2023, APPROVED Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., to serve as Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption-Sierra Leone for the second term, pursuant to Sections 3 and 4 of the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 as Amended in 2019. The mandate of the ACC Chief was renewed on the 19th June, 2023 by His Excellency, President Brigadier (Rtd.) Dr. Julius Maada Bio, following his stellar performance and achievements in the fight against corruption in the first five-year term.
Speaking in Parliament, Leader of Government Business, Hon. Mathew Sahr Nyuma, commended the Commissioner and acknowledged his trailblazing work and fight against corruption in Sierra Leone. He emphasized that Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. during his interview by the Appointments Committee, committed to fighting corruption more strongly saying, “Corruption is very serious, and we will treat any information we receive with every confidence, so that people making reports to the ACC will believe that no one will go unpunished for acts of corruption.”
In his first five years as Commissioner of the ACC, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., made tremendous gains in the fight against corruption, as the country recorded excellent scores in the ‘Control of Corruption’ indicator in the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard and 110 out of 180 countries surveyed in the 2022 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI), with a score of 34 above the Sub-Saharan average. The ACC also recovered public funds over 45 Billion (Old) Leones, a two-storey building and two Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles as part of the Commission’s Non-conviction based Asset Recovery approach. It conducted comprehensive systems and processes reviews in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), ensured effective and functional Integrity Management Committees in MDAs and robust public education and awareness raising campaigns nationwide.
On his re-appointment, Mr. Kaifala had this to say: “I thank His Excellency President Bio for the confidence reposed in me again, and promise that the fight against corruption will be fiercer and stronger in Sierra Leone."
Francis Ben Kaifala holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree with Honours from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone and was called to the Sierra Leone Bar in 2007 having passed the Sierra Leone Law School’s Bar Examinations. He holds the LL.M in International Financial Law and Economics from Queen Mary University of London, and LL.M in Comparative Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and International Human Rights Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He was Human Rights Scholar at the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Centre for Human Rights and Justice in the US; an Obama Africa Leader 2019 and Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu Fellow 2022.
His exceptional leadership and results earned him multiple local and international awards including, being honored by the Department of State of the United States of America as one of 12 Global “International Anti-corruption Champions” in 2021.
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PATRICK SANDI
