A Guardian investigation has raised fresh questions about the 2023 killing of Superintendent Matthew “Boyka” Banya, a senior Sierra Leonean police officer who was allegedly seeking to expose individuals linked to Dutch fugitive and convicted drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers before he was shot dead in Makeni.
Banya was killed on 8 April 2023 while seated in a marked police vehicle near Makeni’s clock tower, according to an investigation published by The Guardian on 14 October 2026.
The newspaper’s investigation cites a police source who alleged that Banya had wanted to expose people connected to Leijdekkers’ network and suggested that the officer’s killing was linked to those efforts.
However, the alleged connection between Banya’s death and the international cocaine trafficking network has not been established through a publicly reported judicial finding. The circumstances surrounding the killing and the alleged motive therefore remain matters requiring further investigation.
According to The Guardian, Banya was sitting inside a marked police vehicle when an assailant approached and shot him at close range.
His killing prompted calls for action, with President Julius Maada Bio reportedly urging the police to pursue the case.
However, the Guardian investigation raises concerns about the lack of a publicly established resolution to the case and cites sources who questioned whether sufficient progress had been made in identifying and prosecuting those responsible.
The publication also reports that the police did not respond to questions about the case.
The allegations surrounding Banya’s death form part of a wider investigation into the alleged activities of Leijdekkers, a Dutch fugitive convicted of serious offences, including cocaine trafficking.
The Guardian alleges that Leijdekkers established connections with influential individuals in Sierra Leone and examines claims that people associated with his alleged network benefited from protection or assistance from people in positions of authority.
Within that broader context, a police source cited by the newspaper alleged that Banya had sought to expose individuals linked to the network before his death.
The report does not, however, establish through a court judgment that Leijdekkers ordered Banya’s killing or that any named individual was responsible for the shooting.
The case has also attracted attention over the handling of suspects previously arrested in connection with Banya’s killing.
Earlier reporting by Sierraloaded stated that 31 suspects arrested in connection with the case were released after police said they had not gathered sufficient evidence against them.