Israel Ojekeh Parper (Snr): Sierra Leone Telegraph: 7 May 2020:
Was the 2000 or 3000 bags of rice in Pademba Road Prison stores a factor in the staged Prison break out?
What were SLPP people like Fatmata Sawaneh doing at the Prison at 3am in the morning even before the disturbances occurred?
Why was Batilo and the others named in her original audio together with Lahai Lawrence Leema doing at the prison? Her poor attempt to deceive the public by recreating the audio simply compounded her guilt.
Were they there to loot the rice and setting the store on fire as a coverup of the intended theft?
The shooting and killing of prisoners running away is genocidal. Even in war, you do not shoot prisoners who are running away or surrendered.
Kandeh Yumkella is partly to be blamed for what Sierra Leon is going through today. He deceived the people after hijacking the NGC when he could not see a way through to the leadership of the SLPP he wanted.
The APC has given President Bio several chances for peace and cohesion. The APC hierarchy had gone to State House to meet with President Bio.
Let the SLPP stop the arbitrary arrests, stop the killings, stop the intimidation. Let the SLPP leadership focus on the job of governing without retaliation and revenge.
The President must show leadership: get rid of Leema from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, get rid of Dennis Sandy as the Minister of Lands. These are two key people that are causing hatred in and bitterness for the President and the SLPP.
Leema is a Deputy for God’s sake, not the substantive minister. If Minister Soluku cannot do the job as minister, then let him resign and save tax payers’ money.
Leema is doing the job of the Inspector General of police and Ben Kaifala doing the job of the CID/ Police prosecutors. Crimes of real theft are not in the Anti-corruption domain, they are in the CID/Police domain.
Everyone is doing what they think they have right to do. Not to mention the Chief Justice’s own failures and excesses. But that is another kettle of fish for another day. So far he has proved to be the worst Chief Justice in the history of Sierra Leone.
Using Sir Albert Margai’s style of politics, works for president Bio but does not hide what he is doing. We saw it all in 1964/1966.
Chief Justice Edwards must change his course, step up or resign. He is another failure in the Bio governance structure.
Kandeh Yumkella has nothing to say now for anyone to listen. Let he quietly go back to SLPP and wait to see if he can manage to recapture his lost position.
Truly, NGC are a joke. They should simply begin to plan an exit strategy, because like previous temporary Parties, they will soon melt into thin air.
In my personal opinion, I believe that since the conclusion of the commission of inquiry which found that our country was looted from 2007-2018 by some corrupt and selfish politicians, now corruption is fighting back through their destructive propaganda machine by applying their best ideology “SCORCHED EARTH POLICY” which simply means to burn down anything that is useful to the citizens that voted them (corrupt officials) out of power.
Now that the New Direction government is on track to win the war against corruption and illiteracy through the help of young government officials, the main focus now should be on restoring law and order and the fight against this unexpected Coronavirus.
Senesie Boima, with all due respect, Leema is actually a key contributor to the current inflamed tension and instability in our nation today. For a starter, his overzealousness and aggression, manifested by him always being a party to or alleged to involve in most violence events during the past 2yrs is a testament to his lawlessness, thuggish and lacking of respect for his superiors. No wonder he was up in arms with the APC while his party was in the opposition. He is indeed an uncontrollable thug now equipped with a state license to kill and revenge on APC leadership and supporters.
Leadership is not about making the loudest noise in the room, rather among other things, it’s about being methodical, restraint, and the ability to de-escalate potential tensions. Leema lacks any of these. His boss Soluku, who just got fired yesterday for reasons only known to the president, had proven to be an exemplary leader with his meticulous approach to national issues of concern. In retrospect, it appears it was all a strategic move by president Bio to appoint an immature, hypersensitive, thin skinned, lawless youth with prior bad encounters with law enforcements officers, as their boss — the perfect making of an attack dog to opposition members of the APC. It’s all making sense now.
Mr Parper I don’t see the need of changing Mr Lahai Lawrence Leema and Mr Francis Ben Kelfalla as both men are doing fantastically very good jobs for the stability, peace and socio-economic development of mama SALONE . Mr Leema respect his boss in the Internal Affairs Ministry of Sierra Leone and Mr Leema has an added role as the ruling SLPP party spokesman which requires him to always be on his feet in maintaining stability and internal security and answering problems and finding solutions for the peace, stability and internal security of mama SALONE.
Mr Ben Kelfalla is empowered by both criminal and civil laws in the execution of his Anti-Corruption Commission function and in just less than 2 years he has reigned as the Chief of the ACC he has recovered over 18 Billion Leones from criminals who had siphonned money from the state coffers and due to out of court settlement has refunded their looted money to the Consolidated fund; and more is on the way to be recovered from these criminals. Under Mr Kelfalla the nations credit rating has soured on the Global Transperacy Index.
It will be a good idea, if Mr. Senesie Junior Boima keeps preaching about the bastardisation of our constitution by President Bio and the “Bio SLPP”, rather than going berserk on the wise and brilliant suggestions of Mr. Parper. The fact that the ungentleman deputy Minister of the interior is acting like the police and the ACC is embarked on some sort of selective justice, is breeding a dangerous situation we must all condemn, in my view. Mr. Senesie Junior Boima should try and base his comments on what he sees and not what he thinks the writer might have thought.
Mr. Senesie Junior Boima is trying to tell me about how the ungentleman Minister of the interior is loyal to President Bio of the “Bio SLPP” and how Mr. ACC is doing a great job. What he failed to tell me is – What was the ungentleman Minister of the interior doing 3am at Pademba Road Prisons on that black day and why has the First Lady not been investigated for misappropriation of public funds by Mr. ACC? Read from Mr. Senesie Junior Boima’s last comment, trying to become a location tracker. God help Mr Senesie Junior Boima.
A brilliant and honest article – one of the best analysis in the ambiguous and gloomy political climate that the country presently finds itself. They say, first impressions count; and this is especially true for the somewhat boisterous and double standard Dr Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella. The infamous learned man knew from the time the results of the 2018 elections were announced, that he had committed political suicide by leaving the SLPP and forming the now almost-defunct NGC. He knew that it was just a matter of time for the NGC to shrivel up, and become history, just like other fringe parties – example Dr John Karefa Smart’s UNPP – did before it, in the politics of Sierra Leone.
“Kandeh Yumkella is partly to be blamed for what Sierra Leone is going through today.” Apparently, at the early stages of the present ruling SLPP government, Dr Yumkella was hoping that President Bio will reconcile with him and invite the NGC to form a coalition. But what will President Bio do with a 4-seat party, when his party (SLPP) was 19 seats short of the main opposition APC party in parliament? Bio took the other route instead – by unconstitutionally disqualifying and taking 10 seats from the main opposition party.
I have a portrait of her majesty Queen Elizabeth and a portrait of President Bio in my living room. As a Sierra Leonean it is my aim to have all the portraits of past leaders of Sierra Leone – framed and displayed on my wall.
The idea that the Sierra Leone police can use the former president Bai koroma’s portrait as evidence of a crime against this government is beyond me. If having the portrait of the leader both past and present is a crime, I am waiting for the British police to come and knock at my door for having the queen’s portrait on my wall.
KKY is the one behaving like astatesman. President Bio is quiet; ex president Koroma has not issued a statement; no leader of any of the other opposition parties has spoken. At the very least, Kandeh Yumkella is asking the right questions. And these are questions to which everyone wants answers.
This brings me to aanother question. Where is president Bio? Why is he not providing calmness, peace and leadership by addressing the nation?
He has just come out of quarantine with negative COVID19 result, which is wonderful to know. However is he unwell from another illness? Is that why he has ignored the people’s request to address the nation?
My Salone sister Ms. Patrica, compared to other leaders all across the globe who in times of chaos and disturbances addresses their citizens to provide calmness and assurance; our current leader believes in staying silent while anarchy overruns the nation. Let’s not forget, this is not the first time violence, thuggery, and loss of lives have taken place during his presidency. Since the eve of his election victory declaration violence has taken over the country.
Not once has he come out in public to address the nation or send a sober zero tolerance to violence message across the nation. He never does. Instead his party the SLPP will release a press release accusing the opposition each time violence takes place. It appears he is allowing his party extremist to call the shots. Until president Bio begins to rule as a president of all Sierra Leoneans instead of just for his party supporters, nothing will change.
Help me ask this question please? We have gone through three (3) massive killings where surveilance and army men have died, and yet still not a sound from the president. Do we have a president or even a vice president? I’m fed-up with this nonsense.