By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
The political season within the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) is heating up long before the race for the flagbearer officially opens. But nothing has caused more shockwaves within the SLPP than the recent intervention by former Secretary General Sulaiman Banja Tejan Sie. His remarks were not only bold but brutally clarifying. For years, ambitious figures have bulldozed their way around the party whispering entitlement, showcasing proximity to State House, and marketing themselves as inevitable successors. But Mr Tejan Sie’s words have punctured the bubble of fantasy surrounding many of these self-appointed heirs to the throne.
The stone he dropped into the pond has created ripples across the entire party structure. For the first time in years, someone has publicly reminded the country that the SLPP is governed by a constitution not by emotions, relationships, media noise, or marital access to political power.
And his clarification was devastating for some of the loudest aspirants. With the precision of a surgeon, he pulled the conversation out of the realm of entitlement and dragged it back to the written clauses of the SLPP constitution. A constitution that many conveniently pretend to understand while privately hoping no one ever reads it aloud.
Standing firm and unflinching, he delivered the words that reshaped the conversation: “To run for the SLPP flagbearer, you must have been a continuous and uninterrupted member of the party and must have served for at least five consecutive years as a Grand Chief Patron. These are not optional conditions. They are mandatory constitutional requirements.”
With that single reminder, several political dreams evaporated instantly.
The most rattled among them is Dr Kandeh Yumkella. After abandoning the party during its moment of greatest internal turmoil, he only returned to the SLPP in 2024 following the end of the controversial 2023 elections. His re-entry into the party may have generated headlines, but constitutionally it placed him miles away from qualification. Even if he donates a million dollars today and is declared a Grand Chief Patron, the clock does not begin retroactively. Five consecutive years means five full years. No shortcuts. No emotional discounts. No strategic interpretation. No political deodorant can mask the smell of constitutional truth.
Then comes the curious case of Mrs. Fatima Jabbie Bio. Unable to suppress her growing political appetite, she has been desperately pushing the narrative that the Secretary General is the head of the party and the most important position. This is not accidental. It is because the Secretary General, as widely whispered, is firmly in her purse, which she considers her political stronghold in any internal SLPP fight. Unfortunately for her, the SLPP is not structured like a personal foundation or a cinematic charity. And it certainly is not designed around marital influence or social media presence. Her persistent claims collapse instantly under constitutional scrutiny. In the first place, she is not constitutionally eligible to run for the flagbearer position. The position requires Sierra Leonean citizenship and a continuous membership record, requirements she simply cannot meet after publicly identifying herself as Gambian. So while she blows the wind across the political skies, the constitution stands like a mountain unmoved.
Meanwhile, there are others whose delusions of grandeur persist despite the boundaries of reality. Former Chairman John Oponjo Benjamin, for instance, has long believed that leadership of the SLPP is his unfinished destiny. He has a record, a network, and a reputation for fearlessness. And unlike the latecomers, he does not face constitutional hurdles. But to assume entitlement is a mistake. The SLPP is not a monarchy. It is not a dynasty. It is a democratic institution that requires validation from delegates whose political antennas are far more sensitive than many pretend.
And even more interesting is the subtle but unmistakable entry of Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh into the fray. Whether his team admits it or not, he is already in a two-horse race. His political footprint, national visibility, and party loyalty place him in a category that very few can legitimately challenge. In a field of noise, he is one of the few whose candidacy is not anchored on controversy or manipulation of constitutional interpretation.
Yet, while people like Dr Alie Kabba, Dr Alpha Osman Timba, and the young but ambitious Lawrence Leeman technically qualify based on their years of membership and status as Grand Chief Patrons, their popularity remains a major stumbling block. They are, in truth, overshadowed by the gravitational pull of John Benjamin and the Vice President. These two have already emerged as the natural focal points of the coming battle.
But the one who has most disastrously miscalculated his moment is Lawrence Leeman. His recent public pronouncements have reopened the deepest and most painful wounds in Sierra Leone’s recent political history. Instead of lying low and allowing time to fade the memory of the prisoners who died under questionable circumstances during what he labeled a prison break, he has jumped back into the national spotlight. And rather than seeking reconciliation, he has inadvertently reminded the families of the victims of the August 9th and 10th 2022 events. These are wounds that are still desperately seeking closure, not political provocation. His reappearance on the stage is not only ill-timed but politically reckless.
The truth the SLPP must confront is simple. Too many people within the party have developed an exaggerated sense of entitlement. They speak as though leadership is an inheritance and not a contest. They believe visibility equals qualification. They behave as if proximity to the president is a constitutional right. And above all, they assume that the party is a personal playground where rules can be twisted to fit personal ambitions.
But the SLPP constitution does not bend for individuals. It does not adjust for convenience. It does not care about personal relationships, marriages, donor status, celebrity influence, or social media theatrics.
It is written. And what is written stands.
Another major clarification that many conveniently ignore is the structure of power within the SLPP. The head of the party is the National Chairman, not the Secretary General. This distinction is fundamental. The Secretary General is the chief administrator, not the supreme political authority. To present the Secretary General as the head of the party, as Mrs. Fatima Bio has been aggressively doing, is either a display of ignorance or a deliberate attempt to mislead the public for personal gain. The SLPP is not and has never been a communist-styled hierarchy like the All People’s Congress (APC) under Siaka Stevens, where the Secretary General once wielded unbridled power. In the SLPP, authority is more balanced, democratic, and constitutionally grounded.
So, when Mr Sulaiman Banja Tejan Sie reminded the nation of the true qualifications for leadership, he did more than explain a clause. He restored sanity to a debate that had been hijacked by ego, ambition, and emotional propaganda. He became the single voice of constitutional order in a season of political hallucination.
And whether his message is welcomed or not, the truth remains: the SLPP is entering a decisive moment. For the first time in years, the coming flagbearer race will be shaped not by noise, not by wealth, not by social media, not by marital power, and not by entitlement, but by the constitution.
This is the reckoning many have feared, but it is the reckoning the SLPP desperately needs.