Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 January 2021:
The Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice informed the media at a press conference held at the Ministry of Information and Communications on Tuesday, 12th January 2021, that it has commenced legal action to confiscate properties belonging to Persons of Interest.
They said that ruling has been delivered in 15 of the first 20 cases involving houses and lands as part of the recovery process in the implementation of the Commissions of Inquiry recommendations.
Principal Legal Consultant in the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lahai Momoh Farma, explained that the grace period for all those that were indicted in the COI reports expired on the 24th of December 2020.
According to Farma, the documents in respect of the 20 orders they took to court are presently with the Master and Registrar for approval and onward submission to the Government Printer for gazetting.
“Once gazetted we will announce the names and locations of the confiscated properties for the public to know,” Mr Farma assured.
He said that the President has been magnanimous enough to give all the indictees 90 days to repay all that they had allegedly embezzled but up to this moment some are hiding behind appeal.
“An appeal is not a stay of execution of judgment which will be implemented anyway. If the appellants win their appeal whatever might have been taken from them will be returned. But if on the other hand they lose the appeal they will forfeit everything and even be asked to pay interest on the principal they are supposed to pay, plus cost,” the Principal Legal Consultant warned.
Mr. Farma urged the 136 persons found wanting by the COI to adhere or face the full force of the law.
He said that government will use all peaceful or aggressive means if necessary to ensure that all the monies in the COI reports are recovered.
He disclosed that 85 of the persons of interest have appealed but that will not stop them from recovering what is due the state.
He informed the media that the accounts of all persons of interest had been frozen, except for few who have been given clearance to access their monies. “If it causes us to take the monies in their accounts to repay their loot we will do it; and if those monies are not enough, we will confiscate their properties and sell them until they fully repay,” he said.
In another development, the Head of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) – Francis Ben Kaifala speaking at a press conference organised by the ACC on Monday, updating journalists about the Auditor General’s Report, said: “We are going to recover all those monies”.
“We are coming strong. We are not going to take excuses. People are going to pay. People are going to prison. We are going to go after their properties. We are going to hit where it hurts them most. It’s not a threat it’s a promise”.
The combustion chamber of the temperamental STEAM BOILER was activated. All burners were firing at optimum level and the temperature in the pressure vessel was above normal boiling point. Superheated steam was being generated and the system was overpressurized, thereby lifting the safety relief valve. Pheeew!!! Steam was flowing all over the place, and the intermittent blaring of the alarm was reverberating in everyone’s eardrum. Amber light was continuously flashing, and there was pandemonium everywhere. Alarm blow – the never-ending story of the notorious Sierra Leone Peoples Problem (SLPP); hotspots everywhere.
“Darkay!”, the now old and pot-bellied Captain shouted, as he limped towards the Chief Officer, “what do we do now? Everything is falling apart.” The brutish looking Chief Officer smiled slyly and said: “no other remedy left … unless we open the COI valve to release some steam that will lower the pressure.” The paopa SLPP have been sailing in rough seas lately: the disclosure of rampant embezzlement by their upper echelon; the theft or mismanagement of Le177 billions in the 2019 Audit Report; the disappearance of various equipment procured for the fight against COVID-19; the extraordinary spending of US$520,000 for a supposedly second honeymoon in Lebanon; the outcry by the general public for the extravagant spending of over US$500,000 by the President for his holiday in Bonthe District; and other matters.
“OK Darkay, alert those Creeps at the ACC to open the COI valve. My blood pressure is rising, I can’t bear it any longer”, the little obese Captain ordered, as he huffed and puffed in his cabin. Since the criminal and thuggish paopa SLPP came to power, they have used the COI lever to gain some respite whenever the heat is on. In the recent media press conference, it was ludicrous to see the Head of the ACC dilly dallyimg on well documented issues in an effort to avoid potential questions of whether the paopa SLPP, as the most corrupt government ever to rule Sierra Leone, have the moral ground to confiscate assets of members of the Opposition APC party. Whatever these impulsive gangsters have in mind, many would be quite happy if they don’t bring back another senseless and brutal war in the country again.
Nicely done big bro,the crystal-clear picture you have painted so effortlessly speaks volumes about the gross ineptitude of the wicked Criminal SLPP and the unscrupulous tactics they have been using to deceive the suffering masses of Sierra Leone.Impulsive gangsters they are;Pot-belly thugs with weight problems that just can’t wait to eat.The vast majority of people in Sierra Leone have been getting a “RAW DEAL” bro by being forced to go to bed hungry while SLPP leaders and their loyal delusional supporters keep on gormandizing with greed.
What beats me is how a crowd of losers ended up with power in our peaceful beloved Sierra Leone; All you have to do is look and you will see them hopping around like grasshoppers;(lol Gentlemen – here are some clues that will enable you to recognize SLPP Losers quite easily: Firstly, if you happen to run across someone dressed in radiant green that refuses to cut his shapeless Afro that looks like an untrimmed wild shrub that has become a natural habitat for itchy crawling insects – that man right there is another SLPP Loser.(lol) Secondly, if somehow by chance you happen to be in the immediate vicinity of State House and you see some men with huge potbellies that just love to ‘Pee’ publicly on nicely painted brick fences and stone walls – take note they are Losers that belong to the inept criminal SLPP cabal.(lol).
Thirdly, if you ever bump into a stammering drunk that keeps on chanting SLPP Slogans way past midnight while he is just about ready to throw himself headlong into an empty swimming pool without a drop of water as a sign of loyalty to his Corrupt President – let him be, do not restrain him, go ahead and include him in your count – he also is among the grunting hopeless, pathetic vultures of SLPP losers.(lol) Again if you find yourself in a government office and see some unscrupulous individuals chewing tobacco, clearing their throat and spiting shamelessly on the beautiful carpeted hallways – run as fast as you can away from them – Covid 19 is real; they are nothing but Losers that feed with greed on crumbs that fall from the Presidents gigantic all you can eat buffet table.(lol).
Lastly, if you are in a minister’s office at 8am trying to get some urgent business done and you find “ASHAWOS” already there waiting for him – Don’t waste your precious time; walk away he is another good for nothing freeloader – the worst kind of SLPP Loser you will ever set your gentle eyes on.(lol)
Stargazer – please go easy on your language. Thanks.
You don’t sell properties confiscated from people to Bio SLPP kakistocracy operatives searching for properties to buy or to anyone. You put such properties at the disposal of the government. What if another government comes to power and throw a spanner into the decision of the COI? I will never buy any property from officials labeled as corrupt. Beware before you buy any property from people deemed as corrupt by the Bio SLPP kakistocracy. There is definitely going to be a review on all what is happening politically in the country when we kick their butts out of power in 2023. God bless Sierra Leone.
These freeloading Ignoramuses are the worst kinds of leeches and parasites to have ever ruled Sierra Leone; these tribalistic anarchists and rabble-rousers just cant seem to understand that they are embarking on a fruitless mission, by stupidly trying to build a sustainable system on the unsteady foundations of shifting sands of senseless political witch-hunts. Be rest assured we will not let the mindless erratic attitudes of these thugs, plunge our country ever again into
turmoil and unrest.
Politics is an ever-revolving door – a menacing situation where what goes around comes around, a place where the same old events keep on recurring in a continuous frightening cycle. Trust me what they are striving to do now out of hatred, revenge and spite is going to eventually crumble into pieces like sandcastles built by the fragile little hands of children. These two-faced, enforcers of the most despicable principles of double standards anyone has ever seen, should not think that the general public isn’t aware that their shady rules of fighting against corruption, applies to the opposition in one way and to their blood-sucking tribesmen in another.(lol) An incompetent government that still does not know the difference between a clean toilet and a filthy one, that still struggles and tussles to get priorities in order is now trying to seize lands and real estate properties they totally lack the required skills and abilities to maintain.
Again, as if they have not already been made totally paralyzed by daunting, crushing obligations that came from their own outright ineptitude, here they come in haste,j umping, leaping without restraint, from frying pan directly into the fire with tons and tons of added needless responsibilities.(lol) This old soldier and his autocratic regime need to know that by harassing, arresting and seizing the assets of only opposition members, their actions will be just like igniting the fuse that creates a nasty explosion, that will shockingly transform our quiet, peaceful Sierra Leone into another firestorm.
How remarkable such a stance would have been, if anyone found wanting of corrupt practices, gets the same treatment under the law regardless of political affiliation or business dealings. Since successive audit reports during the EBK regime serves as the backbone of the so called COI, Sierra Leoneans are still waiting to see what will happen to all the ministers and head of MDAs, who oversaw the astronomical loss of billions in both 2018 and 2019 audit reports. The ACC’s empty howling and barking is becoming a nuisance to say the least.
What is clear for all to see, is that Sierra leone is a rich picking for corruption. And for corrupt individuals, our country is a Mecca or their Jerusalem. Corruption breeds corruption. When the ACC released their press briefings on corruption and the actions or the lack of it, they are taking against individuals found guilty, then you look at the trajectory and the direction of wind of travel and the impact it is having on the people it is supposed to deter. It does not make for easy reading for the general public that want to see real changes. “We are going to hit them where it hurts most”. Well if the 2019 audit report was anything to go by, it does npt seem to make a jot of difference.
No one is listening to the empty threats from the ACC. The idea of just putting out threats of taking away assets, is not enough for some. More like it emboldened them to steal more. Real action is what is needed. If Bio started his drive in the highway of anti corruption at say 70MPH, he has suddenly been slowed down by corruption speed bumps that won’t let him accelerate. Now it is less thank than 20MPH. Right now Sierra leone has all the ingredients that allows corruption to flourish. Political monopolization or concentration of power in the centre, civil participation locked out in the decision-making process, lack of transparency, too much bureaucracy and weak administrative structures. It is all build up as the perfect storm for those wanting to be corrupt and to be corrupted.
I strategically support the Bio government on the issue of the Commissions of Inquiry and its aftermath. All those found to have inflicted unconscionable pain on us, through various forms of theft, should be reduced to a life of penury. It should be a lesson for future public office holders, that if they don’t earn their wealth legitimately they could lose all of it. The days when people see government service as a vehicle of enrichment should be brought to a rude and abrupt end.
No one can dispute the fact that the most remarkable outcome of COI was/is a former head of state (Ernest Koroma) was caught in the dragnet and forced to answer belittling questions about his stewardship, through which he amassed unspoken wealth. Never in our history has this happened. The unprecedented nature of it should be what gives us hope. APC cannot wait to regain power to revenge. Therefore SLPP will try to do the right thing knowing that APC ruthlessness is legendary. The omens are not good for them with billions of Leones going missing at government quite often. Ordinary people like me are in for a treat.
We still have the COI tied around us like a burden. What exactly does this bunch of thieves shield by their old soldier and his government want to prove to the people of this great nation? When it is evident that they have failed us with their rampant corruption, a government proved to be the most currupt of all time. Talking about the government publicly and naming people and the location of their property confiscated -like seriously. We as a nation were expecting the government and the ACC boss alias bootlicker, to do the same after AG’s report over covid 19 money and those computers and other areas of interest. It is now clear that this paopa government has scared cows which they don’t want to accept. You have forgotten development and so decided to play politics, all because you have failed us as a nation.