Sierra Leone Telegraph: 12 February 2020:
Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), has today, 10th February, 2020, charged the Town Chief of Kensay Community, Koidu City, Kono District – Chief Sahr Quee; and Ms. Sundu Yonga – who is the former local councillor of Kensay Community, on three counts of corruption offences.
Both have been indicted on charges relating to the misappropriation of donor property, contrary to Section 37(1), and conspiracy to commit a corruption offence, contrary to Section 128 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No.12 of 2008 as Amended.
According to the ACC, in 2018, the former Minister of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment – Diana Konomanyi, (Photo), donated the following building construction materials – twenty lengths of half-inch iron rods and five bundles of zinc, exclusively meant for the rehabilitation of the Kensay Community Barry in Kono.
Investigations conducted by the ACC, confirm that the accused persons received the building materials from former minister Konomanyi, but decided to convert the materials for their personal benefits.
The ACC said that Chief Quee and Ms. Sundu Yongai, along with other persons unknown, on a date or dates unknown in 2018, conspired to dishonestly appropriate the building materials, thereby depriving the Kensay Community from enjoying a rehabilitated Community Center.
Both accused are expected to make their first appearance at the High Court of Sierra Leone, in Kono, on Thursday, 13th February, 2020.
In another related development, there is still no information on progress from the ACC regarding their investigations into the missing 50,000 bags of rice, donated by China to the government of Sierra Leone in support of the country’s schools feeding programme.
Two million children were supposed to have been fed with the rice, which was part of a seven million tons of food aid donated by the Chinese government.
According to reports published last month, over 3,000 bags of the missing rice were found by the ACC after investigations, alleged “to have been held in storage” by a government official.
While questions remain as to the whereabouts of the remaining consignment of rice, four senior government officials, including the former minister of basic education – Dr Alpha Timbo have been relieved of their duties.
No one has been charged to court for the missing Chinese rice, in what has been dubbed “Chinagate”.
The fight against corruption must continue in all corners of the country, however, success can only be achieved when there are no sacred cows. By all indications, it appears the ACC is more energetic to go after former regime officials whenever found wanting. So far, a lip-service and dragging of feet approach is being observed by the ACC whenever current regime officials are found wanting. The fight against corruption will be nothing but a farce if this continues.
The fight against corruption and stealing by the ACC is to be supported. But this stealing of building materials is only peanuts. I believe there are more important crimes going in the billions of leones.
Another moment of justice being applied selectively,given teeth when lower rank officials are involved and enfeebled when the higher-ups are involved.Nothing has changed significantly even with the much touted cry of Maada Bio to tackle corruption head on almost from the minute he wrested power from APC two years ago.
Events have brought into focus the credibility of not only the President but his Anti Corruption Commission [ACC]too, which he [the President]has clandestinely hamstrung in hopes that the public will not notice.I have repeatedly asserted that APC and SLPP are siamese twins joined at the head.When one of them takes over from the other we are hoodwinked to believe that a revolution is at hand.But then things just fizzle out.The same objectives are pursued in a different guise.APC are conspicuous,while SLPP function under the radar until they are forced to gain altitude to expose their diabolical activities.
“Chinagate”was one occasion when SLPP had to rise from the surface of the earth to reveal their unconscionable denial of children their right to be properly fed if only for a short while.The Thief Minister,David Francis,was implicated in the robbery as were others.The Thief still roams the streets of Freetown a free man but a lowly chief and a powerless woman have been indicted for missing building material,not for not being able to explain how $1.5 million was deposited into their account and using their power to have a journalist thrown into jail for exposing the transaction.
The nation still awaits the result of the so-called investigation which ACC supposedly initiated after the Auditor-general unambiguously revealed the disappearance of billions of Leones at various government entities.My hunch is that the Bio Administration has buried it deep into the ground of State House because of its potential to bloody the nose of most of the powers that be.Let us keep crying for mother Sierra Leone until we sum up enough momentum to kick the siamese twins into the dustbin of the political landscape since they survived their birth – a misfortune for the entity called Sierra Leone.
The cosmetic,superficial tribalistic ACC has now,undressed themselves;Bottoms and all showing,flabs and abs hanging, – their latest move,reveals a repulsive,sickening lack of credibility to the piercing,scrutinizing eyes of an attentive world. They are arresting the little fishes for stealing bundles of zinc,and iron rods,charging them to court,wasting taxpayers money, while those big kleptomaniacs that stole thousands of bags of donated Chinese rice,are walking,and roaming free,as cows on a dairy farm.
But why Saidu,is the ACC picking and choosing,who they prosecute,and who they don’t? This is outright wrong! True. But then again you must remember that the ACC’s main aim,and objective is not to tackle,and fight corruption,but to settle old scores, stoke, maintain,and rekindle the flames of ages gone, grievances. Again,we are still waiting to see if the ACC will find time to probe the Finance Minister,in order for us to know,how exactly he manage to overspend his budget by billions of leones. Rising. Sun Will Rise Again