A Sierra Leonean court opened a trial for alleged corruption against the main opposition party's June presidential candidate on Thursday, 23 February 2023, rejecting an appeal by his lawyers.

Le procès contre Samura Kamara opened three days after he was nominated as the APC (All People's Congress) candidate in the election. Thus, a conviction would prevent him from running in the presidential election. Indeed, he was Minister of Finance and then Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Ernest Bai Koroma (2007-2018). In the second round of the 2018 presidential election, he was defeated by the current president Julius Maada Bio and is considered to be Bio's main competitor, who also declared himself a candidate.

Since December 2021, Samura Kamara has been prosecuted for the alleged embezzlement of more than 2.5 million dollars in public funds in a project to renovate the consulate in New York, when he was head of diplomacy. The trial started after a break in session, but was quickly adjourned in March.