By Emmanuel Christian Thorli
What will appear to be macabre fight for the successor to President Julius Maada Bio in the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) appears to have been started with the First Lady, Fatima Bio taking the first snipping strike at the Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh.
The First Lady Fatima Bio known for her blunt outbursts, has taken to social media (Tik Tok platform) that has gone viral across several social media platforms to discharge her first load of salvo against David Sengeh in an apparent preemptive strike aimed at warning him and his irate supporters to stay calm and do what he is appointed to do as Chief Minister by her husband.
This strike according to political pundits is making the Chief Minister realize himself as an appointee of the President and that he is indispensable. The Chief Minister is muted within SLPP circles of nursing the desire to succeed the current Leader of the SLPP and President, Julius Maada Bio when he ends his term in 2028.
In the said warning strike video, Fatima Bio in her usual calm candor when she wants to send out a message of distress noted with abject alacrity: “You way dae support Sengeh drop it! Sengeh is not the President of Sierra Leone. Sengeh is the Chief Minister of Sierra Leone way dae woke on Maada Bio ee mandate; under Maada Bio ee mandate!,” Fatima Bio asserted in a mix of Creole and English tones. She went on to tell those supporters that she is doing her thing different from what David Sengeh and other Minister appointees of the President are mandated to do, which is to see that women and girls are protected and safeguarded and that it is absurd for them to be drawing meaningless comparisons between what she is doing and what David Sengeh is doing.
David Sengeh since his appointment as Chief Minister by President Bio in late 2023, has insistently grown the ambition to replace his boss as he sees his appointment, replacing one of President Bio’s political godfathers, Jacob Jusu Saffa aka J.J. Blood as an obvious anointment by the holy priest of the SLPP. He is rumoured within SLPP circles and the wider public as haven “grown wings” and now carries himself “with pomposity and an audacious arrogance” amongst the rank and file of the party, which pundits are saying could be injurious to his wild ambition and may open direct confrontation between him and those older than him in the party who feel sidelined by the holy priest Maada Bio.
It is maintained that it is this manifestation of “pomposity and audacious arrogance” which the outspoken First Lady has been suspicious of and which it would appear, has warranted her preemptive strike at the Chief Minister. Fatima Bio is also rumoured to be nursing interest in a certain individual to take over from her husband; someone with whom her husband competed earlier, and in whom she appears to have confidence that he will provide adequate cover for her and her husband and also protect their interests both in the SLPP and the country.
“Fatima Bio is a fast learner and she has been quick to learn from the mistakes of former Presidents Siaka Stevens, Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and Ernest Bai Koroma, when at the end of their tenures, moved to pick and endorse their own successors much against the will of majority of their party members, leading to either their underperformance as in the case of former President Joseph Saidu Momoh chosen by his predecessor, Siaka Stevens or their inability to win their subsequent elections as in the case of Solomon Ekuma Berewa, also chosen by his predecessor, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and most recently, Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara, who was chosen by his predecessor, Ernest Bai Koroma but ended losing two successive elections.
Aides close to Fatima Bio are intimating that she is in close conversation with her husband not to rush in anointing any of his serving Ministers on grounds that, whatever the opposition and the public may hold against him would be used against anyone he endorses now. She is said to be imploring her husband to be careful in his choice of any potential successor or at best, to just ensure a fair, transparent process in the circumstance, such as will satisfy every contender.
These assertions have been substantiated in recent rejoinder shared on social media by one of Fatima Bio’s media propagandists. In that rejoinder titled, “That botched attempt to undermine HE Fatima Bio” it starts off with eulogy: “When it comes to political exposure and popularity in Sierra Leone politics HE Fatima Maada Bio is exceptional. Since the beginning of Maada Bio’s journey to become President of Sierra Leone, there was Fatima Bio! HE Fatima Bio played an exceptional and unforgettable role that climaxed into Bio winning two terms,” and the piece went on to castigate what appears to be an attempt to undermine Fatima’s integral significance in her husband’s presidency with the note, “Therefore, it is unreasonable, unfair, and incorrect for anyone to attempt to exclude HE Fatima Bio from the politics of Sierra Leone, particularly Kono District; …The roles and responsibilities of HE Fatima Bio cannot be overemphasized. On another note, the roles and responsibilities of government officials cannot be equated to that of HE Fatima Bio of Sierra Leone.”
The rejoinder went on to categorically warn, “Those who are going around reducing the importance and impact of HE Fatima Bio should understand that presidential appointees are hired and can be fired by the President…”
This stark warning that is coming from a no nonsense strong woman in the persona of Fatima Bio is something worth watching. Has David Sengeh in his unguarded prowl for power stepped on the aching tail of the Mandainko Tigress? We will watch to see the next step of this gallant Jabbiekunda woman! The battle line is already drawn.