Sierra Leone’s Vice-President, Samuel Sam-Sumana, has been sacked for seeking political asylum in a foreign embassy, the president’s office said on Wednesday.
President Ernest Bai Koroma said the Vice President was sacked because he had “abandoned” his duties.
On Saturday, March 14, Sam-Sumana said he had asked for asylum in the US because his life was in danger. It is unclear whether the constitution gives the president the power to dismiss his deputy.
The governing council of the All People’s Congress had earlier expelled Sam-Sumana after accusing him of fuelling violence, and trying to form a breakaway party in his home district of Kono. He denied the allegations.
The dispute between the president and Sam-Sumana has raised fears about the future stability of Sierra Leone.
The country has been badly affected by the Ebola outbreak in the region, and is still battling to recover from a civil war, which ended in 2002.
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