Sierra Leone Telegraph: 4 May 2018:
The Members of Parliament Elect of the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, have this morning entered the well of Parliament, after they were unceremoniously pushed out of parliament by the police, following ugly scenes of violent conduct by several of their MPs. The APC MPs say they were protesting after 15 of their MPs were injuncted by the High Court.
According to the head of the Ecowas Parliamentary Peace Mission – Mr Edwin Snowe, all 68 elected APC MPs will now be taking their oath today. (Photo: Below – APC MPs struggling with police as they disobey the orders of the Sergeant of Arms to keep the peace in Parliament two weeks ago).
Following the conclusion of peace talks brokered by representatives of the ECOWAS Parliament, both the ruling SLPP and the opposition APC are believed to have agreed to the withdrawal of their respective interim injunctions, though the petitions will remain in Court for adjudication. (Photo: Below – Today, all 68 APC MPs have arrived back in parliament this morning – in their best behaviours).
This is the statement issued by the ECOWAS peace envoys in Freetown yesterday:
Thanks Ecowas, for your contribution. We Hope the ruling party will take your advice and put Salone first. Our country has grown with enormous division in this campaign.
Plenty thanks to the Krio descendants. We are all ONE people and ONE country.
Thanks be to God democracy is truly here.
Verily,the law of our land must NOT be sidelined for adjudicated parliamentarians of APC thugs.The petition must proceed ahead and those found guilty face their due punishment.
So that, it’s serves as a clear EXAMPLE to others. No party in Sierra Leone is bigger the people. We employed politicians to represent the nation NOT their self interests. We paid them from our Taxes NOT their money. It is incumbent upon POLITICIANS to protect the values of Sierra Leone.