3^RD June 2008

PRESS RELEASE

ASSETS OF TWO FORMER PUBLIC OFFICERS FROZEN

 
The Anti-Corruption Commission has on the 2nd of June 2009 frozen the accounts of the two former senior officials of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service convicted by the High Court of Freetown for a period of six months.
The convicted persons are Ernest Joseph Kashope Wellington and Madonna Druscilla Cole former Director General and former Accountant of the SLBS respectively.  Pending further investigations by the Commission into other cases of alleged misappropriation of public funds, the Commission may also institute civil action against the two accused for the recovery of monies allegedly misappropriated whilst they were public officers. This  has been done in accordance with the provisions of sections 59 and 60 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2008. The Commission has also directed that Ernest Joseph Kashope Wellington and Madonna Druscilla Cole should not dispose any or part of their properties in Sierra Leone.

Further, the Commission has also written to the Human Resource Management Office to recommend that the said Madonna Druscilla Cole being a convicted person be dismissed from the public service with immediate effect pursuant to sections 135 and 136 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 and to the Accountant-General to recommend that the salary currently being paid to Ernest Joseph Kashope Wellington in accordance with his contract be

discontinued forthwith.

 
 The two former public officers of the SLBS were on Monday May 25th , 2009, convicted by the High Court of Sierra Leone presided   over by Justice Nicholas Browne-Marke on one (1) count of Misappropriation of public funds, contrary to section 12(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2000(as amended).  The ACC alleged that the two accused persons misappropriated sixty-three million
Leones (Le63, 000,000) paid by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as rent for the use of SLBS facilities at Leicester peak and other sites.Kashope Wellington was sentenced to a term of five years imprisonment or alternatively to a pay a fine of Le5, 000,000 five million Leones; and
Druscilla Cole was sentenced to a term of two years imprisonment or alternatively to pay a fine of Le 3,000,000 three million Leones.

Glennis Sourie

Communications Officer