Sierra Leone opposition party to consider impeaching president after VP fired

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone – Sierra Leone's opposition party is considering impeachment proceedings against the president and said it will refuse all cooperation with the government since the vice president was fired.

The Sierra Leone People's Party said after an emergency meeting Saturday that it will also ask the Supreme Court to review Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana's removal from office.

President Ernest Bai Koroma fired Sam-Sumana last week, citing his expulsion from their political party. Several groups have called the move unconstitutional and Sam-Sumana is challenging it in court.

The removal has raised tensions in Sierra Leone, which is fighting Ebola and only recently recovered from years of civil war. The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists has warned that the police are using emergency measures meant to help contain Ebola to stifle dissent.