A High Court in Freetown has handed down sentences to the former Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), Sarah Finda Bendu, and the Authority’s Procurement Manager, Victor Labour, following their conviction on several corruption-related charges involving more than Le2 billion in public funds.
The two were prosecuted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on counts including misappropriation of public funds, conspiracy, and breaches of procurement and financial regulations.
The court found that the offences, committed between 2016 and 2017, arose from payments made to two clearing and forwarding companies for services that were never properly rendered.
In her ruling delivered on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, High Court Judge Justice Cosmotina Jarrett fined each convict NLe30,000 on every count, with an alternative of three years’ imprisonment per count in default of payment.
The prison terms, if enforced, are to run concurrently. Bendu was found guilty on eight counts, while Labour was convicted on six.
Justice Jarrett described the offences as part of a calculated and prolonged abuse of office, noting that the scheme spanned almost two years. She held that Bendu, in her role as Executive Director and Vote Controller, authorised the unlawful payments, while Labour processed and endorsed the documentation that allowed the funds to be diverted.
Although the court took into account mitigation pleas that both convicts were first-time offenders with family responsibilities, Justice Jarrett emphasised that corruption within public institutions gravely weakens governance and erodes public confidence.
Beyond the fines, the court ordered each convict to refund Le697,245,506.96, representing one-third of the misappropriated sum, within six months as restitution to the state. Both Bendu and Labour were also barred from holding any public office for a period of three years.
