Three press briefings have been suspended in a row by the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) at a time the public needs constant updates about the current political situation.
The first press briefing was scheduled to take place last Monday but was put on hold owing to an unexplained reason.
Subsequently, news filters through the press that the press briefing has been shifted to Thursday yesterday but again cancelled without just cause leaving the people of Sierra Leone especially APC supporters in news blackout.
Previously, another press conference was stopped with fingers pointing at APC’s lead rep at the Tripartite Committee, Dr Kaifala Marrah as the one responsible for the news blackout. Neither Dr Marrah nor APC’s Publicity Secretary could be reached.
However, the people need their executive officials to update them particularly on the work of the Tripartite Committee which has been investigating allegations of June 24, 2023 election irregularities. The committee, according to social and political commentators, is the last hope for Sierra Leoneans.
Information from the grapevine depicts the opposition leader, Samura Kamara winner of the election while government officials said otherwise.
It is based on the events unfolding at the Tripartite Committee that the people of Sierra Leone demand that either a rerun or fresh election is held or Samura Kamara declared President of Sierra Leone.
They threaten to take to the streets if any of these demands are ignored.
On the other hand, members of the PAOPA regime have argued that the election has been conducted and the results announced in their favour and that nothing could change the plan regardless of whatever the consequence.
In an open challenge to the people of Sierra Leone and the international community, President Julius Maada Bio, few days ago, threatened to use bullet for bullet so that he can hold the forte. The opposition party ought to have held a press briefing in response to Bio’s threats.
As if worsening an already polarised situation, the APC executive has been plagued with contemptuous allegation of accepting bribes from SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) government to propagate the 2028 election agenda so that President Bio would complete his remaining four years.
The APC Chairman, Minkailu Mansaray and other key APC officials have been at the centre of the allegation to which they are expected to respond.
Their continued silence over such scathing allegations goes a long way to confirm that they are true and correct although there is a seeming acrimony between the two political parties.
The continued disagreement negatively impacts on the country’s political and security situation with the security forces placed on the red alert.
Heavy security presence and persistent blaring of sirens all over the capital city means all is not well with the country’s security situation, and the people need to hear from their authorities in the APC to know the real story.
The suspended press briefings would have been good platforms for information sharing to dispel doubt and misconceptions gaining ground among the APC supporters.
Negligence in the dissemination of accurate and timely information by the APC bounces back to the party’s weak public relations wing.
Office of the publicity secretary which handles all communication and public relations activities have failed in their core responsibilities of informing and educating the people on the party’s stance towards issues that affect the party.
The negligence in information sharing started at the outset of the election rigging except for few press conferences held once in a blue moon.
Perhaps, APC’s biggest public relations disaster was the failure to counter misinformation and conspiracy theories employed by SLPP politicians immediately after the signing of the communiqué by the two political parties under the auspices of the international community (Commonwealth, African Union and ECOWAS).
Top SLPP politicians, immediately after the mediation, took over major media institutions particularly the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation and the African Young Voices informing the people of Sierra Leone that the June polls had been settled and there would be no rerun election until 2028.
It was the first information let out in the public and it resonated well with a gullible public but with APC politicians on the wrong end. APC members and supporters feel betrayed and disappointed with the signing of the communiqué.
The situation led to the use of invectives against APC executive officials and threats of protest against the authorities were widespread.
In all the brouhaha, the APC’s communication machine proved to be weak as none of their officials responded to what many saw as false claims.
Confidence and hope was however restored when President Julius Maada Bio was made to launch the Tripartite Committee charged with the responsibility of looking into electoral malpractices that has plunged Sierra Leone in a socio-economic and political crisis.
At the height of the election probe, SLPP politicians attempted to derail the work of the Tripartite Committee by preempting the outcome of the investigation with APC’s public relations remaining silent.
Even during the press briefing at the New Brookfields hotel in Freetown which raised great hope about the Tripartite Committee did not end well as expected.
Governance Advisor, Dr Emmanuel Gaima was blunt to say that the election probe was not about recommending an rerun of the election, but to come up with electoral reforms that will guarantee all future elections to be free and fair.
Dr Gaima’s claim was also supported by the Information Minister, Chernor Bah who was also blunt to say that the Tripartite Committee had no mandate to recommend a free and fair election.
APC officials who were at the party did not counter SLPP politicians to the satisfaction of the APC members and supporters.
The response of APC Co-Chair, Dr Kaifala Marrah was lukewarm saying that “the Tripartite Committee would not hesitate to recommend a rerun of the election if significant irregularities are discovered at the end of the investigation.”
Dr Marrah’s counter-response was a bit comforting for the APC members and supporters, but subsequent press conferences ought to have been called for the information to reach the last man in the last village.
A senior APC politician, name withheld for fear of reprisal, too is not comfortable with APC’s information-sharing model owing to their inability to hold regular press briefings to keep grassroot members of the party well informed about the latest development in the party.
He also accused APC of failing to hold proper press conferences citing the previous one as a big mess.
Instead of speaking in unison about the work of the Tripartite Committee to clear doubt, the party’s executive officials differed in their utterances.
While Dr Marrah was trying to inform the grassroot about the work of the committee, the APC Chairman was insinuating about 2026 election which opened another Pandora’s box among the party’s rank and file. Pro-Minkailu bloggers said the party’s chairman meant a National Delegates’ Conference while others refuted it as a mere propaganda. They accused Mr Mansaray of facilitating a 2028 agenda for the PAOPA regime, a move highly detrimental to APC’s existence.
Instead of leaving the party office with one voice after the press briefing, APC members and supporters degenerated into polemics which raged on for months.
With arguments and quarrels everywhere, the APC grassroot are still in need of credible channels of information about what the Tripartite Committee really means to the people of Sierra Leone.
At the outset of the election investigation, the APC was supposed to be calling at least a monthly press briefing to keep the people updated so that no room for conflict would be created.
Keeping members and supporters of the party in the dark is a culture alien to the APC when one looks at the history of the 1960s.
APC which emerged as a resistance to the political machinations of the SLPP, the dominant party at the time, one of the founding members, Siaka Probyn Stevens traversed the country with the Elections Before Independence Movement (EBIM) philosophy which later culminated into the APC. Stevens later became President in 1968 after a one-year military interregnum.
From that time, the party went into political activism overshadowing the SLPP, but lately the party had gone silent by depriving its members and supporters of useful information at a turbulent time.