A High Court in Freetown has convicted and fined two former senior officials of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority for the misappropriation of more than Le 2 billion in public funds.
The former Executive Director, Sarah Finda Bendu, and the agency’s Procurement Manager, Victor Labour, were found guilty by the High Court in Freetown of multiple corruption-related offences linked to payments for services that were never carried out.
The pair were prosecuted by the Anti-Corruption Commission on charges including misappropriation of public funds, conspiracy, and breaches of procurement and financial regulations. The offences took place between 2016 and 2017 and involved payments made to two clearing and forwarding companies without legitimate work being done.
Passing sentence on Tuesday, Justice Cosmotina Jarrett ordered each of the convicted officials to pay fines of NLe 30,000 on every count, or serve three years in prison for each offence, with any custodial terms to run concurrently. Ms Bendu was convicted on eight counts, while Mr Labour was convicted on six.
The judge said the case revealed a sustained and deliberate abuse of public office over almost two years. She noted that Ms Bendu, as executive director and vote controller, authorised unlawful payments, while Mr Labour processed documentation that facilitated the diversion of state funds.
While acknowledging that both were first-time offenders with family responsibilities, Justice Jarrett stressed that corruption within public institutions erodes public confidence and weakens governance.
The court also ordered each convict to repay Le 697,245,506.96 , equivalent to one-third of the misappropriated funds — within six months. Both were further barred from holding public office for a period of three years.
