Sierra Leone former vice president, ex-mines minister arrested on corruption charges

Sierra Leone’s former Vice-President Victor Bockarie Foh (C, front row) and Ghanian Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia (2-R, front row) visit the mudslide site at Regent, Sierra Leone August 19, 2017. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Sierra Leone’s former Vice President Victor Foh and former Mines Minister Minkailu Mansaray were arrested on Thursday on charges of alleged corruption, a spokesman for the West African country’s anti-corruption commission said.

The arrests come the day after a separate commission appointed by President Julius Maada Bio alleged that corruption was “rampant” under his predecessor Ernest Koroma, including the theft of state property and the funnelling of state contracts to officials’ relatives and close friends.