By Yusuf Moijuah
With critical questions about the sincerity and the lack of political will by the Sierra Leone People’s Party government of President Julius Maada Bio to sustain political tolerance, national unity, cohesion, peace and stability in Sierra Leone, barely less than a week after the Bintumani 3 Conference in Freetown, only to be reversed by a ‘state sponsored’ armed Police personnel invasion of the majority main opposition All People’s Congress APC party headquarters in Freetown.
Led by Assistant Inspector General of Police, Augustine Kailie, troops had deployed at the APC secretariat as early as 4:00pm and immediately after the petitions’ judgment was handed down against 10 APC MPs by ‘paid up’ Justice Komba Kamanda of the Sierra Leone Judiciary that acquitted and discharged Isha Johansen and Christopher Kamara of the Sierra Leone Football Association.
And the APC national secretariat fully occupied by executive members and supporters, were brought under attack who subsequently invaded the building after hours of firing teargas canisters into the complex, injured, killed a number of people and arrested over eighty supporters, including national Publicity Secretary, Mr. Cornelius Deveaux and national Organizing Secretary, Mr. Lansana Fadika.
Mr. Deveaux has already been declared by the Police for reasons best known to them. Eyewitness accounts are that OSD personnel also beat, raped and undressed women, dragged them into a loaded truck, and taken to the Criminal Investigations Department where they were all locked up in a jammed parked cell waiting to appear court.
President Bio is out again. This time he’s in England wooing investors to turn in and invest in the country, forgetting that his administration’s continuous misuse of the judiciary is creating serious unrest back home, making the country more insecure for direct foreign investment. But which company and which individual would want to come and invest in an undemocratic and chaotic country like present day Sierra Leone? That is the naked truth President Bio needs to tell participants, including positional investors at the June 6th investment conference about his country.
Moreover, to remove ten majority MPs and replace them with unelected handpicked sympathizers of the ruling party by the ‘father of democracy’ President Bio, is a shame to democracy, constitutionality and the Sierra Leone Judiciary. Elections petitions by law should be addressed within the period of three weeks to four months but this came after one year three months, in which the ten APC MPs were declared by NEC as winners of their seats.
Hon. Siraji Muniru Rollings Kamara, Hon. Abdala Osman Timbo, Hon. Abu Bakarr Sillah, Hon. Mohamed Sheriff Kassim, Hon. Hariyatu Bangura, Hon. Ahmed Mansaray Hon. John Sattie, Hon. Kadie Davies and Hon. Momoh were all declared winners of their various seats by the National Electoral Commission on the 18th, in the March 7th 2018 elections, but were all forced to bid farewell to their various seats and jobs through a politically charged court petitions against them, under the Bio brand of democratic dispensation. President Bio is indeed a true ‘father of democracy.’
The high level of political dishonesty being manifested by the SLPP government does not represent a round character of the peaceful leadership of President Bio, who actually campaigned on the platform of being the ‘father of democracy,’ even as peace hardly comes from him as a magnanimous leader, before one starts to think of his followers and supporters. To many who have been religiously following his statements on new and traditional media, President Bio is quoted in a dinner video telling his supporters not to be soft with opposition APC members and supporters. No wonder he sanctioned the state sponsored violent court verdict and Police invasion of the APC headquarter.
So people are still in doubt as to whether our leader and the SLPP party were really prepared for the B3 Conference, or was it just a catch up of a conscience failure game that was poorly played for political point scorings. Certainly from the look of things the government appears to be in for a long fight with the opposition APC, targeting them everywhere by whichever means, tricks and tactics. This manner of ‘military – democratic’ rule under the new government is not impressive and has been widely denounced by civic groups from across the board, especially for the leadership failure in uniting Sierra Leone since last March election.
Instead, the government is bent on misusing the judiciary and Police against its political opponents in the ugly name of revenge for what the opposition did to them while in power ten years ago. But where will that take Sierra Leoneans is the puzzle being asked by almost everybody in café shops, public transports and other places, considering what the country went through during the last decade civil war.
This is surprising that President Bio and the SLPP government are still far from divorcing from their old tricks of perpetuating political violence and intimidation against opposition APC members and their supporters across the country, which brings to the minds of people as to why the forum B3 was called, only to be destroyed by a politically motivated court petitions against ten opposition APC MPs.
Justice Komba Kamanda’s judgment on the court petition matters against ten APC MPs continue to question the independence of the Sierra Leone Judiciary particularly in handling critical political matters as well as the honesty and sincerity of President Bio. Justice Kamanda is fully aware of the fact that the APC had also filed petition matters against the ruling SLPP party, but were never heard by the same court that wrongly handed down the politically influenced judgment that removed ten APC MPs. This manner of deliberate unprofessionalism would always continue to hunt the judiciary and Justice Kamanda in particular
The verdict was untimely, taking into account the cost of peace and unity and how much was spent on the B3 Conference on national unity, and above all, has brought another shame and disgrace to the ruling party. Surprisingly most admirers of the Bio presidency, including foreign diplomats, who negotiated the smooth transfer of power from the last APC regime to the incumbent, have regretted at the present manner of governance being put up by the SLPP led administration, characterized by violence, intolerance, regional and tribal segregations and political intimidation. And they have all raised serious concern through a joint press statement over the increasing political tensions being caused by the government.
They are also of the views that the present state of affairs is not what they expected from the former military leader, considering that he is now reformed and is governing the country under a democratic dispensation, but unfortunately for Sierra Leoneans and good number of well-meaning SLPP members, who really believe in true democratic principles and values, the present government is rather bent on destroying democracy in Sierra Leone.
That’s why most people did see the B3 move as a wasteful spending of tax payers’ moneys on talk shop to satisfy the personal ego of President Bio and his henchmen rather than to really trying to unite the country after a year and two months of destructive and divisive rule of the SLPP presently tearing Sierra Leone apart along regional and tribal lines.
Again, shame as always is huge for a leader who campaigned on the platform of promoting democracy and good governance, human rights, rule of law and consolidation of peace and national stability if voted. But since last April 4th when President Bio took up office to date, he has so far acted against much of his campaign promises by harassing and chasing out legitimately elected APC MPs out of the house of parliament, prevented them from participating in the election of the Speaker and deputy Speaker of parliament on to so many other forms of persecution being perpetuated against opposition APC membership and its supporters. All of these inconsistent political behavior of the ruling SLPP have come to question the leadership responsibility of President Bio and the ruling party.
Like recently observed by the President of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Madam Basita Michael, President Bio and the SLPP government are far from the good ideas of promoting peace, democracy and upholding of constitutionality and the rule of law. This is because after the much talked about B3 Conference the Bio SLPP government ordered Police invasion of opposition APC party headquarters. This does not demonstrate firm leadership commitment towards uniting the country nor neutralize mountain political tension between the main opposition APC and the poorly governing SLPP.
Besides, violence against opposition APC party people continues unabated with SLP personnel now chasing them out of their party office, depriving them the rights to neither assemble nor protest in a democratic dispensation, under which the unpopular SLPP government is applying too many tactics of limitations. It could be recalled that the SLPP government first came in with the ‘witch hunt’ government transition report followed by the Commission of Inquiries and later published the Ministry of Finance’s forensic technical report, which lied that the former government has stolen huge quantum of moneys from state coffers. They are all tantamount to widespread of hate, malicious scandals and lies only to defame opposition APC party and its members.
But what cannot be faked about unity and national cohesion is that there is not much trustworthiness on the part of President Bio, the ruling SLPP party and a whole lack of magnanimity from the winners of last March 2018 elections, all in furtherance to victimizing APC party members.
So why the conference was even called in the first place if at all President Bio is not prepared to govern a peacefully a united Sierra Leone but a country where he is always seen chasing opposition APC party members and supporters. This is why I personally continue to question the leadership honesty and sincerity of President Bio in providing Sierra Leoneans with the quality of leadership they have craved for all these years.