Night Watch Newspaper

Five Decades On… History Is Repeating In Sierra Leone

Author: Felix Khonte

By Felix Khonte

From 1968 to 2018 is exactly 50 years and the time-honoured adage that history could repeat every 50 years has been operationalised by President Julius Maada Bio through political bigotry and vaulting power ambition.

He won the elections in 2018 clad in the cloak of a real democrat as portrayed by humble and cool moves backed by promises of peace and national cohesion he made to the people of Sierra Leone.

Jubilant crowds danced around a man who promised to transform Sierra Leone overnight into paradise on earth as indicated by the 2018 SLPP manifesto.

In a sudden twist of events, the fanfare, pump and pageantry that greeted Bio’s second appearance on the political stage disappeared owing to unprecedented scale of dismissals, thuggery and political violence.

Sierra Leoneans were taken aback by the formation of vigilantes or splinter groups raiding the homes of former ministers, deputies and heads of parastatals in the name of assets recovery.

Although the raids were led by sacked minister, Foday Rado Yokie, the youth however operated   into disorganised bands unleashing mayhem to former government officials.

Ex-government officials especially ministers enjoyed no respite in the first two weeks with others killed in the process.

The raids which should have been better entrusted to the hands of the police are conferred on thugs who are not restrained by professional standards. The Aide-De-Camp to ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma was arrested and detained, and others fled away.

The raids became alarming when the vigilantes broke into the residence of the ex-President’s daughter when guns cogged at her for a vehicle which they believed was bought out of government funds.

As muzzles pointed at the daughter of the former President, Ernest Koroma directly accused Bio that either he was not sincere with his promises or not in control.

APC supporters and sympathisers especially in the South-East regions were driven out of their communities with Kono district in the East of Sierra Leone being the flashpoint of political violence.

Hundreds left Kono district in the night for havens in Massingbi and other parts of the country with no means of subsistence.

APC’s leader, Dr Samura Kamara came to the people’s rescue by providing food and non-food items with the sum of Le50m to meet their needs.

A state capture of public institutions on a scale equal to that of the 1960s when Albert Margai who was appointed Prime Minister under abnormal circumstances.

Albert sacked North-Westerners from public offices and replaced them with South-Easterners, a move that brought about much discontent to the people of Sierra Leone. Such sackings are no difference under the Bio regime.

Countless numbers of Sierra Leoneans lost their jobs at State House, Office of Diaspora Affairs, Statistics Sierra Leone, Road Maintenance Fund, Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, the Sierra Leone Police, the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone and the list continues.

In his regime, Albert Margai created an atmosphere of fear through police brutality, piloting of the passage draconian laws and moving towards one-party state.

But, the political tide turned against him as he was chased out of the country alongside his stooge, Brigadier-General David Lansana who with 14 others were tried, convicted and sentenced to death for treason, the first executions in Sierra Leone’s political history.

Sierra Leone faces similar situation as Bio has lost the elections but forcefully occupies State House with no one knowing where it would end.

But, it resonates with Sierra Leone’s history of the decades.

The history of Sierra Leone’s political dynamics is dominated by two main political parties before and after independence in 1961, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), and the All Peoples Congress (APC).

SLPP was formed in 1951 with Sir Milton Margai as leader in coalition with Siaka Probyn Stevens who later broke away because of ideological differences.

The first general elections to be held in Sierra Leone was in 1957, and was an all-SLPP affair as candidates were elected to go to the legislative council to prepare them for the constitutional talks at Lancaster House in London to pave the way for independence.

In 1960, Mr. Siaka Stevens canvassed certain groups and influential people from the North-West region to go against the Lancaster talks to decide about Sierra Leones independence.

To propagate his message well, he  formed the movement known as the ELECTIONS BEFORE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT(EBIM).

It was this movement that he later transformed to the political party called the All Peoples Congress with himself as leader.

On 27th April 1961, Sierra Leone became an independent country with Sir Milton Margai as the first Prime Minister.

The country opted for parliamentary system of government within the Commonwealth of Nations.

On 23rd May 1962, the second general elections were conducted under the universal adult suffrage just a year after independence, and   won by SLPP with Sir Milton Margai as Prime Minister.

When Sierra Leone became independent in 1961, Sir Milton Margai greeted the event with the assertion that “Sierra Leone will become a model state.”

Since then, however, the country has experienced authoritarianism, increasing corruption, rigged elections and series of coups.

Political changes have been both dramatic and deleterious and their impact on the socio-economic development of Sierra Leone’s democracy has paid no fruitful dividend.

After those elections, Siaka Stevens of APC was appointed Mayor of the Freetown Municipality, the first in the genealogy of mayors in Freetown.

After the death of his half-brother,  Sir Milton Margai on 28th April 1964, Mr. Albert Margai was appointed second Prime Minister of Sierra Leone the following day under abnormal circumstances.

During the short of his Premier, he introduced draconian laws notably the Public Order Act, 1965 which was intended to muzzle the press.

He was the architect of the one-party system of government and that led to some of his party members to abstain from that ideology and became independent candidates in the preceding elections of 1967.

The third general elections were held on St. Patrick’s Day on 17th March, 1967.

It was the most hotly contested elections in post-independent Sierra Leone and opened the way for military intervention in politics.

In those crucial elections, there was a tie between the two contesting parties as SLPP got 32 seats while   APC got the same number.

The election brought about a stand off as it was a parliamentary system of government in which the party with the highest number of seats in the legislative council could form a government.

In a sudden twist of events, two independent candidates, Luseni A.  Brewah and Kutubu Kai Samba crossed over to APC and put Siaka Stevens on the lead in the Legislative Council and to form a government.

On 20th March 1967, the Governor General, Sir Henry Light Foot-Boston was administering the oath of office to Mr. Siaka Stevens when a coup was staged by Brigadier David Lansana, Captain Hinga Norman and others.

The coupists arrested and detained both the Governor General and Mr. Siaka Stevens, an act that culminated into a sequence of events that followed in quick succession.

Brigadier Lansana quickly declared martial law throughout     Sierra Leone, but his reign was short-lived as he was deposed by other senior military officers headed by Major Charles Blake on 23rd of March, 1967.

They invited Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Juxon Smith to head the Junta regime which was named the National Reformation Council (NRC).

IN DECEMBER 1967, THE DOVE EDWIN COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY WAS SET UP TO LOOK INTO THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONDUCT OF THE MARCH 17TH GENERAL ELECTIONS.

On 17th and 18th April 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Juxon Smith was overthrown by a group of young non-commissioned officers headed by Private Morlai Kamara and others who called their movement the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement (ACRM).

Because of their youthfulness and inexperience in governance, on 21st of April 1968, they invited Colonel John Bangura to head the movement and named it the National Interim Council (NIC).

Their motive was to return the country to constitutional order as elections had been conducted, and there was an elected Prime Minister who was on the verge of being sworn in as Sierra Leone’s third Prime Minister.

On 23rd April 1968, Sir Banja Tejan Sie was appointed acting Governor General to replace Sir Henry Light Foot Boston who was getting old to hold the office.

Having looked at the findings of the commission of inquiry that was set up to look into the 17th March, 1967 elections results, and the subsequent crossing over of the two independent candidates, Brewah and Kai Samba to the All Peoples Congress, Siaka Stevens was sworn in for the second time as Prime Minister of Sierra Leone by the acting Governor General Sir Banja Tejan Sie on 26th April, 1968.

The political struggles of this nation and the eventual introduction of the military into its body politics was master minded by Sir Albert Margai as he was nursing a one-party ideology.

But, it was a history that was made in Sub-Saharan Africa that a ruling Party lost power to the opposition.

Such history was made possible due to the four SLPP members who threw their support to APC and Siaka Stevens as they were against Albert Margai’s one- party concept.

They were eventually offered ministerial posts by Siaka Stevens in his new government.

The conclusion of the story has yet to be written, as it is, however, much more than an academic expert to analyse the elections of 1967, and the three military coups that followed the electoral process. The elections must be examined in the first instance, in the light of the history of the Parliament which preceded them. After the elections of 1962, the SLPP formed Government, just a year after independence in 1961, and the APC became the opposition party. From this point, we can assess the political changes and examine to what extent they have had a permanent impact on Sierra Leone’s political history. The recurrent impact of political event crises both from the nature of the event, and from the socio-economic context in which it occurs.

Social changes in Sierra Leone since 1961 has not been more different in type from that of the pre-independence decade. The primary factors in the political systems and dynamics of the country remain much as they have been since 1951.Local,regional and tribal loyalties, the traditional strong hold of the South East been predominant Sierra Leone Peoples Party, whilst the North West being All Peoples Congress predominance hegemony has not done justice to us as a nation. But this imbalances in what is confronting us now as a Nation became more visible under the present regime! Can history repeat it self from what happened in 1967 to April 1968, to what lies ahead from the elections of June 2023, and will end probably, in April 2024? THAT’S THE UNTOLD STORY!!!

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