By Rose Aba Akafo

Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) has launched an investigation into allegations of visa fraud surrounding former ECOWAS speaker Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis.

It follows the refusal of Tunis’s visa request following questioning from a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown about a certain Chapator Bah, who was allegedly presented in 2023 as executive assistant to Tunis during his tenure as ECOWAS speaker.

Bah, whose visa application was reportedly submitted under the same note verbale as that of Tunis, failed to return to Sierra Leone after travelling to the U.S.

Tunis clarified that he had never known anyone named Chapator Bah and never had such a person as his executive assistant.

He described the situation as an embarrassment to his reputation and integrity, as well as to the image of Sierra Leone and the ECOWAS Parliament.

“I consider such allegation to be very serious, as it borders not only on my reputation and integrity, but on the image of the state of Sierra Leone as well as that of the ECOWAS Parliament,” he said.

The ministry on Sept. 5 acknowledged Tunis’s complaint. It said an internal committee has been set up to urgently investigate the matter, and to review existing processes and safeguards for the preparation, authorisation and transmission of official correspondence, including visa requests.

Fritong Post understands that a substantial number of applicants listed as part of the government’s delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York this September had their visa requests turned down by the embassy.

Jackie Moore, public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, refused to comment on the matter “due to privacy concerns.”