Hon. Alhaji Musa Tarawally has firmly maintained that he remains a fully paid-up member and accredited delegate of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), rejecting claims that he is not qualified to participate in the party’s activities or seek its flagbearer position.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Tarawally said: “I am a fully paid-up member and delegate of the SLPP. I voted at the past National Delegates Conference.”
His comments follow an ongoing dispute over his membership status, after a letter attributed to the SLPP National Chairman, Jimmy Batilo Songa, directed Tarawally to desist from presenting himself as an SLPP member and from using the party’s logo or representing the party in its programmes.
Tarawally has strongly challenged that position, insisting that he formally left the Citizens Democratic Party (CDP) in 2018 and subsequently returned to the SLPP.
As part of his response, he has produced a copy of a resignation letter dated 15 June 2018 and addressed to the Secretary General of the CDP. The letter states that he was resigning from the CDP “to return to the SLPP.”
Tarawally said the document provides written evidence of his departure from the CDP and contradicts any suggestion that he has remained a member of the party since 2018.
He further stated that he has not paid membership dues to the CDP, attended its meetings or participated in its activities since his resignation. According to him, his political activities since 2018 have instead been centred on the SLPP.
The former Member of Parliament also pointed to his participation in the SLPP’s National Delegates Conference in 2025 as evidence of his recognized status within the party.
“I was a credentialed National Delegate at that convention. I voted,” Tarawally stated in his written response.
He questioned how he could have been accredited to participate and vote at a national party convention if, as is now being alleged, he was not an SLPP member.
Tarawally also maintains that he has paid his SLPP membership dues up to 2028 and currently holds the position of Grand Chief Patron. He cited his longstanding financial and organisational contributions to the party as further evidence of his commitment to the SLPP.
Among the claims contained in his response are that he supported party activities financially, contributed to campaign efforts and supported the construction of SLPP party offices across the country.
The membership dispute has also brought the SLPP’s internal constitutional procedures into focus.
Tarawally argues that the National Chairman does not have unilateral authority to terminate his membership or prevent him from participating in the party’s internal political processes. He contends that any disciplinary action should follow the procedures provided under the party’s constitution and allow the affected member an opportunity to respond.
He has therefore challenged the directive issued against him and called for the matter to be addressed through the appropriate party structures.
Tarawally has also indicated that he is prepared to pursue legal remedies over what he describes as damage to his reputation and political standing. He said his legal team has been instructed to examine available remedies under Sierra Leonean law.
The legal arguments cited by Tarawally include constitutional rights relating to association. Section 26 of Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, including the right to form or belong to a political party, subject to the constitutional limitations set out in the provision.
However, Tarawally’s interpretation of Section 77(1) concerning party membership should be distinguished from the broader question of political-party membership. The official constitutional text shows that Section 77 principally sets out circumstances under which a Member of Parliament can vacate a parliamentary seat, including ceasing to be a member of the political party under whose symbol the member was elected.
The documents presented by Tarawally also include correspondence attributed to the CDP concerning his membership status and letters from the SLPP concerning his political standing. The competing documents and claims will therefore form part of the broader dispute over whether his 2018 resignation was sufficient to establish his subsequent membership of the SLPP and whether the SLPP followed its own procedures in issuing the directive against him.
Tarawally, however, remains emphatic about his position.
He said his record of participation in SLPP activities, his status as a National Delegate, his vote at the 2025 National Delegates Conference and his claimed payment of dues through 2028 demonstrate his continued association with the party.
“I remain a loyal, card-carrying, dues-paying member of the SLPP — fully paid up to 2028. I am a Grand Chief Patron. I am a National Delegate. I am an aspirant for the SLPP Flagbearer position,” he stated.
He further declared: “I am SLPP. I remain SLPP. And I will not be intimidated.”
The dispute now places renewed attention on the SLPP’s internal constitutional procedures, Tarawally’s membership records, his 2018 resignation from the CDP and his participation as a delegate at the party’s 2025 National Delegates Conference. The final determination of the competing claims rests with the relevant party structures and, where applicable, the appropriate legal or regulatory authorities.
