The opinion of former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the A.P.C. government, Dr. Abdulai O. Conteh on the imbroglio in Parliament should not come as a surprise to astute students of the political scenario of Sierra Leone in the last couple of decades. The statement read: “The President does not have the power to convene Parliament in this case. The President can only do so for special purposes. The sacking of the former Vice-President Sam Sumana and the call by the President for the Clerk to convene Parliament are both equal breaches of the Constitution.
-Dr A.O. Conteh
One of the architects of the 1991 Constitution.
As one of the architects of the 1991 Constitution as stated above it can be safely concluded that Dr. Abdulai Conteh is a very learned and intelligent man. It can also be concluded that he would have his eyes on the leadership of the APC now that Dr. Ernest Koroma has been forced to relinquish power. In fact before the election of Ernest Koroma as APC Leader Dr. Abdulai Conteh was one of the most eligible candidates.
As an intelligent man if he had not backed the position of the former Speaker of Parliament he would have been seen to have given up all hopes of succeeding Ernest Koroma. Though in his heart of hearts he knows that what he said was wrong he had to be political in this case.
He used political chicanery to extraneously rope in the matter of the illegally sacked former Vice President Sam Sumana to buttress a bad case.
Whether the initiative for the interview was taken by Dr. Abdulai Conteh or the BBC interviewer is top secret. What is clear is that there was a hidden agenda for the interview that cannot be unconnected with the future hopes of Dr. Abdulai O. Conteh vying for the leadership of the A.P.C. and subsequently becoming President of Sierra Leone.
Readers would now see the rationale of having three Judges of the Supreme Court owing to the fact that three heads are always better than one. Becoming an architect of the 1991 Constitution does not entitle Dr. Abdulai Conteh to be the single arbiter of our national destiny.
Dr. Abdulai Conteh has been away from home in the West Indies in a high judicial capacity but there is no place like home and no prestige better than that from compatriots. Dr. Abdulai Conteh’s nuisance value has been seen through. We are not amused at his efforts which have demeaned him. He can still guide or mislead the APC banking on his outlived reputation.