By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
A deadly reality grips Sierra Leone. Kush, the synthetic drug poisoning our nation’s youth, has turned into a national tragedy. Families are broken, communities shattered, and the country’s future hangs in the balance. Amid this, President Julius Maada Bio has shown compassion and resolve, confronting the crisis head on. Yet it is disturbing that Chief Minister David Moinina Sengeh, instead of matching the President’s urgency, seems trapped in denial and political showmanship.
During his visit to the Harmful Drug Rehabilitation Facility at Hastings, President Bio was deeply moved by the sight of victims, young men and women whose lives had been ravaged by addiction. He met families desperate for help and listened to the stories of pain and recovery. His words echoed across the nation, “We are witnessing the destructive consequences of Kush on our country’s very foundation, our young people.” He vowed, “We will take the fight to the dealers, the distributors and the consumers, because death must not be for sale in Sierra Leone.”
The President’s visit was not a photo opportunity. It was a declaration of war against those profiting from misery. Immediately after the visit, he met with ministers, law enforcement, civil society, mental health specialists, community and religious leaders to coordinate a comprehensive strategy. The focus was clear: enforce supply control, promote prevention, increase rehabilitation capacity, strengthen data driven responses, and mobilise families, churches, mosques, youth groups and traditional leaders.
The Hastings visit symbolised hope, compassion and leadership. Yet, while the President was acting with urgency, David Sengeh and others in high office appeared more interested in rhetoric than results. The Chief Minister’s public statements often downplay the crisis, wrapped in comforting but hollow words about stakeholder engagement. He has failed to match his words with visible action or urgency.
Let us be honest, the Kush epidemic is not a social inconvenience, it is a war against the nation’s soul. The youth who should be driving progress are instead wasting away. Rehabilitation centres are overwhelmed, hospitals are flooded with addicts, and police reports reveal a surge in drug related crimes. Every corner of the country tells a story of devastation.
Sengeh once outlined a four pronged approach, supply reduction, demand reduction, capacity building and research. Yet beyond speeches, nothing concrete has been implemented. Denial in the face of disaster is dangerous. While he holds endless meetings and issues circulars, the drug trade grows more sophisticated, the addicts more desperate, and communities more hopeless.
Even more troubling is the attitude of the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Sengepoh Thomas, who has been openly downplaying the scourge of Kush and Tramadol. Instead of joining hands with the President to combat this crisis, he has referred to those advocating against these dangerous drugs as witches who are bent on bringing the image of our country into disrepute. Such reckless remarks insult the pain of victims, belittle the suffering of families, and undermine the collective effort needed to save our youth from destruction.
President Bio, in contrast, has recognised the urgency. “Death for sale will not stand in our nation,” he said. His actions show empathy, but also firmness. He has sent a clear message that the government’s responsibility is to act, not talk. But for this fight to succeed, every official must stand with him, not work at cross purposes.
Denial from top officials fuels complacency. When the Chief Minister and Speaker of Parliament politicise the crisis instead of confronting it, they weaken the moral resolve needed to win this war. By framing Kush as a manageable issue instead of a national emergency, they embolden the dealers who thrive on chaos and despair.
Kush has become a trade of death. Its cheap price makes it accessible to the poor and unemployed, and its effects destroy both mind and body. Those who sell and supply it have turned entire communities into laboratories of suffering. The government’s failure to respond with unified strength amounts to complicity.
President Bio’s approach must be the national standard, bold, compassionate, and unrelenting. He has already brought together ministries, police, military, and public health to strengthen coordination. What remains is execution. The government must intensify arrests and prosecutions, establish more rehabilitation centres across all regions, and work hand in hand with local authorities, churches and mosques to identify victims early and save them from collapse.
Community engagement is the missing link. Faith based institutions, churches and mosques, must use their pulpits to speak against Kush. Parents must rebuild communication with their children. Schools should introduce anti-drug education programmes. Chiefs and local councils must report dealers and protect youth from the grip of addiction. The crisis demands a moral revolution, not mere bureaucracy.
Chief Minister Sengeh must wake up. The President has set the tone for decisive leadership, and it is his duty to follow it, not derail it. His office should be the engine coordinating inter-ministerial action, ensuring funds are released, data is collected, and results are visible. Yet instead, he seems more concerned with defending his reputation than defending the nation’s youth.
If Sengeh continues in denial, history will remember him as the man who spoke when silence was needed, and stayed silent when action was demanded. His role should not be to downplay the problem but to lead from the front. This is not a time for politics; it is a time for national salvation.
When President Bio walked the corridors of Hastings, he saw a generation on the brink. He saw the pain of mothers who had lost sons, the despair of fathers who had buried their children, and the trembling of young men and women fighting for redemption. He offered them hope, declaring that the state would not abandon them. That is leadership. That is what Sierra Leone needs from everyone in power.
Dr Sengeh must understand that meetings and statements cannot heal a nation in crisis. The people need action, visible, aggressive, coordinated action. He must align himself with the President’s war on Kush or step aside for those ready to fight. There can be no middle ground between saving lives and protecting political pride.
Death is now being traded in Sierra Leone, and silence is its accomplice. President Bio has drawn the line. He has shown compassion to the victims and courage against the perpetrators. Now every arm of government must rally behind him to end this trade of death. The Chief Minister must choose whether to be remembered as the architect of denial or a partner in redemption.
The nation is watching. The youth are dying. And history will not forgive those who had the power to act but chose instead to look away.