By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
In Sierra Leone’s fragile post war democracy, a dangerous vacuum has emerged: the space of patriotism has been surrendered to ethnic nationalists and populist strongmen. While the 1991 Constitution enshrines liberal principles such as individual liberty, the rule of law, and decentralised governance, successive governments have manipulated nationalism for political gain, steadily eroding the institutions essential to national cohesion. This article argues for a liberal patriotism, grounded in constitutional loyalty and civic values, as the only sustainable alternative to the populist nationalism now threatening Sierra Leone’s democratic foundations.
Since gaining independence in 1961, Sierra Leone’s political elite have frequently substituted liberal constitutionalism with exclusionary nationalism. Both the 1961 and 1991 Constitutions laid the groundwork for democratic governance, emphasising parliamentary oversight, the separation of powers, and the protection of fundamental human rights. Chapter III of the 1991 Constitution guarantees freedoms central to any liberal democracy: freedom of expression (Section 25), protection from arbitrary arrest (Section 17), and equality before the law (Section 27).
https://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf
However, as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) documented, post independence leaders increasingly relied on ethno regional patronage, suppressed dissent, and concentrated power in the executive. The TRC observed:
The marginalisation of certain groups and regions from political and economic power significantly contributed to the outbreak of armed conflict.
TRC Report, Volume 2, Chapter 2, page 40
https://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-2/item/volume-two-chapter-two
This exclusionary nationalism was not patriotism; it was a betrayal of the constitutional compact.
Following the end of the war in 2002, hopes for a liberal democratic renewal were high. The 1991 Constitution was reinstated, and institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL), and the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) were established. Yet, over time, these bodies have been co-opted by political interests, undermining their constitutional roles.
Section 147 of the Constitution guarantees the ACC’s independence, stating it shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.
https://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf (see Section 147)
Despite this, appointments and investigations have frequently reflected partisan agendas.
Similarly, the Electoral Commission, governed by Section 32, is mandated to act with neutrality. Yet the 1996, 2007, 2018 and 2023 elections were marred by accusations of ethnic voter suppression, inflated tallies, and selective enforcement of electoral law, all justified in nationalist terms.
https://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf (see Section 32)
As the TRC warned:
The over centralisation of power and the manipulation of national institutions for partisan benefit pose long term dangers to Sierra Leone’s fragile peace.
TRC Report, Volume 2, Chapter 3, page 96
https://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-2/item/volume-two-chapter-three
The Global Lessons: Liberalism and Nationalism in History
Sierra Leone’s crisis of patriotism is not unique. Across history, from nineteenth century Europe to modern day America, liberals have often ceded the patriotic mantle to nationalists by failing to defend patriotism on liberal terms. As Samuel Gregg notes in his essay ‘Towards a Liberal Patriotism’, the relationship between liberalism and nationalism was once symbiotic. During the 1848 revolutions, national self determination and liberal constitutionalism were united in a common cause. Yet that alliance proved fragile.
In Prussia, Otto von Bismarck successfully harnessed nationalist sentiment to achieve German unification, thereby neutralising liberal opposition and consolidating monarchical power. German liberals, having long advocated for unity, found themselves unable to critique the illiberal means by which it was achieved. The result was a state that outwardly appeared liberal, but in reality, concentrated authority in the executive.
Sierra Leone today risks a parallel trajectory. Nationalist rhetoric cloaks the centralisation of power, the erosion of judicial independence, and the dismantling of decentralised institutions, all under the guise of patriotic unity. This is not patriotism; it is the instrumentalisation of national identity to silence liberal dissent.
The Need for Liberal Patriots
Sierra Leone’s dominant political parties: the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the All People’s Congress (APC), have both weaponised nationalism. Slogans such as ‘Paopa’ have been used to justify the politicisation of censuses, the redrawing of electoral boundaries, the weakening of local councils (contrary to Section 104 of the Constitution), and the suppression of dissent under the pretext of national security.
https://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf (see Section 104)
As with Bismarck’s Germany, a liberal goal, unity, is being pursued through illiberal means. The TRC issued a prescient warning:
National reconciliation requires civic inclusion, not uniformity imposed from above.
TRC Report, Recommendations, paragraph 124
https://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-3/item/volume-threeb-recommendations
To reclaim the national narrative, liberals must not shy away from patriotism. As Gregg argues, liberals must not allow nationalists to monopolise patriotism. They must assert that it is precisely because they love their country that they defend democratic institutions, insist on equality before the law, and uphold individual liberties. As the TRC further notes:
A new political culture must emerge, founded on constitutionalism, rule of law, and civic equality. This is the path to national redemption.
TRC Report, Volume 3B, paragraph 231
https://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-3/item/volume-threeb-recommendations
Learning from Others
Ghana has demonstrated that liberal patriotism can flourish through judicial independence and a strong constitutional ethos. Liberia, after its civil conflict, created constitutional commissions to shield anti-corruption measures from executive interference. In Kenya, civil society groups have consistently resisted attempts to weaponise nationalism as a justification for authoritarianism.
Sierra Leone must follow this path. Patriotism must be disentangled from tribal loyalty and redefined through civic values: participation, justice, transparency, and institutional integrity.
A Call to Liberals
Liberalism in Sierra Leone is not a foreign imposition; it is rooted in the Constitution. The 1991 Constitution is not merely a legal document. It is a patriotic covenant between citizens and the state. To defend it, is to defend the nation.
Liberals must not retreat. They must lead. They must remind Sierra Leoneans that true patriotism lies not in slogans, favouritism or ethnic allegiance, but in the rule of law, equal rights, decentralised governance, and the dignity of every citizen.
Let us recall the lesson from history: when liberals abandon the patriotic mantle, authoritarians fill the void. And when they do, they do not build the nation, they hollow it out.
The future belongs not to populist strongmen, but to citizens who recognise in the Constitution, not a constraint upon their freedom, but its most powerful guarantee.