By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter D.S.
More than 850 former employees of Koidu Limited have launched a class-action suit in the High Court of Sierra Leone, seeking $36.9 million in alleged unpaid wages tied to a dispute over exchange-rate calculations.
Lead counsel Janisa E.F. Momodu told Justice Tonya Barnett that workers who contracted in US dollars were paid in local currency at a rate significantly below the official Bank of Sierra Leone figure. Court documents indicate that February and March 2025 payslips showed monthly payments of NLe16,726 roughly 30 percent of what the claimants say they should have received.
Using the Bank of Sierra Leone’s 2025 exchange rate of 22.66 leones to the dollar, Momodu said the correct monthly pay would have been about NLe58,281.52. The claim covers underpayments alleged to have occurred from 2019 through 2025 and seeks back pay, NASSIT contributions, interest, and damages for breach of contract.
The action follows labour unrest at the Kono diamond operator. Workers staged strikes in December 2024 over salary arrangements; the company subsequently suspended operations and dismissed more than 1,000 staff. Industry sources estimate Koidu’s annual diamond exports at roughly $100 million, meaning the plaintiffs’ claim would represent a substantial contingent liability if the court accepts their exchange-rate approach.
Momodu argued that any unilateral reduction of contractual wages without consent is impermissible, citing relevant precedent from the UK House of Lords and Section 54 of Sierra Leone’s Employment Act, 2023, which prohibits wrongful deductions from wages. She further alleged the company was unjustly enriched by retaining amounts due to employees and said an undisclosed side agreement offered by the defendant did not justify the shortfall.
Defence counsel Drucil Taylor asked for time to review the case files and indicated an intention to file a counter-summons against all plaintiffs.
Justice Barnett adjourned the matter to March 18, 2026, when the court will consider how to manage a consolidated case involving hundreds of claimants against one of Sierra Leone’s largest foreign investors.
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