By Alhaji Moijueh Kaikai
As the 2028 general elections draw closer, the question of succession within the Sierra Leone People’s Party is steadily moving from quiet corridor conversations to open political debate.
This is neither unusual nor unhealthy in a democratic political party, but history warns us that how succession is managed can determine whether a ruling party renews itself or begins its decline.
Sierra Leone’s political history offers sobering lessons. The transition from President Siaka Stevens to Joseph Saidu Momoh exposed the dangers of leadership succession built around loyalty rather than broad institutional consensus, ultimately weakening the APC’s grip on power. Within the SLPP, the fallout following the transition from President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and the tensions surrounding succession politics contributed to internal fractures that later gave rise to the PMDC, splitting the party’s traditional support base at a critical moment.
More recently, the APC’s internal strains after former President Ernest Bai Koroma’s succession arrangement around Dr. Samura Kamara revealed once again how unresolved ambitions can fragment even the most established political machinery.
For the SLPP, these are not distant political case studies. They are direct warnings. President Julius Maada Bio remains the undisputed leader of the party and deserves loyalty for steering the SLPP back to power in 2018 and securing re-election in 2023 under intense political contestation. But genuine loyalty must also include honest counsel.
The party cannot afford to approach 2028 with unresolved internal bitterness. The scars from lower-level internal elections and the national convention remain visible. Across party circles, concerns persist about perceptions of exclusion, factionalism, and the language of informal political camps, with terms and alignments that many believe deepen division rather than strengthen unity.
Political parties are not sustained simply by appointing a few loyalists into office; they survive by ensuring that even those outside government feel respected, heard, and invested in the broader mission.
President Bio now has a rare opportunity to rewrite Sierra Leone’s succession politics. History has not been kind to incumbent parties that mishandle transition. Across Africa and at home, succession battles often weaken governing parties long before voters cast ballots. If the SLPP is serious about retaining power in 2028, the healing process must begin now, not when nomination forms are printed. A deliberate reconciliation effort involving senior party figures, grassroots organisers, youth leaders, women’s groups, and regional stakeholders is urgently needed.
More importantly, the President may need to encourage a more structured transition framework, one that manages ambition without suppressing democratic participation. Political competition is natural, but unmanaged competition can become self-destruction.
One practical path forward would be the formation of a respected and genuinely independent council of party elders to engage potential aspirants, mediate tensions, and help build consensus around the party’s strategic direction. Such a body should not exist to impose candidates, but to preserve party cohesion and ensure that ambition does not eclipse collective survival.
Not everyone will become flagbearer, minister, or party chairman, but everyone can play a meaningful role in securing victory. That reassurance matters. In politics, people do not only fight because they want power; sometimes they fight because they fear irrelevance. The SLPP must make it clear that every committed voice counts. In the end, the interest of the party and the stability of Sierra Leone must rank above personal ambition. 2028 will test not just who leads the SLPP, but whether the party has learned from history at all.