US Sec. of State is not coming to Sierra Leone
By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The United States Embassy in Freetown, has dispelled rumors that Secretary of State could be on his way to Sierra Leone later this month.
Public Affairs Officer at the Embassy, Sarah Van Horne told Epic Radio in an email that Blinken is not coming anytime in the near future.
“Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not be visiting Sierra Leone in the near future. That rumor is incorrect.”
The story has already been published by blogs including a popular news website Sierraloaded.
The rumor started following widespread circulation of a letter from the Chief Minister’s Office.
According to the letter, Blinken is supposed to be here on the 23rd of January. The memo which has now gone viral since last evening was done on the 11th of this month and was addressed to the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority.
Epic Radio contacted the SLCAA but they did not respond in time, but a source at the office claimed that a letter like this would be directed to the department responsible to give Landing Permit for aircrafts travelling to Sierra Leone.
On Tuesday afternoon, 16th January, Epic Radio contacted State House where the Chief Ministers office is housed. The Director of Communications at State House, Michael Berewa denied the authenticity of the letter.
“I just spoke to people at the Chief Ministers Office and we are not aware of the visit or the memo. I spoke with the Permanent Secretary himself and we are not aware of the memo on social media,” Micheal Berewa said.
His denial comes as s surprise given that the letter was signed by Kenei Lamin, the Permanent Secretary at the Chief Minister’s Office.
Whiles Blinken would not be coming, there are talks about the visit of another diplomat instead, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield who is expected to travel to Freetown from Monrovia. When asked to confirm whether Ambassador Greenfield would be here, US Embassy spokesperson said she cannot comment on it at this time. Last week a Liberian news website, The Inquirer reported that Greenfield might not even make it to Monrovia for the inauguration given how much workload she has at the moment, in his place will be former Ambassador to Liberia – Michael Mc Carthy who is expected to head the delegation travelling to Monrovia for President elect Joseph Boakai’s inauguration
