The Vice-President of Sierra Leone Samuel Sam-Sumana\u00a0has sought political asylum from the United States embassy after soldiers reportedly circled his residence.<\/p>\n
Mr. Sam-Sumana, who confirmed the news to the BBC, fled with his wife to the embassy, although it is yet to be determined whether the pair are inside.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”UrlO4m8HclQxUU2aDBJiR3cuwojcPVSI”]The developments come a week after Sam-Sumana was expelled from the ruling party, the All People’s Congress \u00a0and hust a fortnight after he put himself in quarantine following the death of one of his bodyguards from the Ebola virus.<\/p>\n
The decision to expel the Vice President was made after a meeting of the party’s National Advisory Council, according to the national broadcaster, the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation.<\/p>\n
Sam-Sumana was accused of “orchestrating political violence” and trying to form a new party in his home district of Kono.<\/p>\n
He was also accused of falsifying his academic credentials.<\/p>\n
He has since rejected the claims, describing them as “baseless fabrications and lies” – and rejected calls for his resignation.<\/p>\n
Police and army sources confirmed to the BBC that troops were sent to the vice-president’s residence on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
They said the troops were dispatched to withdraw Mr Sam-Sumana’s security detail, but would not say whose orders they were acting on.<\/p>\n
Sam-Sumana\u00a0told the AP news agency by phone that he didn’t “feel safe this morning as vice-president” and revealed that he had\u00a0spoken to US Ambassador John Hoover and was waiting for a response.<\/p>\n
US embassy spokeswoman Hollyn Green said embassy officials, including Mr Hoover, had “seen the news” but could not provide any reaction.<\/p>\n
“There is no comment at the moment and there is no action on our part,” Ms Green told AP.<\/p>\n
Under Sierra Leone’s constitution the Vice-President cannot be sacked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By: Edwin Kwakofi\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Vice-President of Sierra Leone Samuel Sam-Sumana\u00a0has sought political asylum from the United States embassy after soldiers reportedly circled his residence. Mr. Sam-Sumana, who confirmed the news to the BBC, fled with his wife to the embassy, although it is yet to be determined whether the pair are inside. [contextly_sidebar id=”UrlO4m8HclQxUU2aDBJiR3cuwojcPVSI”]The developments come a week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":99444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\n