By Sayoh Kamara
Political communication is not an open-mic session. It is not a competition for who can rush most quickly to the nearest radio station or dominate the loudest WhatsApp platform. It is a disciplined craft that demands clarity, structure, and a unified voice; especially for a party that aspires to govern a fragile country like Sierra Leone.
This is why the growing communication chaos within the All People’s Congress (APC) is not just embarrassing; it is dangerous.
The APC has an official Publicity Secretary, Sidi Yayah Tunis. His role is not ornamental. It is constitutionally provided and strategically necessary. He is the face and voice mandated to articulate the party’s position and manage its public interface.
Yet, in recent months, certain individuals have taken it upon themselves to function as parallel spokesmen, storming the airwaves with pronouncements that frequently contradict the party’s formal messaging.
What we are witnessing is not enthusiasm; it is not patriotism. It is exuberance clothed in undisciplined political freelancing, and it exposes the APC party to ridicule and suspicion.
The APC Shouldn’t Be Speaking in Tongues:
At a time when the APC should present itself as a stable, coherent political party awaiting to form a government, the party has instead allowed its own messaging to descend into a marketplace of discordant competing voices. The result is public confusion, internal resentment, and an avoidable impression that the party is struggling to hold its own centre.
Let us be honest: When three or more different individuals speak on the same issue with three different interpretations, the public does not blame the individuals; they blame the party.
And the more this continues, the more the APC looks divided, unfocused, and unprepared for leadership.
Those in the party who think they are helping by making unauthorized interventions are unintentionally weakening its political standing. A political party cannot be taken seriously when its public messaging resembles a quarrel rather than a coordinated strategy.
This Is Not Messaging. It Is Internal Power Play:
Let us call a spade a spade: Some people are using media appearances to stake personal relevance within the party. They want to be seen. They want to be heard. They want to be perceived as the power-brokers of tomorrow.
But individual ambition must never override party discipline. A party’s public communication is a collective asset; not a platform for chest-beating or internal point-scoring. When a party speaks, it must speak with authority. And authority comes from structure, not scattered voices angling for influence.
The APC Must Fix This Immediately: If the APC intends to inspire the confidence of undecided voters, it must impose order on its communication system now. Not next month. Not after the next crisis. But Now!
Candidly, here is what must be done without delay:
- Reassert the Publicity Secretary as the Sole Official Spokesperson: There must be no ambiguity. No grey areas. The Publicity Secretary is the gateway to the party’s public messaging.
- Create a Strict Communication Command Structure: Officially appoint Assistant Spokespeople, Thematic Communicators and Regional Media Leads who must operate under one central coordination unit; not in their own personal orbits.
- Enforce Message Discipline with Consequences: Anyone who speaks without authorization should be cautioned, sanctioned, or removed from communication circles. Loose talk is political poison.
- Introduce a Weekly Strategic Messaging Brief: The party must operate like a modern political organization with planned talking points, coordinated interventions, and a unified narrative.
A Party That Cannot Control Its Voice Cannot Control a Country:
The APC owes it to itself, its supporters, and the country to demonstrate maturity and discipline. Sierra Leone’s politics is already tense. The citizens are already fragile. The nation is already polarized.
This is not the time for a major political party to speak in disjointed, conflicting tones that raise more questions than answers.
A credible opposition must present itself as a credible government-in-waiting. And credibility begins with communication discipline.
The APC must urgently put an end to uncontrolled, ego-driven media interventions and return to one coordinated voice. Until then, the party’s messaging will continue to undermine its own aspirations.
A party that cannot coordinate its words should not expect the public to trust it with power.
The APC Wants Power- Must Therefore Master Its Voice:
Sierra Leone is a delicate nation. Citizens are watching every political move closely. In such an environment, a party’s communication strength can become its greatest advantage, or its greatest liability.
Right now, the APC is allowing its own members to dilute its voice, fracture its messages and weaken its national standing; such a path leads nowhere.
If the APC wants to compete seriously for power come 2028, it must first learn to speak as a unified organization; not as one enveloped with competing individuals.
In politics, a fragmented voice is a fragmented identity, and a fragmented identity rarely wins elections.
Sierra Leone has an awakened citizenry that are critical in their analyses about what they want to hear, and indeed what they want to see happen that are beneficial to their needs and wants. The APC must be seen to demonstrating this ability and competence. It has proved it before and must stand on that pedigree rather than to be seen as a political party that has lost grip of its communication strategy in a manner that is being so embarrassingly manifested now.