Episode 7 – Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara: When the Silence Becomes Too Loud
By Dr. Doma
Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, JFK. A name you can’t just brush off in Sierra Leone’s political space. He has held serious offices: former Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under President Ernest Bai Koroma and Deputy Prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
His CV is heavy.
His suits are clean.
His voice is calm, but here’s the thing does a big résumé automatically mean big leadership? Or is JFK just another polished insider who played it safe when the country needed bold action?
Let’s go back, as ACC boss JFK started with fire some big arrests, some movement were made.
But truth be told, how many of those cases ended with real punishment?
How many actually shook the system? Corruption didn’t stop. It only shifted hands.
People watched and waited, but after all the noise, the so-called “fight against corruption” looked more like a carefully rehearsed play.
No real disruption, just managed appearances.
Then came his time as Attorney General.
Another big seat, another big opportunity, but again where was the boldness?
When Sierra Leoneans cried out for justice, for reforms, for real accountability, JFK often stayed quiet. Too quiet. Silence in the face of injustice isn’t neutrality it’s complicity.
And when decisions had to be made that affected real people,journalists, opposition voices and citizens trying to speak truth to power—whose side did the legal system take? Was it really blind justice?
Or was it political convenience?
Let’s not sugarcoat it. JFK is part of the old guard.
He’s been in the rooms where deals were made and silence was bought.
He didn’t create the problems, no, but did he challenge them? Did he ever break ranks to stand with the people instead of just protecting the image of the government he served?
If we’re being honest, JFK was more about maintaining the status quo than shaking it up.
Now he wants to lead, lead where?
Back into comfortable suits and courtroom language?
Or into the gritty reality of a broken country where youths are getting high to survive and families eat once a day if they’re lucky?
Sierra Leone needs more than a resume.
We need courage, clarity and connection which JFK may have experience, but does he have the fire? Can he step out of his diplomatic bubble and walk in the dust with real people? Can he own up to the times he stayed silent when he should’ve spoken up?
Leadership is not about how long you’ve served in high office.
It’s about what you stood for while you were there.
And in JFK’s case, the record is mixed at best.
Some will say he’s clean.
That’s fine. But in a country where people are dying from poor healthcare, failed education and rising frustration, “clean” isn’t enough.
We need leaders who carry scars from standing up for the voiceless not just polished reputations.
Dear APC delegates, don’t get carried away by titles.
JFK is no saint. He’s no villain either. But don’t let your respect for the past cloud your vision for the future. Ask the hard questions:
• Where was JFK when the system cracked under his watch?
• What did he build that still stands today?
• And is he ready to fight for the people now or just keep managing the status quo?
This is not the time for courtroom politicians.
It’s time for leaders with backbone, not just briefcases.
Choose with your conscience. Not with sentiment.
Because if you get this wrong again, Sierra Leone won’t just lose another election we’ll lose the last hope many have left.
