The triumphant return of former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma to Sierra Leone after more than two years in exile in Nigeria should have been a moment of unfiltered unity for the All People’s Congress (APC) party.
Instead, what unfolded at Lungi and in the days since has exposed the dangerous game of the APC Judas- the sycophants who chant his name in public while sharpening knives behind his back.
On September 6, Koroma landed to a sea of red, welcomed by loyal grassroots supporters and senior party figures. On September 7, he met President Julius Maada Bio at State House in a move for peace and national cohesion. Yet even before his plane touched down, fake press releases claiming he had endorsed the SLPP for 2028 and even fake death notices were circulating on WhatsApp – a clear sign of internal saboteurs desperate to distort his legacy.
Sources close to the former Chairman and Leader say the greatest threat to Koroma is no longer from State House, but from within the APC itself.
These are the same men who praised him as the “best leader ever” when the party won in 2007 and 2012, but were quick to brand him a “dictator surrounded by sycophants” after the 2018 and 2023 defeats. They are the career opportunists who used his name to win positions, then used his absence to auction the party’s soul.
“They smile and shout ‘EBK!’ for the cameras, but in closed rooms they are negotiating his political funeral,” said one veteran APC stalwart in Freetown who asked not to be named. “Dr. Koroma must be very vigilant. The Judas’ are no longer hiding.”
Political analysts warn that the pattern is repeating. While the loyal base still sees Koroma as the father of the modern APC who took the party from 5 seats in 1996 to State House, the sycophant wing is already positioning to use his return as a bargaining chip for personal appointments and 2028 tickets, not for party restoration.
The message from the grassroots is clear: Dr. Koroma, who sacrificed and built the APC into a national force, must now guard his inner circle. The cheers at the airport were real, but some of the loudest cheers came from the most dangerous mouths.
As the APC heads toward its critical elective cycle ahead of the 2028 elections, the old guard’s warning is simple: watch your back.