Freetown, Sierra Leone – December 15, 2025: The High Court of Sierra Leone has convicted and sentenced the former Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Roads Safety Authority (SLRSA), Dr. Sarah Finda Bendu, and the institution’s Procurement Manager, Victor Labor, for corruption offences. The judgment was delivered by Honourable Justice Cosmotina Jarrett at the Law Courts Building in Freetown.
Convictions and Sentences
Dr. Bendu was found guilty on all eight counts brought against her by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). She was sentenced to three years imprisonment on each count, or alternatively to pay fines of thirty million old Leones per count, amounting to 240 million old Leones in total.
Victor Labor was convicted on six counts, acquitted on one, and sentenced to three years imprisonment on each count, or fines of thirty million old Leones per count, totaling 180 million old Leones.
Both convicts were further ordered to pay 697,000 new Leones in restitution and were disqualified from holding public office for three years.
Charges and Evidence
The two were jointly charged on six counts, including conspiracy to commit corruption, failure to comply with financial procedures, misappropriation of public funds, and failure to follow procurement procedures, contrary to the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008.
Between January 2016 and December 2017, the defendants misappropriated public funds amounting to over two billion old Leones, including excess payments to clearing agencies such as Centrium Clearing Agency for the procurement of trucks and other items.
Evidence presented included testimony from Kepiatu Algali, a co-accused who pleaded guilty early in the trial. Algali, who was not an employee of SLRSA but acted as an intermediary, was sentenced separately and later used as a prosecution witness.
Court’s Ruling
Justice Jarrett ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the convicts “willfully participated and benefitted from the diversion of funds.” She described their actions as deliberate and sustained criminal conduct over a two-year period.
Lawyer M.S. Bangura represented Dr. Bendu, while Lawyer H.M. Gavao defended Victor Labor.
The ruling underscores the judiciary’s commitment to tackling corruption and enforcing accountability within Sierra Leone’s public institutions.