By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC
The Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., has revealed to the media the serious acts of corruption allegedly perpetrated by the President of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) Thomas Daddy Brima and his Executive. He made the revelations at a press conference held at the Commission’s Integrity House, Tower Hill, Freetown, on Friday 4th April 2024.
The ACC Commissioner said that the Commission’s investigations, which began six months ago, uncovered alleged misappropriation of funds allocated to the SLFA. The investigations, he said, showed unauthorized withdrawals and a lack of requisite supporting documents for transactions amounting to a staggering 720,144 US dollars and 498,200 (new) leones.
Commissioner Kaifala highlighted a blatant disregard for procurement procedures, citing a 527,000 US dollars contract awarded to Lexons Company for the renovation of the Technical Centre in Kingtom without due process. He also revealed another 50,000 US dollars contract awarded to Alcon Construction and Engineering Services, reportedly lacking justifications.
In a startling revelation, the Commissioner said that Bun Tejan Doherty and Co., the supposed auditors of Lexons Company, denied preparing the financial statements used by Lexons to win the contract. They claimed that their stamp and signatures were forged and that they had never done any work for the company. Despite these red flags, the SLFA failed to question or verify the authenticity of the documents submitted.
Further, he disclosed that the owner of Lexons Company confessed to forging NASSIT receipts for the contract bid, a discrepancy that went unquestioned by the SLFA. When confronted with the issue of the signing of the 527,000 US dollars contract without due diligence, the SLFA president shifted responsibility to the Procurement Committee but could not name any of its members, he added.
The ACC Commissioner said the Commission uncovered suspected bid-rigging, particularly in the procurement of motorcycles, where the evaluation process favoured the second-lowest bidder without sufficient reasons for bypassing the lowest bidder.
The Commissioner disclosed that in 2021, an amount of 17,400 US dollars was transferred to the account of Castlenton Roads Commodities, a business owned by the SLFA President. To date, he said, both the Procurement and Finance Officers have failed to explain the reason for the transfer or provide any supporting documents.
He said between 2021 and 2025, several payments were reportedly made to the SLFA president, which the Finance Officer claimed were refunds for pre-financing of SLFA activities. However, Commissioner Kaifala stated that no proper documentation was submitted to justify these payments. He added that significant refunds were made without any accompanying evidence or approval from relevant SLFA officials.
“We observed that there were no traces of any transfers into Thomas Daddy Brima’s personal account at Commerce and Mortgage Bank, except funds received from the SLFA account. His account often had either low or zero balances, with SLFA funds being the only significant inflows,” the Commissioner noted.
Commissioner Kaifala also addressed the SLFA president’s claim of acting under Section 38 of the SLFA Statute, which he interpreted as granting him unilateral powers to act. The Commissioner emphasized that the ACC strongly disagrees with this interpretation, pointing out that specific financial regulations provide procedures that cannot be overridden by general statutory provisions.
Commissioner Kaifala acknowledged the nation’s love for football, noting that the President of Sierra Leone has prioritized the sport by providing significant funding, averaging $1 million per game.
The Commissioner confirmed that bail has been granted to the SLFA President and other executive members who were detained during the course of the investigation.
Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of the ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie, welcomed members of the press and encouraged them to continue to support the work of the Commission. He assured them that the ACC’s doors will always be open to members of the media and the public who intend to seek any information related to the work of the Commission.