He left for medical treatment two years ago, facing serious treason charges - now he's on his way back.

So, big news out of Sierra Leone this weekend.

Former President Ernest Bai Koroma is set to return home after more than two years in Nigeria, and it's all because those treason charges linked to the failed 2023 coup have been dropped.

If you remember, Koroma led the country from 2007 to 2018 before heading to Nigeria in 2024, just days after being charged over that deadly uprising in November 2023. At the time, judicial authorities said he could stay for three months for medical treatment, but that three months turned into over two years away.

The whole case stems from that chaotic night in November 2023 when armed attackers stormed a military armoury, two barracks, two prisons and two police stations. Twenty-one people were killed, and hundreds of prisoners escaped before security forces regained control. The government called it an attempted coup. Two dozen soldiers and Koroma's former bodyguard were later handed prison terms of 50 to 100 years by a military court.

Then in July this year, Sierra Leone's justice ministry quietly dropped the charges against him - no reason given.

Vice President Mohamed Jukdeh Jalloh broke the news on Friday at a gathering in Makeni, Koroma's stronghold, saying in a video posted to Facebook: “In the spirit of peace and national cohesion, the former president Dr Ernest Bai Koroma will return to the country this weekend.”

Interestingly, this isn't his first time back since the charges were dropped - he popped back briefly in July for the ECOWAS summit at the invitation of President Julius Maada Bio.

And with presidential elections looming in 2028, the timing is certainly one to watch.

Attribution: Story via cbinews.tv

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