Analysis Examines Political Sycophancy and Accountability in Sierra Leone

An analysis published by The Sierra Leone Telegraph has examined the effects of political sycophancy, uncritical praise and shifting allegiance on governance and public institutions in Sierra Leone.

Written by Yoni Emmanuel Sesay and published on 12 November 2026, the analysis considers political developments under former President Ernest Bai Koroma and President Julius Maada Bio. It argues that personal loyalty can be mistaken for public service, while agreement with those in power may be treated as evidence of wisdom or competence.

Political loyalty and changing alliances

Sesay describes a political environment in which access to power can become a qualification in itself. He refers to praise as a form of currency, loyalty as an investment and continued inclusion as something that may depend on silence.

In discussing Koroma’s decade in office, the analysis says ministers, advisers, party officials and beneficiaries of political patronage surrounded the presidency. It also argues that criticism was sometimes presented as hostility toward Koroma, the APC or the country.

The author says the political realignment that followed the 2018 election saw some figures associated with Koroma’s political establishment find accommodation in the new political order, while others moved toward the SLPP. The analysis does not identify the individuals involved.

Sesay stresses that changing political parties is not automatically dishonourable, noting that political convictions can change and parties can abandon principles. The concern, he says, arises when support is driven primarily by the preservation of political favour rather than independent judgment.

The role of praise and social media

The analysis distinguishes enthusiastic political support from sycophancy by asking whether a person’s judgment remains independent. It introduces the phrase “the invisible sycophant” to describe people who publicly defend a political leader without necessarily holding government office, receiving a contract or having a personal relationship with the president.

Sesay also warns that social media can make support appear broader than it is. Repeated online messages may be mistaken for public consensus, while visibility on digital platforms may be interpreted as evidence of popularity or the national mood. No polling or other quantitative evidence is presented in the analysis to measure public opinion.

Drawing on Niccolò Machiavelli’s discussion of flatterers in Chapter XXIII of The Prince, the author argues that a leader surrounded by people who say only what pleases him may eventually know less about his own government than those who criticise it.

Institutions beyond individual leaders

A central argument of the analysis is that loyalty to a president should not be confused with loyalty to the presidency as an institution. “A president is a person; the presidency is an institution,” Sesay writes.

The author says President Bio has reiterated that he will not seek a third term, describing that position as consistent with the constitutional two-term limit. Sesay suggests that the political value of proximity to Bio may change as 2028 approaches.

According to the analysis, the end of Bio’s presidency may expose patterns of political repositioning rather than create them. “Bio’s departure will not create the sycophants; it may simply reveal them,” Sesay writes, adding that political applause may move toward new sources of influence while public trust should remain more firmly grounded.

The analysis concludes that institutions suffer when agreement is valued more highly than competence. In such circumstances, officials may focus on pleasing superiors instead of serving citizens, while institutions lose the ability to identify and correct mistakes.

Sesay calls for political institutions in which honest disagreement is possible, competence carries greater weight than personal favour and criticism is met with reason rather than suspicion. He says both the APC and SLPP should reflect on the political culture they have helped sustain.