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Freetown – Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai Koroma has appointed and sworn in a new vice president, the presidency said on Thursday, a day after the sacked deputy vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court. In a statement it said Victor Bockarie Foh, a veteran powerbroker in the ruling party and most recently ambassador to China, had been named “due to the vacancy of the post”.

Koroma axed his vice president Samuel Sam-Sumana on Tuesday, almost two weeks after he was expelled from the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) and went into hiding, claiming he was in danger and asking for asylum in the United States.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Koroma said Foh brought “a wealth of experience in administration and politics”.

“I’ve no doubt with your experience over the years, you will join the administration bringing in your experience and value to our efforts to build democracy and work for the end of Ebola,” the president said.

Foh, who made an unsuccessful run for vice president in 1996, said he was committed to the fight against Ebola and thanked China for its assistance to Sierra Leone to combat the disease.

Koroma, who was re-elected in 2012 for a second term with Sam-Sumana, cannot stand again in 2017 elections under Sierra Leone’s constitution. — AFP.