*Abdulrahman Somana Kapen
*Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella
*Alpha Timbo
*Prof. Alpha Tejan Wurie
*Prof. Osman Sankoh aka Mallam o.
*Dr Prince Harding
*Charles Margai
*Lahai Lawrence Leema
*Prof. David Francis
*John Oponjo Benjamin
* Others
Hard work is often rewarded with promotion, high responsibility and pay, but it is not case with the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) where those who work hard are let down and dumped.
Within SLPP, those who work hard are often demoted to inferior posts in the party if not asked to lay kits afterwards, a move that raised doubt about the people’s future in the country’s oldest political party after NCSL (National Council of Sierra Leone).
The likes of Abdul Rahman Somano Kapen, Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Professor Osman Sankoh, Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie, Dr Prince Harding, Alpha Timbo, Charles Margai, Lahai Lawrence Leema, Professor David Francis, John Oponjo Benjamin and others were not rewarded for their worthwhile services rendered to a party they cherish so much.
The party seems to have moved from traditionalism to radicalism with only young men and women making gains there while the old guards are pushed to the margins to fester in the worst economic conditions.
Abdul Rahman Somano Kapen appears to have been the most ill-treated and ill-fated old man in the SLPP which he led during turbulent times.
SLPP was in opposition between 2007 and 2018 with Kapen as Chairman and Leader for a great part of this period.
The party, at that time, was known for conflicts and controversies within itself owing to campism and protracted leadership struggles with Somano Kapen at the helm.
Despite the tough times, the party was kept well afloat through manful control as then SLPP leader weathered the political storm to make things work.
He did not give up, but closely worked with APC, the party in power at that time to calm down nerves in a post-conflict state.
Although the sea was rough, Somano Kapen proved to be a tough captain of the boat as rough seas made good captains. However, his respect fell to an all-time low when Yumkella’s membership crisis hit the party.
Yumkella who was UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) chief was not considered an SLPP comrade as he had no proof of membership.
In such a situation, Somano Kapen was between the devil and the deep Blue Sea as he risked banishment from the party if he showed neutrality in the politically contentious issue.
A large number of South-Easterners had made up their minds for having President Julius Maada Bio flag-bearer, and any move contrary to their demand was seen as a high form of deviance.
As a man of truth and integrity, the former Chairman and Leader had no alternative but to set the records straight by declaring Yumkella a bonafide member of the party.
Without doubt, such move placed him at loggerheads with senior SLPP members resulting into the departure from the party.
Somano was reportedly marched out of an SLPP conference in Kenema district which signaled the end of his membership in the party.
Even when SLPP came to power, no thought dawned upon any of the SLPP members that Kapen deserved an apology and should be brought back to the party of his forefathers.
He was used, abused and dumped, and the worst came when Yumkella who he was fighting for went back to SLPP probably without even consulting him.
The old man was left with no option but to see the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) as his ultimate destination, but age appears no longer on his side. He is leading a strong campaign for the retention of Dr Samura Kamara flag-bearer and leader of the party.
Yumkella himself who seemed to have traded and trafficked with then opposition leader was also disappointed.
He was canvassed to give up his membership of his new found National Grand Coalition and came back to SLPP where he was assured of a bright future.
Without much consideration, then NGC leader returned with the hope of holding a big ministerial post in Bio’s new dispensation.
His return to the old party came after Bio met elders in Kambia and requested a peace deal which was brokered overnight.
Yumkella’s reconciliation with a man who once allegedly ordered thugs to torture him and his mother struck many Sierra Leoneans’ imaginations. But, there was strong hope that he would make it if Bio won the elections.
Despite controversies, Bio was announced winner of the June 24, 2023 polls and sworn in President for the second term.
But, Yumkella whose dream might have been a big one was made to head a small and tiny unit, Environmental Protection Agency under the supervision of the Environment Ministry.
How can a party leader abandon his party to head a tiny unit in a government of young boys.
Yumkella shares the same fate with the late man, Thaimu Bangura, one-time leader of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) whose support to President Ahmed Tejan Kabba put SLPP at an edge over other political parties in the 1996 elections.
When Kabba was announced President of Sierra Leone after winning the elections, Thaimu Bangura who switched over to SLPP was made finance minister, but was later relegated to the Energy Ministry without unexplained reason.
It was not too long when he pass away after his relegation with many attributing it to the frustration, pain and agony made to bear on him by the SLPP guys.
In 2018, it was the turn of Alpha Timbo who threw his weight behind President Bio in the 2018 campaign after he abandoned his flag-bearer ambition.
He used his popularity earned over the years as a renowned trade unionist and teacher of long standing to see that Bio saw his way through in the polls. It came to pass as Bio became President in somewhat dubious circumstances.
Timbo was later appointed Minister of Basic and Senior School Education following the launch of the Free Quality Education project by President Julius Maada Bio.
Mr Timbo’s appointment was however short-lived as corruption allegation removed him from the honourable ministry to one of the most junior ministries.
Mr Timbo who was accused to have converted thousands of bags of rice donated to his ministry by the Chinese government was transferred to the Labour Ministry after an indefinite suspension.
Today, he is no longer a minister but chairman of Wages Compensation Commission, an institution which has less work in the present government.
Timbo’s future however remains uncertain under Bio’s government as no one knows what will happen next.
Next to be shown the exit door, was Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie who is now no longer a minister in the Bio dispensation.
Professor Wurie was Minister of Technical and Higher Education, but left out of the boat when Bio was controversially elected President of Sierra Leone for the second time.
Between 1996 and 2007 during Tejan Kabba’s reign, Professor Wurie was an active politician that vigorously campaigned with President Kabba in all parts of the country.
He got a wider recognition for the famous ‘Sababu Education’ project which brought education to the door steps of many Sierra Leoneans. Under this policy, no one should be discriminated against as education was meant for all.
The former Education Minister did not give up even after Pa Kabba’s government came to an end. He remained an active member of the party and even contested for the party’s flag, but later backed out of the race after it became clear that Bio had won grassroot support and was the people’s ultimate choice.
Professor Wurie also embraced Bio and toured with him to various parts of the country in the campaign trails which bore good fruits.
But, Alpha Wurie could not write a good success story as he has been left in the political wilderness. Alpha Wurie and others were not the only victims in the SLPP as Professor Osman Sankoh was also trapped in a dance of destiny.
Despite his glory days in the SLPP, he is today a mere shadow of his glory self as he has seen several demotions. Professor Sankoh has lost the posts of Statistician-General as well as Vice Chancellor and Principal of Njala University. The old professor left not with a clean record as he was used to carry out waves of illegal dismissals at Statistics Sierra Leone against his Northern brothers.
Over 100 workers mostly Northerners were dismissed at the statistics agency without justification, and the worst that would have come was the attempted use of Professor Osman Sankoh to legalise an illegal Mid-Term Census, the first in Sierra Leone’s history.
He however decided to drop out of the illegal deal when he was reminded how South-Easterners exploited then rebel leader, Foday Saybana Sankoh to wage war against the people of Sierra Leone with a clear objective to remove then government of President Joseph Saidu Momoh.
With a cursory inspection of the political situation within the SLPP, one would say it is unfair to Northerners, but such argument could be defeated when one looks at the treatment meted to Dr Prince Alex Harding, Chairman of SLPP and others from South-East.
Dr Harding contributed immensely to Bio’s presidency through a robust popularisation of SLPP’s radical movement, PAOPA. He however did not reap what he sowed rendering the biblical precept of ‘one reaps what he sows’ meaningless to Harding’s situation.
Apart from mobilising SLPP youth and grassroot outside the party, Dr Harding bore the heat of the day and the chill of the night in Bio’s campaign trails in 2018, but was rewarded with the low post of Chairman, National Privatisation Commission (NCP).
He remains in such post throughout Bio’s first term and is still NCP head with no prospect of elevation.
By his works, Dr Harding is expected to hold influential posts in Bio’s government especially the Chief Ministerial job, but it appears as if he had never been in SLPP’s good books, and prospect for him to rise above such position remains thin as his boss, President Bio still grapples with legitimacy crisis.
Dr Harding is not alone in the SLPP’s victimisation as Charles Francis Margai was also trapped in similar situation. The long-standing barrister has been one of the staunch SLPP members throughout the party’s existence. It was his parents, the Margais that first provided leadership for SLPP and ushered Sierra Leone into independence in 1961.
As one of the best legal brains here, Charles Margai defended the indicted war criminal, Sam Hinga Norman at the defunct Special Court for Sierra Leone following allegations of masterminding serious human rights violations during Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war.
Until his indictment, Mr Norman was National Coordinator, Civil Defence Force, a local militia group that defended their communities after it the soldiers allegedly joined ranks with the rebel faction, the Revolutionary United Front who were fighting to remove President Momoh from power.
The defence provided by Margai endeared him to the people of South-East, SLPP’s strongholds as they considered their son, Hinga Norman a war hero and not a war criminal.
Charles Margai was also Minister of Internal Affairs under Kabba’s presidency, a position he used to canvass the international community to look after the welfare of police and prison officers, but his effort was thwarted key SLPP politicians including late Vice President, Solomon Ekuma Berewa.
By his commitment to state governance and positive interaction with the masses, Margai ultimately became the people’s choice. He ran for the party’s flag in 2007, but failed owing to alleged machinations of the old politicians.
Out of fury and disappointment, Margai formed his party, the People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) which did extremely well than all other new political parties the country had ever seen.
PMDC would have been one of the most viable third forces Sierra Leone would have taken pride in had it continued to exist in Sierra Leone’s body politic. But, out of love and loyalty to the party of his forefathers, Margai campaigned to his people to elect President Bio President of Sierra Leone.
He later took up office of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice after Bio won the presidency, but his stay in the new government was not destined to last long as he was abruptly sacked following allegations of a visit to former President Ernest Bai Koroma in Makeni city, north of Sierra Leone.
Unlike traditionalists in the SLPP, the PAOPA movement, a group of young and inexperienced politicians do not want to see any SLPP member having business with an APC politician, and Margai’s visit to Mr Koroma was seen as a disfavour to SLPP.
As a man of contentment and satisfaction, Margai lives peacefully in Freetown after he has been deprived of the opportunity to serve his people.
The list is endless as Lahai Lawrence Leema also became a key SLPP victim. He is no longer part of a party for which he placed his safety at stake at a time the party was trying to survive the heat of a toxic political environment.
At the moment, his party members are going after him owing to allegations of extra-judicial killings. Leema was accused to have carried out brutal massacres in Freetown during August 10, 2022 demonstrations in which 31 Sierra Leoneans including six police officers were murdered.
Allegations were rife that the former minister butchered dozens of Freetown residents in Freetown.
He was said to have broken into people’s dwelling houses and pulled the trigger at unarmed and defenceless civilians. Currently, Leema is no longer safe despite the good works he claimed to have done for his party. He lives, most times in Kenema, his hometown with fear that he could be arrested one day come what may.
Leema’s mentor, Professor David Francis who appears to be the most demonic has returned to London after his dismissal by President Julius Maada Bio. Despite his academic credentials, Professor Francis appeared to be the most ruthless politician Sierra Leone has seen quite lately.
As if justifying brutality and thuggery against past APC government officials, Prof Francis was among SLPP hardliners who tagged the Koroma-led government a “criminal racketeering enterprise.” According to him, the then government was one controlled by kleptomaniacs that looted, pillaged and pilfered state resources.
In the Governance Transition Team report , 2018, the SLPP hardliners who quickly constituted themselves into a Governance Transition Team recommended the setting of a judge-led commissions of inquiry to hold the past government officials accountable for corruption.
The commissions were set up despite illegalities and controversies, and most of those found wanting never went free. Most of their houses and estates were lost to the state.
After all this dirty job, Prof Francis has gone back emepty-handed to London where he currently lectures with age no longer on his side. It is not clear whether he would come again for another SLPP as Bio would no longer put up with him.
Also, a big name in the big list of SLPP victims is the one-time finance minister, John Oponjo Benjamin whose political future remains uncertain.
He was in Bio’s advisory team at State House, but the sledge hammer descended quite recently. Even when Bio is standing close at the exit door, young guys have come up to replace him, and Mr Benjamin does not have the youthful energy and exuberance he used to have to fight politically.
Many senior SLPP members no longer have a place in Bio’s SLPP, but Northerners are the worst vulnerable. It is high time North-Western politicians in the SLPP come back to APC and fight a common cause or perish as fools.