After the Brexit referendum and the general election, the former Goldsmiths student – and more recently successful mining boss – tells Kim Sengupta he prefers the ‘sedate’ politics of the west African nation over a shot at Westminster.
“The British were always telling us to hold regular elections: well they are certainly leading by example now, aren’t they? Democracy in action every other month now it seems,” reflects John Sisay. “It certainly makes our politics in Sierra Leone pretty dull by comparison: we only hold elections once every five years.”
Mr Sisay is standing to be president next year and there is a strong likelihood that he will emerge as the leader of his country. If he does not succeed, he says, it will not be for want of trying. “We south Londoners are pretty damned determined when we set our mind to something. Don’t forget, there is already one Tooting boy who is not doing too badly at politics at the moment,” he points out.