Sierra Leone vice president requests asylum at U.S. embassy
Sierra Leone\’s vice president, Samuel Sam-Sumana, said on Saturday that he had requested asylum at the U.S. embassy in Freetown after soldiers surrounded his home, following his expulsion from the ruling All People\’s Congress (APC) party this month.
A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Sumana was expelled from President Ernest Bai Koroma\’s APC party after an investigation accused him of creating his own rival political movement, leaving doubt over whether he could continue as vice president.
Two weeks ago, Sam-Sumana said he was putting himself in quarantine for 21 days after one of his bodyguards died of Ebola.
Sam-Sumana, 53, has been vice-president since 2007, when he stood as running mate to Ernest Bai Koroma. President Koroma is now serving his second term.
Sam-Sumana has spent time studying and working in the US, according to a biography on the presidential website.
He said two weeks ago that he had chosen to be quarantined to "lead by example" in the battle against Ebola.
More that 3,500 people have died from Ebola in Sierra Leone, which along with Guinea and Liberia has seen the vast majority of deaths from the disease.
SOURCE: REUTERS and BBC
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