By:Mohamed A. Kabba, Public Education Officer
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has engaged the management and personnel of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service (SLCS) on ethical standards and the risks associated with systemic corruption in public sector institutions. The engagement was held on Tuesday 27th January 2026 at the SLCS’s Conference Room in Bo.
Speaking at the meeting, ACC’s Regional Manager, South, Mohamed Tomboyekeh, catalogued a number of illegal practices that continue to stifle the operational efficacy of public sector institutions. Mr Tomboyekeh reflected on the troubling trends of administrative lapses that directly undermine the state’s ability to provide humane conditions for inmates as captured in the Auditor General’s Report of 2024.
He highlighted discrepancies in dietary supply, significant short deliveries of rice and protein, missing store ledgers, non-remittance of funds from correctional workshops, payment of "ghost" risk allowances to individuals not on the active-duty roster and are thorny systemic accountability issues which the ACC is committed to work with the SLCS’s management to set up effective prevention system to address these anomalies. He stated that engagement of such nature was not designed to witch-hunt public institutions but rather to mitigate illegal practices, strengthen internal control measures and enhance transparency and accountability through constructive dialogue.
ACC’s Senior Public Education Officer, Abdulai Saccoh, explained a number of provisions and their legal consequences as stated in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 as amended in 2019. Saccoh admonished the personnel to desist from any irregularities that do not only breach public trust but also compromise ethical standards and procedures.
He also informed the participants of the new Whistleblower and Witness Protection Regulations, 2025 developed to protect corruption complainants and strengthen the anti-corruption campaign.
Earlier, Regional Commander, South, Sierra Leone Correctional Service, Sylvanus James, assured the Commission of his leadership's commitment to roll out internal reforms, stating that the facility is currently reviewing its administrative protocols to ensure that the issues captured in the Auditor General’s Report 2024, are treated with utmost importance. He guaranteed ACC that SLCS is prepared to cooperate fully with the ACC to set up systems so that Correctional Centres in the Southern Region become a model of transparency and accountability.
In his statement, ACC’s Public Education Officer, Mohamed A. Kabba, said that public education engagements represent the Commission’s conscious efforts to mainstream accountability measures in the operations of public institutions, reiterating that such engagement can provide a clear roadmap to restore institutional integrity and accountability.
A question-and-answer session and the presentation of information, education and communication material formed part of the meeting.
