By David Yusuf Kabia, Public Relations Assistant, ACC

This year’s International Anti-Corruption (IAC) Day commemoration, which targeted Persons with Disability (PWDs) and those in the informal sector in the fight against corruption that took place on 9th December, 2022, was wrapped up by an interfaith thanksgiving prayer session that saw ordained Ministers of God fervently praying for the protection and success of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Once again, the ACC was able to successfully showcase Sierra Leone’s religious tolerance and beauty as Pastors and Imams from both the Christianity and Islam religions spoke with one voice in condemning corruption.

One of Sierra Leone’s servants of God, Bishop Julius K. Laggah of the Harvest Intercontinental Ministries, 2^nd Diocese, while delivering his sermon said “For you to be able to avoid corruption, you must first know God”, a statement which took him to several scriptural verses in the Holy Bible that condemn graft. What does knowing God means and how does that help one to better avoid corruption? To know God is to love Him first and to love Him is to do all that he has commanded us to do in the Holy Books.

The consistency in doing that which God requires of us is the submission that informs of our having integrity. The fight against corruption is fundamentally hinged on integrity. “Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. It is colloquially a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.” This definition captures honesty and truth as the core values one is expected to consistently uphold in order to attain uprightness which then reinforces the integrity in one.

Integrity also allows one to follow moral requirements, one of which is to condemn and avoid corruption. Corruption cannot be defined and discussed outside injustice and unfairness given that it is a conduct that deprives the enjoyment and fulfillment of life of others due to greed and selfishness.

The revered Man of God emphasized that man’s conscience remains the one place where the right decisions are first made before being implemented. The mind hatches plot and defuses evil temptation. Corruption is therefore a creature of man’s mind and conscience as expressed in 1 Timothy 6:5, “…and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain”.

Corruption as we know affects all facets of society. It kleptomania tentacles spread everywhere including the justice system. Bribery as in Section 34 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 (as amended in 2019) was shown by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as one of key tools that distorted the entire judiciary which contributed immensely to the outbreak of the decade long civil war. This sort of corruption is seriously condemned in the Bible when Deuteronomy 16:19 warns that “You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right”.

Bishop Julius K. Laggah’s statement was a passionate plea to all citizens of Sierra Leone to avoid corruption given its consequences as, according to Proverbs 10:9 “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.”

In line with the dictates of the Holy Quran, Sheik Hillal Amin Turay brilliantly added that, the foundation of corruption is when we use what is supposed to benefit others without their consent, for oneself regardless what the thing is. His sermon exposed the socio-economic destruction corruption causes given that those entrusted with those socio-economic structures lack the integrity and honesty to uphold required standards.

Sheikh Turay called on Sierra Leoneans to think about the generation that is yet to come in all we do, to ensure that conducts that could destroy this land are deleted using moral dictates. His sermon ended by noting that, according to Qur'an 2:251 “If corruption remains unchecked, socio-religious establishments such as Monastery, Churches, Synagogues and Mosques will be destroyed”.

It is worthy of note therefore, that God Himself rewards integrity. Examples of these are in the Bible and Quran. In the Bible in Nehemiah 5:14-19, Nehemiah was rewarded by God for reforming the civil service, and receiving no compensation for his own services.

In 1 Samuel 12:4, Samuel was rewarded for exacting nothing from the people for his services. Jacob was rewarded for returning money which had been placed in the sacks according to Genesis 43:12 “Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake”

The importance of prayer and drawing near to God cannot be overemphasized because without it, the Commission and staff would not be where we are today because James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”.

This year’s International Anti-Corruption (IAC) Day commemoration, which targeted Persons with Disability (PWDs) and those in the informal sector in the fight against corruption that took place on 9th December, 2022, was wrapped up by an interfaith thanksgiving prayer session that saw ordained Ministers of God fervently praying for the protection and success of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Once again, the ACC was able to successfully showcase Sierra Leone’s religious tolerance and beauty as Pastors and Imams from both the Christianity and Islam religions spoke with one voice in condemning corruption.

One of Sierra Leone’s servants of God, Bishop Julius K. Laggah of the Harvest Intercontinental Ministries, 2^nd Diocese, while delivering his sermon said “For you to be able to avoid corruption, you must first know God”, a statement which took him to several scriptural verses in the Holy Bible that condemn graft. What does knowing God means and how does that help one to better avoid corruption? To know God is to love Him first and to love Him is to do all that he has commanded us to do in the Holy Books.

The consistency in doing that which God requires of us is the submission that informs of our having integrity. The fight against corruption is fundamentally hinged on integrity. “Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. It is colloquially a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.” This definition captures honesty and truth as the core values one is expected to consistently uphold in order to attain uprightness which then reinforces the integrity in one.

Integrity also allows one to follow moral requirements, one of which is to condemn and avoid corruption. Corruption cannot be defined and discussed outside injustice and unfairness given that it is a conduct that deprives the enjoyment and fulfillment of life of others due to greed and selfishness.

The revered Man of God emphasized that man’s conscience remains the one place where the right decisions are first made before being implemented. The mind hatches plot and defuses evil temptation. Corruption is therefore a creature of man’s mind and conscience as expressed in 1 Timothy 6:5, “…and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain”.

Corruption as we know affects all facets of society. It kleptomania tentacles spread everywhere including the justice system. Bribery as in Section 34 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 (as amended in 2019) was shown by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as one of key tools that distorted the entire judiciary which contributed immensely to the outbreak of the decade long civil war. This sort of corruption is seriously condemned in the Bible when Deuteronomy 16:19 warns that “You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right”.

Bishop Julius K. Laggah’s statement was a passionate plea to all citizens of Sierra Leone to avoid corruption given its consequences as, according to Proverbs 10:9 “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.”

In line with the dictates of the Holy Quran, Sheik Hillal Amin Turay brilliantly added that, the foundation of corruption is when we use what is supposed to benefit others without their consent, for oneself regardless what the thing is. His sermon exposed the socio-economic destruction corruption causes given that those entrusted with those socio-economic structures lack the integrity and honesty to uphold required standards.

Sheikh Turay called on Sierra Leoneans to think about the generation that is yet to come in all we do, to ensure that conducts that could destroy this land are deleted using moral dictates. His sermon ended by noting that, according to Qur'an 2:251 “If corruption remains unchecked, socio-religious establishments such as Monastery, Churches, Synagogues and Mosques will be destroyed”.

It is worthy of note therefore, that God Himself rewards integrity. Examples of these are in the Bible and Quran. In the Bible in Nehemiah 5:14-19, Nehemiah was rewarded by God for reforming the civil service, and receiving no compensation for his own services.

In 1 Samuel 12:4, Samuel was rewarded for exacting nothing from the people for his services. Jacob was rewarded for returning money which had been placed in the sacks according to Genesis 43:12 “Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake”

The importance of prayer and drawing near to God cannot be overemphasized because without it, the Commission and staff would not be where we are today because James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”.