Sierra Leone Telegraph: 05 May 2022:
Minister of Transport and Aviation in the former Koroma-led APC government – Kemoh Sesay, was today remanded in custody by Principal Magistrate Sahr E. Kekura in Freetown, accused of allegedly insulting the President in a speech delivered to his supporters in Port Loko. Kemoh Sesay is a presidential aspirant of the opposition APC, and is one of the leading voices of the party.
Report published by the Judiciary Communications Unit, says that the former Minister was brought before the Court today to answer to one Count of Cyber Stalking and Bullying contrary to Section 44 (2) (b) of the Cyber Security and Crime Act of 2021.
According to the particulars of offence, “Kemoh Sesay between March and April 2022, through social media, via WhatsApp, in Port Loko District, Bakeloko Chiefdom in the Northern Province of the country, did wilfully and repeatedly communicate directly to the President, Dr Julius Maada Bio in a manner that he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio or causes such a message to be sent.”
Kemoh Sesay has been detained at the Pademba Road male Correctional centre, until Monday, 9th May, 2022, when he will appear in court for hearing.
This is a video recording of Kemoh Sesay speaking to his supporters which has landed him behind bars:
Last week, the police wrote this letter to the Secretary General of the APC inviting Kemoh Sesay for interrogation:
Here we go again, the pot calling the kettle black. How did all the apc party stalwarts get their money? Folks you can’t fool all the people. You are just waiting your turn to continue what you started. No wonder Sierra Lrone with all her wealth in natural resources coupled with brain power cannot feed herself. The so called educated elite better continue to hide their heads in the sand of shame.
I understand the mindsets of most of the APC supporters, based on the fact that even their lifetime leader can’t even understand basic concept of resigning from politics and acting as an elderly statesman.
The Telegraph clearly introduced Kemoh Sesay as the former Transport and Aviation Minister under the APC government which is an indication that he is one of the stakeholders in our country. I personally believe that he should understand the role of the police and law enforcement officers in governance process , which is the protection of lives and properties and to restore law and order.
Since the APC party lost the 2018 presidential elections, they have made it clear that “ they will make our country ungovernable by causing all sorts of problems”. So the enforcement officers have to maintain law and order in Lunsar, Makeni,Tombo and Pademba Road Prisons and that does not make President Bio a “Killers”.
The voters already heard this same description about then Presidential Candidate Retired Brigadier Maada Bio, and the APC even invited Captain Valentine Strasser on national TV for propaganda purpose, but he was still voted as our president and nothing will change in 2023.
I hope the link below will help explain my position that even in the United States, NO OPPOSITION POLITICIAN HAS FALSELY ACCUSED ANY PRESIDENT of being a “Killer”: whenever the Police are performing their duties:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
I
On the aftermath of the botched Iraqi invasion by the United States and Coalition forces for purported weapon of mass destruction (WMDs), which later turned to be false, both former leaders of the United States and Great Britain, George Bush and Tony Bliar, were called killers and war criminals, with many voices at the international level calling for them stand trial for war crimes. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, South Carolina longest serving senator, Lindsey Graham, was on national television calling Russian President Putin a killer, in addition to president Joe Biden being on record for calling Puttin a war criminal.
During our civil war, former president Kabbah was partly blame for the infamous Mabela slum bombing by the Nigerian Jet (Alpha Jet), and called a killer, due to his pronouncement on BBC world news interview that ‘everyone left in Freetown was a rebel’, while in exile in neighboring Guinea during the aftermath of the January 1999 Freetown rebel incursion. Former president Ernest Bai Koroma have been accused for all the worst crime and describe by the worst adjective, both during his tenure in office and afterwards, mostly from SLPP supporters, to date there is no record that someone was arrested or charge in court for insulting a statesman.
In regards to Kemoh Sesay utterance towards president Bio, the last time i check, Bio is a former military man, declared by his supporters of being one of the ferocious fighters during our nation’s civil war, killing many rebels. So the question is, why should anyone think it’s a crime for calling him just that? Can any of his supporters prove that Bio has never kill a human being? Oh please! Our nation is in hot waters under this PAOPA regime!
Surely we have heard worse from Anerican politicians .The access to “Hollywood Tapes “in the run up to the 2016 US Presidential race between Senator Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and some crazy cinspiratory theorists claims of Mrs Clinton and some senior members of DNC of running a paedophile ring. This accusation levelled against Mr Kemoh Sesay is a storm in a tea cup.The Gospel according Mr Kemoh Sessy spreading the word of truth about Bio and his one directionless government to his disciples to what appears to me under the shadow of a Mango tree , will not look out of place when Jesus Christ decided to spread the word of truth to oppressed Jews .In the book of John chapter 8 verse 32, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him:” If you continue in my word , you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”If we have been honest with ourselves which is very much lacking with a huge chunk of our population, hence the prosecution of those who put their head above the parapets to speak truth to authority are always been treated like a frog in a boiling water , they always felt it but on a basic thing. And that is the rank hypocrisy of it all .To the Bio admirers to think Mr Kemoh Seasay doesn’t deserve to explain himself.
But hang on a second this speech was similar to a speech made to youths in Makeni caught on tape by no other than the residence Minister of Northern Province Hon .Abu .Abu back in 2020.Few months later his incendiary statements came to pass in the form of the killing of six youths in Makeni over the relocation of a standby generator.No one is above the law .Mr Kemoh Sesay came out with statements of fact and no one got killed, but managed to ruffled the feathers of Bio , and is being taken to court for daring to speak the truth . Then you have Resident Minister in the government of Bio that threaten to kill youths and going after their families.He was giving time out from his position by Bio and later rewarded with a position in the Bio government for the inconvenience it cost him .What about the youths that were killed by our trigger happy police? No one should abuse the freedom of speech especially our criminal justice system that have now occupied this position as the guardians and regulators of Freedom of speech in Sierra Leone .
Alusine Fallay, in western Democracies they call their leaders worst names; they call them “bloody”something, they call them brainless, they call them “bull” something, they call them “piece” of something, they call them liars, the list is endless. Western leaders understand that many obnoxious things come simultaneously with leadership and they develop a thick skin to absorb them. Most leaders in Africa don’t like criticism or being called names, Bio is no exception. I cannot forget the fact that Western values are different from ours, which should temper some of the things we say about our leaders, at least in public, but the fact remains that security forces are at the command of Bio, ultimate responsibility rests with him. Too much blood has been spilled under him. As things stand he and Siaka Stevens are drawing almost level, it’s just their methods that are different.
I notice that Alhaji Kemoh Sesay was not making use of his left arm much in this video. Is he still unable to use his left arm after his last illness with stoke?
I thought that free speech is allowed in Sierra Leone since the repeal of the Libel Act. Why would a Magistrate sent to remand a senior citizen for alleged insult on the president. This is more or less a civil matter
For all the years that I have followed political campaign in the USA, which is the model of Democracy and Freedom Of Speech, I have never heard a politician calling any president of the United States a “killer” for the death of any citizen killed by any police or law enforcement officer.
Even in Sierra Leone, under the 11 years of misrule of the lifetime leader of the APC, when police officers killed protestors in Kabala and Njala University campus, no one has called their leader a killer.
The hatred for President Bio and incitement in our country is out of control, but much should not be expected from a public official who has been accused of drug trafficking in our country which has continuously destroyed the lives of our citizens.
It was president Bio’s personal security guards massacred prisoners inside the pademba road prison. President Bio himself took responsibility for the killing in Makeni, Tonko Limba, Tombo, LUNSAR, mile 91 twice, Lumley twice. President Bio was given the opportunity to take questions at radio 98.1 after all the massacres, he said that all they did was INTENTIONAL.
Paddy man, president Bio is a killer. Check the video
Hon. Kemoh Sesay was right. He did nothing wrong, that’s free speech guaranteed by the 1991 constitution.
All Kemoh says in the video was not misleading.
Yes, president Bio’s personal security guards massacred prisoners in the pademba road prison yard. President Bio said on radio 98.1 that all the killings that took place in Makeni, Tonko Limba, Tombo, LUNSAR, mile 91 and Lumley were INTENTIONAL. He took responsibility, so he is a killer.
President Bio involved in international FORGERY in Japan, according to auditor general’s report. That gain, Kemoh was right that Maada Bio is a thief.
During the 2018 presidential debate, it was revealed that president Bio involved in 18 million dollar theft, which president Bio failed to clear his name. So Kemoh was right. Please tell us where Kemoh goes wrong according to the video making rounds on social media ?