By Andrew Warshaw
September 9 – Authorities in Sierra Leone stand accused of harassment and intimidation after detaining Isha Johansen (pictured), one of the few women in the world to head a national football federation, for 24 hours and then releasing her on bail without charge.
Johansen, who has blazed a trail for good governance and has survived several attempts to overthrow her, was picked up by members of Sierre Leone’s anti-corruption commission as part of an investigation related to “donor funds” from FIFA even though football’s world governing expressly forbids government interference in footballing affairs.
Two other senior officials of the Sierra Leone football association, SLFA vice-president Brima Kamara and secretary-general Christopher Kamara, were also held and unlike Johansen were kept in custody after being unable to meet bail conditions.
Agency reports quoted the head of the anti-corruption commission, Ady Macauley, as saying the officials “failed to answer to our repeated requests to report to us for an investigation into discrepancies in the financial statements of the SLFA.”
Another ACC official Patrick Sandy was quoted as saying that the arrests were made due to a of lack of cooperation from Johansen and her federation.
“We are investigating funds SLFA received from FIFA, the Confederation of African Football and the government of Sierra Leone as we have the mandate to do so,” Sandy added. “We have invited them in writing and through other means to report to our headquarters but they disregarded our invitations.
“We wrote a letter to the SLFA scribe to submit documents relating to SLFA finances but they refused to cooperate. Instead they wrote back stating that they are not accountable to us and it could be considered as political interference, as they are only answerable to FIFA. The ACC is not a political institution, we are independent.”
But Sierra Leone FA insiders and independent eye witnesses tell a completely different story, one that left Johansen, a dedicated campaigner who has had an uphill struggle trying to eradicate corruption and match-fixing in her country and whose efforts have often exposed her to intimidation, a mental wreck. Sources speak of Johansen, who suffers from anxiety attacks and badly needed medical treatment while in detention, at one point being manhandled.
Johansen, 51, was reportedly only released once she met strict bail conditions including her elderly father having to put himself up as a guarantor. “It was a horrible ordeal,” said one reliable source close to the Sierra Leone FA. “At one point she almost couldn’t breathe.”
Johansen’s arrest came a day after returning from Ivory Coast where she attended the Leone Stars Africa Cup of Nations final World Cup qualifier.
“I suspect this is all part of dirty Sierra Leone football politics,” Johansen, who vehemently denies any fraudulent activity and is due to speak at a high-profile ethics and security conference in Zurich next week, said on social media. “What business does the ACC have investigating FIFA funds?”
“The fact that the top three SLFA officials are implicated tells me this is another attempt at “regime change” so that corrupt individuals would revert Sierra Leone football back to corruption and squash all ongoing match fixing and player trafficking investigations.”
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