A former Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP)’s stalwart has described President Julius Maada Bio’s regime as “monstrous” owing to brutal leadership the party has displayed for the past five years.
The SLPP stalwart whose name is withheld for fear of reprisals said the manner in which Bio’s regime ruled did not reflect SLPP’s values.
“We are seeing more of a monstrous regime that campaigns on a platform of strengthening peace and national cohesion in the country. This SLPP is not ours, no wonder human rights institutions continue to condemn the regime for its atrocities committed in the last five years,” he bashed at Bio.
Other old SLPP members share the stalwart’s view as they longed to see the end of what many refer to as an “illegitimate government.”
Lingering public debates border on whether the recent ICC International Criminal Court’s invitation of President Julius Maada Bio will be the end of the game.
Public opinion, at the moment, indicated that President Bio will be prosecuted for human rights abuses that took place during his tenure.
Many Sierra Leoneans minced no word saying what happened in the past five years under the Bio’s regime is unimaginable surpasses the brutality of the rebel war. During the war, they said, there was sanity in some parts of the country, but many people perished under Bio’s reign.
‘The Bio regime is more of military rule than a civilian one. No freedom of expression, assembly, and even for people to associate is a threat,” another member of the public commented.
Another Sierra Leonean, Mariama Turay also holds similar opinion. She said poor women traders and other vulnerable groups have been subjected to oppression and intimidation with no one held accountable.
What is more terrible, Mariama cries out, is that everyone in the Bio regime is acting like a military than a civilian appointee as poor people’s lands have been forcefully taken away.
Martha Sankoh, a trader on Rwadon Street in Freetown too is feeling the pinch of Bio’s brutal regime which has created setbacks for many Sierra Leoneans.
Supporters of the regime were given combat fatigue to unleash mayhem on peaceful Sierra Leoneans making it difficult for those who live on a hand-to-mouth survival. The trader who represents the voice of the poor called for an outside intervention to stop the on-going human rights abuses in the country.
Supporting citizens’ stance on human rights abuses, the opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) said the party’s decision should not be mistaken for an acceptance of the fraudulent election results but an opportunity to document evidence and avoid falling mindlessly into the trap of violence that had been planned by Bio’s government.
According to the party, the ECSL and government have not only stolen the presidential election, but also offered SLPP a two-third majority in parliament, and take comfortable lead in local councils across the country, a victory which SLPP do not deserve.
The opposition saw the daylight robbery as not only shocking but also goes to validate their concerns and agitations since 2018. The view, APC said, which the party had put across locally and internationally is that the regime lacks the regime has failed to work within the bounds of civility and the rule of law.
Bio and his PAOPA henchmen, according to APC politicians, have no respect for human rights and democracy, and that they will continue to engage with development partners to advocate imposition of travel bans on individuals who have played instrumental roles in stealing Sierra Leoneans’ mandate.
Opposition politicians also stated that what culminated in the rogue announcement of fraudulent election results on June 27, 2023 was not just a naked theft of the votes of the suffering masses that needed change but also represents the biggest threat to the country’s democracy, unity and survival.
“The gangster nature of SLPP’s enterprise and the proclivity for violence is not a one-off activity but a calculated strategy of a complete state capture by an ethno-centric cabal who wish to impose a totalitarian system legitimised by shambolic democratic exercises,” APC maintains.
This is not a battle for the APC alone or its leaders, they went on, as in all totalitarian systems, the gradual takeover of power and elite capture of all state institutions including parliament, judiciary, the security agencies, diplomatic and civil service, human rights institutions and civil society, often do not end with a desire to rig elections.
They hold the view that the road to authoritarianism, as most of them have experienced in the last five years, is tainted by the brutal murder of innocent civilians, violent silencing of democratic opposition voices, a dangerous strategy of divide and rule through the weaponisation of tribalism and elimination of rational civic dialogue.
The only way the party can fight back is to maintain the boycott of parliament and councils.
“We are resolved to reject outright the results produced by ECSL. For the past years, we decided to absorb the pain and untold suffering to which SLPP subjected APC. We decided, in the interest of our people, to allow peace and stability to reign. However, we can no longer tolerate injustice, tyranny and usurpation of power in Sierra Leone,” APC re-echoed its stance.
That is what dictatorship looks like, APC says, and they must stand up for democracy reaching out to diasporans to stand up with the party.
“We call on all well-meaning Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad to play their part in resisting tyranny and fight for the restoration of democracy, civility and good governance in Sierra Leone” APC appealed.