Isha Johansen is set to continue in per post as the Sierra Leone FA President after the High Court in Freetown on Monday cleared her of corruption and mismanagement charges levelled against her by the government.
Johansen and FA Secretary General, Chris Kamara were acquitted and discharged after the government-backed Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) accused them of graft.
The pair were facing three counts of corruption brought by Sierra Leone’s Anti Corruption Commission, which has set aside both Johansen and Kamara from their SLFA posts.
However Justice Reginald Fynn pronounced the duo not guilty of the charges and set them free from the court case that has halted Sierra football for more than one year.
The ruling will pave the way for Johansen to regain control of the federation and for the FIFA ban on the country to be lifted.
The ACC said during the standoff that under Sierra Leone law, both Johansen and Kamara must vacate their posts until their case on corruption-related charges concludes.
Now the court’s verdict will bring life into the country’s game following the worldwide ban by FIFA that prevented them from playing in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Johansen and FA Secretary General, Chris Kamara were on trial following allegations of corruption and mismanagement – a claim they vehemently reject.
The two officials have denied any wrongdoing referring to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) push as “political interference” into the running of football which FIFA is opposed to.
The stand-off has halted the game in the country and Fifa has said that it will only consider lifting the suspension after the case against the top SLFA officials is concluded in court.
During the standoff Fifa recognised Johansen as SLFA president while the ACC made vice-president Brima Mazola Kamara and assistant secretary general Abdul Rahman Swarray, the men in charge.
This led to the suspension was imposed by Fifa, because of third party interference in the running of the SLFA with the action of the ACC considered as an interference in the sport by government.
It led to Sierra Leone’s Africa Cup of Nations back-to-back qualifiers with Ghana in October being cancelled.
Source:WQires
