Dr. Kandeh Kolleh YumKella
The decision of erstwhile Director-General of UNIDO, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh YumKella to suspend his bid for the flagbearer of the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has posed serious threat to the chances of the party winning the next presidential election in March, 2018.
According to some concerned members of the Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella Movement (KKYM), the former UN Under Secretary-General took the right decision given the treatment meted out to him by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the SLPP since he entered into the political fray nearly two years ago with the objective of redeeming the bad concept of the party and ensuring that it regains its exuberant past after ten years in political wilderness, a situation compounded by intra-party squabbles which could have led to his suspension of his bid for the SLPP flagbearer.
They therefore vowed to follow Dr. Kandeh Yumkella anywhere he goes and that they will encourage him to either establish a new political party or join a coalition to prove his worthiness to both ruling All People’s Congress (APC) and SLPP.
The KKYM loyalists bragged about the recent local council bye-election in Ward 139 in Samu Chiefdom, Kambia District which an independent candidate allegedly supported by Dr. Yumkella won, adding that the election results were a serious blow to detractors who had earlier claimed that the former UNIDO Director-General has no political base in the country.
Supporters further added that they believed that Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella is well known in both international and National level, for him to be always being intimidated by cheep supporters of Maada Bio most of the times.
The KKYM supporters alleged that most national officers in the SLPP feared that if they created a level playing field for the national delegates’ conference, Dr. Yumkella would pose serious threat to Brig. (Rtd.) Julius Maada Bio’s chances of winning the flagbearer race. They therefore added that the proposed SLPP convention in Kenema would be a coronation for the November 2012 SLPP presidential candidate allegedly backed by over 90% of the national officers whose tenure expired in August 2016.
The KKYM members asserted that without Dr. YumKella the SLPP would not emerge victorious in the 7th March, 2018 presidential election.