Kabs Kanu: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 4 July 2024:
After listening to all the dramatis personae in Sierra Leone’s political imbroglio, including the flip- flopping U.S Ambassador, I am beginning to believe that instead of sitting down and blaming political figures and the international community, if electoral justice as we wanted it turns out to be a mirage after this Tripartite Committee, the people must act to redeem and reclaim their democracy.
As we saw during Arab Spring, the buck starts and stops with the people.
Political scientists may have been right to say that people get the governments they deserve. America can only do as much. The international community can only do as much. The key factor in any redemption struggle is the people.
If Maada Bio remains in power until 2028, it is on the people. That is my perspective. I might be wrong but that is the way I see it and that is what history has taught me. Power belongs to the people. It all boils down to the resolve of the people.
The people of Sierra Leone can have their democracy back if they really want it . It is beginning to look like the fulfilment of the old saying: IF YOU WANT SOMETHING BEST DONE, DO IT YOURSELF.
Snatching back our democracy must start with the APC first making it very clear that the statement by the U.S. Ambassador is unacceptable. His statement that emphasis must be on the 80 recommendations and not the points of divergence between the SLPP and APC is unconscionable and unacceptable.
Does it mean that President Bio must be allowed to get away with bold – faced elections robbery? Should we allow a dangerous precedent to be set in our country? Sierra Leoneans who love their country must not accept it in the interest of the nation.
The APC must unequivocally register our protest that we have been shorthanded and shortchanged and where necessary, we can start by withdrawing our MPs, councillors, and mayors from the Maada Bio charade he calls governance.
When that has been done, the people must back the APC by resorting to civil disobedience to reclaim their democracy. Nobody needs to go on the streets to fight and get killed by the Bio Tonton Macoute.
A sustained sit – home strike will have their voices heard. They should not cause any street chaos or disturbances. Just staying at home is sufficient. Since Bio wants to retain power by all means, let us give it to him to go it all alone and see how long it lasts.
The Ambassador is feeding on our acquiescence. He is saying that all is well and the SLPP and the APC have pledged to work together and so he is going to inform his nation that all is well in Sierra Leone. Is he right? Is everything well in Sierra Leone? We all know it is not so.
I am sick and tired of fanciful tales and highfaluting and unrealistic expectations being peddled by comrades as nothing they had conjectured had ever come true.
Where is the ECOMOG force they promised was coming to defend our democracy? Where is the multinational force they said was being put together by the U.S to come and tell Maada Bio to step down?
Where is the declaration from the international community that was promised to come on June 29 that Dr. Samura Kamara is the winner of the 2023 elections and inaugurated as President?
All have turned out to be a bunch of baloney and all the peddlers of these cock- and – bull stories have gone and done is make themselves modern day Bagdad Bobs, to the derision of the SLPP.
Let us stop fooling our people. We are taking advantage of their gullibility. This is wrong.
This is dangerous. Listening keenly to the U.S Ambassador yesterday, I do not see the possibility of any of the scenarios being painted by our Bagdad Bobs happening in Sierra Leone, under the present circumstances.
What I am saying will not go down well with our comrades, but it is better the truth than continue to build mountains of lies and false expectations.
Let the Sierra Leone people take matters in their hands and demand their stolen democracy. Again, they do not need to go into the streets to fight and get slain by Maada Bio. Let them just stay home and protest peacefully and seamlessly.
To me, that is the only way forward. I am no longer going to throw stones at the U.S. Ambassador. His statements yesterday were facilitated by the meek surrender he has seen on the ground in Sierra Leone. He must have been testing the waters, for all we knew. Let the Sierra Leonean people speak with one voice and let us see if this ambassador will not change his tune.
The message by Kabs Kanu is on song but the character and forthrightness of the messenger are questionable. I wish the impeccable, forthright, incorruptible and no-friend-of-bad-politicians Editor of this respected Sierra Leone Telgraph has penned this article. The CKC man-Kabs Kanu- is seasonal unlike some of us who are pro-Sierra Leone, will never be “Yelibas”, will never be recipients or beneficiaries of any of the long suffering people of Sierra Leone’s tax-payers money. We are battle-ready for all seasons and always rooting for the common man irrespective of who is occupying state house.
Back to the message, i think the dice is now rolled or if you like-the genie will no longer be put back in the bottle. The Sierra Leone Presidency will never ad finitum be decided by the choice, mandate and agency of the people but rather by the whims and caprices of the sittng President and his/her rogue Electoral Commissioner who will just pluck numbers from thin air without an obligation to substantiate his election results or leave an audit trail-an open invitation to the military to also dabble in the unsavoury game of unconstitutionality. The people of Sierra Leone will be continued to be treated as total mugs with the utmost of contempt by our bad politicians. Sometimes i just wonder what would have been the reaction of the pro-Bio/SLPP camp if it is the other way round.
Going forward, it is a case of what is good for the goose is good for the gander in a not-so-funny game of musical chairs with the 3rd poorest people on earth left in limbo? left to pick up the pieces and gasping for redemption and salvation from their daily grinding lives of penury and pauperism engendered by political uncertainty and bad governance with absolutely no valuable lessons learnt from the country’s chequered history, storied past or decreasing inflexion points.
Bob Massallay, Skewed though any reasonable and right- thinking people will find them, I have nothing against your opinions about me. Everybody is entitled to his/ her opinions. Opinion is free, though facts are sacred.
When I set up the Cocorioko Forum in the late 90s and provided Sierra Leoneans a venue to express their views , for my reward I was the best thing that happened to journalism and I was compared to other Editors,who were viewed in unfavorable light. It is a Sierra Leonean thing. With Sierra Leoneans, needless flattery is legend so I am sure anybody with experience would not fall for it.
But let me tell something. I am very, very proud of my 10 year service to the Sierra Leone government. It was a great opportunity to work in government and at the UN. I went in not to sup on taxpayers money because I had a very good job in America then as a Special Education teacher in a high school, while my wife was Director of Nursing . You would not have it any better than that in the circumstances, considering the huge quantum of income that was coming in.
I accepted the diplomatic job of Minister Plenipotentiary at the UN to, most importantly serve my nation and burnish my social standing and experience in life I may served to the day of death and I am very proud of myself.
It was a wonderful learning experience serving as Coordinator of the African Union Committee of 10 nations on the UN Security Council Reform ( A position of great levity and leverage ) and as a member of the UN Peacebuilding Commission Sierra Leone Special Configuration and the UN Human Rights Commission, among others . I was also directly representing and reporting to President Ernest Koroma on the UN Security Council Reform negotiations. I also controlled the government’s international media in a capacity to rebrand our nation. Sierra Leone had just come from a very nasty war and the international perceptions of Sierra Leone were terrible. It was affecting international commerce, investments and tourism. I am very proud of the work we did to rebrand Sierra Leone.
Through my service, I learnt immensely about the workings and failings of national governments, the operations and nuances of international diplomacy and so when I talk now, I proudly do so not as a novice but an expert in national and international politics. These ideas will be espoused in the books I am writing presently.
Talking about character, I remain very proud of myself and my family and friends are equally very proud of me. I served for 10 years in an elevatedb diplomatic position at the highest lever of international diplomacy but my name was never mentioned in corruption or any misdemeanor in public service by a succeeding government ( SLPP ) that would have loved and cherished the idea of nailing, prosecuting and humiliating me. I am a man of impeccable character and I am very proud of myself.
I am also proud of the fact that before I served the Ernest Koroma government, I was among the short list of radicals who risked my life and fought successive governments in Sierra Leone, to the point that I was even jailed at Pademba Road Prisons for my activism. Those who know my history from student days at CKC and FBC have no problems with me continuing to be a hard- hitting journalist, even though I served in government once. It has nothing to do with character.
As for alignment with political parties, if you know any journalist who has not done so before, name him or her, even in advanced democracies like the U.S and Britain. Journalists are also politicians and no God – fearing journalist will tell you that he or she had not at any time sympathized with a political party. We have all done so. So, if it was bad with Kabs Kanu, it is bad for everybody else.
I am not moved when misguided people like you launch attacks on me. When one is involved in public service, it is a reality he has to accept. He is game to loose cannons .
Today, I am very critical of the very APC government I served, for party disunity and shenanigans with the Tripatite Committee. It was one of the same APC party governments that arrested and jailed me at the Pademba Road Prisons.
The question of being genuine is not determined by who or what you had aligned with before ,otherwise no journalist ( None ) deserves the right to talk for his nation.
I rest my case.
#I accepted the diplomatic job of Minister Plenipotentiary at the UN to, most importantly serve my nation and burnish my social standing and experience in life I may served to the day of death and I am very proud of myself.”
You can still answer the call to serve your country and use your discretion not to receive a dime from the tax payers or you donate any emoluments to charity.
You mentioned cocorioko forum as if the way you were presiding over it was as a paragon of fairness and equity. I was a participant and I can attest you were far from it. Does Kutubu Koroma, History Professor and Alpha Saidu sound familiar? Or the academic Bank Governor who left all the Economics he learned in the classroom to help tank Sierra Leone’s economy and leaving the country 3rd poorest in the world in terms of GDP per capita before he was jettisoned to enjoy his retirement or as cynics would say – enjoy his treasury loot?
The way I have characterized you would be the same when sooner or later the current SLPP spin doctors or truth benders dare criticize the next Sierra Leone Government on salient matters of state which they dare not raise during their own time because of fear of the sack or the snapping away of the spoon that was feeding them. Keketoma, CeeBah, your former comrade – the perenial snake oil salesman Alpha Khan, surely should not be expected to snipe at future Governments and be taken seriously.
CeeBah I guess will be tempted to condemn any future information minister who would arrogantly label as rude a gutsy and ballsy young lady who dares echo the sentiments and concerns of Sierra Leoneans from Kabala to Bonthe or from Freetown to Kailahun, about the bread and butter issues which were promised to be fixed within 6 months as a sales pitch when canvassing for votes.
Lastly, Sierra Leone in her storied past had produced loads of nation-wreckers, but Ernest Bai Koroma was with all his shortcomings certainly head and shoulder above the whole lot, either through sheer luck or otherwise.
Bob Massalley, smart man.
You should start your savvy pickiness with journalists in Britain and the U.S, the advanced democracies of the world.
When the Democrats are in power, do not listen to CNN or MSNBC, or read the New York news, NPR, and the New York Times. Conversely, when the Republicans are in power, do not listen to FOX, or read the New York Post, Wall Street Journal etc.
If you live in Britain, when the Conservative Party is in power, do not read the Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Sun, The Times and the Daily Telegraph. And when Labour come to power, do not read the Daily Mirror, The Guardian, the Independent and the Daily Record.
In your Utopia, there are very objective newspapers that are leaning neither left or right and everything they write or say is politically correct to everybody, even though during sundry symposia, including the one held at the Columbia University School of Journalism, world renowned media experts conceded that there is no objective journalism in the true sense of the word, just like there is no objective History.Read : https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/objectivity-journalism-even-possible .
Objectivity is an ideal taught in Journalism schools but is not practicable in real life. Once it is written by man, there is always a high possibility of subjectivity. And every journalist has supported one political party at one time or the other. The day you find any journalist and historian who is entirely objective, pray, introduce us to him.
I have my head screwed in the right place. When the APC return to power, I will be very hungry to read what the likes of Yusufu Kekehtorma, C. Bah and others write. Why? Because I believe in democracy. I believe that in a subjective world, they will spin the facts for sure but not everything they will write about the APC will be false or needless propaganda.
I will note from them where the APC is falling short and what areas the party needs to address as a matter of priority. Even right now, I eagerly listen to or read their spins on Maada Bio and the SLPP because we are supposed to be in a democracy and divergent opinions are the spice of life.
As for the COCORIOKO FORUM, I have tons of comments in my archives made by the very individuals you named in which they commended me or the then Moderator for promoting the spirit of democracy. Recently, as a matter of fact, Kutubu Koroma produced a whatsapp audio and lauded me highly for the freedom of expression I permit in my Cocorioko Whatsapp Forum , in comparison to SLPP forums where he is limited or his views are proscribed. I have evolved.
I have learnt not to enter into back-and -forths with smart men who know it all and who live in an illusory world or Utopia, so this is my last response to you on this matter. Have a great day, topper.
Kabs, my google feed sends me all sorts of articles fromm different newspapers across the spectrum. Besides, i am an avid reader of both the Daily Mail and The Guardian in the UK – as diametrically opposed in leanings,framing and viewpoints as they come. It may also interest you to know that i make it a point of duty to read every online Sierra Leonean Newspaper at least once a week. These include Cocorioko,the Organizer and The Global Times- as partisan and subjective as they come.
The same goes for listening to broadcasters, right wing or left wing politicians. I am not picky. No one will pin me down on anything rather than being pro-poor and pro-social justice.
Commenting on your forum, i am afraid there is no room for any revisionist stunt here. You did not obviously design and build a John Leigh-esques doghouse, however, you did ban Kutubu, Alpha Saidu, the mammy curse bomber-Curtis-and a host of others ever so often literally taking your football away from them and daring them to go away and form their own forum. One or two forumites took off their attenuators, heard your message/signal loud and clear. They had enough of your theatrics. We all left your forum in droves once the mighty Bintumani Forum came into being.That sounded the death knell of your Cocorioko forum. Not to so ee be bra? You never did a ban on me because i am no trouble-maker. I am just a straight talker who is straitlaced about the finer things in life. Consequently, my viewpoints will never be motivated or incentivized by expecting a reward or a tap on the back from anyone or any quarter.
Lastly Kabs, when will you tidy up your newspaper? You need to archive some of those articles.
I will always be on the side of the long-suffering people of Sierra Leone whether they hail from Pujehun, Bombali, Kono or Tonkolili.I will never be bedfellows or join the bullet-speed gravy train of the political elite in Sierra Leone who had and continue to treat the poor people as mugs and trampling all over them.
The non-docile and non-wimpy Nigerians are asserting their agency. The fearless people of the West African economic power house apparently set the bar of acceptable governance higher than their cousins in the sub-region.
https://kolaking.substack.com/p/anti-govt-protest-lp-denies-involvement?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=601713&post_id=146840218&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1270lh&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
When chickens come to roost.
If according to Kabs Kanu, “Sierra Leone’s democracy must be saved”, WHY then does he have a problem with following the dictates of “the flip-flopping U.S. Ambassador” who is simply doing his job as the Ambassador of ROTTEN WESTERN DEMOCRACY?
Secondly, Is Kabs Kanu going to SHARE HIS AMERICAN JOLOF RICE with the people if they stay home?
Kabs Kanu, recent developments in Sierra Leone serve to expose the blatant lies that you have been peddling over the last year. You cannot distance yourself from your utterances that we were heading for a rerun of the presidential elections and that Samura Kamara was going to be the president of Sierra Leone. Another lie that you had peddled was that president Bio was going to be arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court in the Hague? So, why do you find it convenient now to change your tune?
Look, the APC leaders have chosen country over the rotten and dangerous partisan politics that tribalists and regionalists like you and Adebayor have been espousing. Like it or not, president Bio will remain Sierra Leone’s head of state until 2028. And until the APC distances itself from you and Adebayor, it will continue to remain in opposition for the unforeseeable future.
Dear Mr. Bilal Coleman,
When you speak, try to be honest with the issues. You are miles off the truth over what Kabs Kanu said. I will quote exactly what the latter wrote . He said : “After listening to all the dramatis personae in Sierra Leone’s political imbroglio, including the flip- flopping U.S Ambassador, I am beginning to believe that instead of sitting down and blaming political figures and the international community, if electoral justice as we wanted it turns out to be a mirage after this Tripartite Committee, the people must act to redeem and reclaim their democracy.” Unless somebody is dumb, the statement has no lie in it.
Bilal, I do not know if you are an honest man or your love for SLPP and Maada Bio supersede your intelligence and honesty. But to us who are not dishonest, electoral justice and democracy are in jeopardy in Sierra Leone and Kabs Kanu hit the right chord to say that the people must rise up and reclaim their democracy. Who does not know that an illegal President is sitting at State House?
President Bio is a criminal who stole the June 24, 2023 elections. There is no need to talk even about a rerun, fella.
Let us learn to be honest and put nation above party interest.
Mohamed Mansaray
Mohamed55mansaray@gmail.com.
Mohamed Mansaray,
Let me give you a friendly advice. The next time you attempt to disagree with an opponent’s argument, please ensure that you read and comprehend that argument. I will repost the exact argument that I am referencing:
“Kabs Kanu, recent developments in Sierra Leone serve to expose the blatant lies that you have been peddling over the last year.”
The above clearly demonstrates that my arguments against Kabs Kanu were not based solely on the article under which my response fell. I have read several articles written by Kabs Kanu over the last year. I have even read the rag tag that he publishes with the name Cocorioko on several occasions. So, it was an entire body of work that I was criticizing and not a solitary article as you were misguidedly led to believe.
The rest of your opinions do not deserve a response from me.
Where are the lies you are referencing ? Mr.Bill Coleman, you are the liar, it seems to me.Everybody was lying, the same thing about Bio that Kabs Kanu was saying. How did the Tripartite Committee come about? Why the the international elections observers reports said Bio rigged our elections? Why the U.S Congress refuse to give Your President the MCC money ? Your president you are defending is an elections thief. Again, I appeal to you to Be an honest man and a patriotic man. As for me, I read and understood your response. I noticed you are just an unpatriotic man like Bio trying to defend a thief.
If Bill Coleman is an educated man, he is much more of a fool. If he can describe as lies reports of everything that happened since June 24, 2023, he is perhaps even worse than a fool.,
President Bio does not need to stay in power as Kabs Kanu rightly said. The people must rise up against him.
President Bio has unconstitutionally removed the jury system from the criminal dispensation.Accused persons cannot be left at the mercy of the numerous mental flaws of one man.President Bio has also illegally fired the auditor general.With Bio continuing to commit all these crimes, how can any.sane man project that he will stay in power until 2028?
You need to start thinking right, Bill Coleman.
hahahahahaha. We reap what we sow. The previous government of the APC failed to empower the people, rather, EBK was looking for a third term. When that failed , he had the bright idea of putting a stooge in place. During the past five years, instead of gearing to fight the SLPP, he was more concerned with frustrating the agendas of the younger generation within the APC. Now, his gang of yes men and bootlickers are currying favour to Ngor Maada. People can only stand up, when they have been empowered, not when you are flogging 10 diamints a day.
Pragmatically realistic excepting implying that we have politicians in Sierra Leone; we do not, they mostly self-phased out since the days of Albert Margai. What we have been continuing with are mostly politricksters looting our Treasuries by deft variegated assets stripping, bloated and criminal invoicings, etc.!
As far as I’m concerned, the democray of Sierra leone belongs to the western world. We don’t have any choice to decide on our own. The western world and our politicians are fooling us, but they have the game in their hands.and the people are suffering and they call it democray.