Alhaji Mohamed Wusha-Conteh
A devastating fire that gutted the Exams Office of the Sierra Leone Muslim Congress Senior Secondary School has exposed a deeply troubling internal crisis allegedly tied to a fierce power struggle over who should become the Principal of the school.
Sources close to the authorities revealed that tensions have been escalating for years between the Acting Principal and Acting Vice-Principal SSS. This has led to division within the old students association and senior staff.
The dispute reportedly took a dangerous turn when one contender allegedly threatened to mobilize his supporters to burn down the school if he is not appointed principal. That threat has now seemingly materialized, with the Exams Office reduced to ashes over the weekend.
While no arrests have been made, senior community member confirmed that the fire followed heated confrontations and repeated warnings from one faction determined to control the leadership of the school a situation described as “a ticking time bomb.
“The school was built by the Muslim community to serve future generations, and now it is being destroyed from within,” lamented Justice Abubakarr King, President of forum of Islamic Organizations for Peaceful Coexistence in Sierra Leone. “This is not Islamic. This is not education. This is destruction; the authorities need to act fast.”
We are urgently calling on His Excellency the President and the entire Government, the Office of National Security (ONS), the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), the Tertiary Education Commission, and the entire Muslim Ummah to step in and restore sanity.
This act of arson is not just criminal — it is un-Islamic, barbaric, and a direct attack on the future of hundreds of students who rely on the Sierra Leone Muslim Congress for quality education and moral guidance.
‘’We must not allow our personal greed to destroy a legacy built over decades by selfless individuals. The ongoing power struggle must be brought to an end as the Board has done justice in conducting interviews, examination twice through lawful and transparent processes’’ Prof. Babatude Karim emphasized.
The community Muslim community must rise up to protect the school not just with words but also with decisive action. Elders, religious leaders, parents, security apparatus and alumni must come together to mediate peace and ensure that no individual, no matter how powerful, is allowed to destroy what belongs to the people.
