Alie Kabba – Presidential aspirant (SLPP)
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 10 September 2015
Just today, when hardworking men and women of Sierra Leone are going about their daily business, trying to provide for their families with the honest sweat from their brows, the Supreme Court – the guardian of our constitution, has today decided to throw a flying toilet at the constitution.
The acting Chief Justice, Valesius Williams and the other four Supreme Court Judges – Nicolas Browne-Marke, Eku Roberts, Vivian Solomon and Patrick Hamilton, have collectively sided with President Koroma, by opining that he had the right to remove the elected Vice President from office.
This Supreme Court decision is a clear and willful disregard of the tenets of our constitution, as so many objective jurists and constitutional experts have vigorously declared.
Even those who wrote the constitution denounced the president’s sacking of the VP as a blatant and egregious violation of the constitution and the rule of law.
The sad thing is that this has happened before. It seems that the Supreme Court has learned nothing from history.
Siaka Stevens (Photo), with the collusion of the Supreme Court, violated every constitutional norm and precept, and corrupted every organ of government as he cobbled together a one-party dictatorship.
Our people were silenced with fear as the judiciary winked and nodded when APC destroyed democracy in the 1970s and 1980s, and executed political opponents or, as in my case and many others – forced them into exile.
Now the same judiciary is at it again, as it cravenly aids and abets the mugging of constitutional sanctity.
This is one of the reasons I am running for president – to clean out the endemic corruption that has turned the judiciary into a laughing stock, not just in Sierra Leone, but in Africa and beyond.
If I become president, with the will of the people, we will have an impartial and respected judiciary that will push afar those malleable and bendable jurists that have given it a bad name.
I will work with the lawyers’ pressure groups to come up with world-class standards and codes of ethics to rid the judiciary of political influence.
I want the judiciary to be an arbiter of impartial justice and a respected guardian of the
rule of law, not a willing tool that is used by an imperial presidency to act with impunity and ride roughshod over the constitutional rights of our people.
SLPP should reflect very carefully on what is going on today. We continue to engage in trivialities and internecine absurdities, as APC is setting the barn on fire.
By this “sell-game” action, the Supreme Court has shown that it is incapable of protecting the citizens of Sierra Leone from the ruthless power grabbing of the current APC government.
What this means is that SLPP court cases will be tied up in the courts ad infinitum, thereby frustrating the party’s campaign and other organizational activities that are a must for the coming elections.
It means that APC can commit daylight electoral robbery and declare that they have won the elections by 90%, and that the Supreme Court Judges will put on their tutu and dance in jubilation with the APC.
It means that the lives and property of SLPP supporters can be threatened and the courts will not offer constitutional protection for us.
It means that APC can screw SLPP out of a fair election win and the Supreme Court will side with the new dictatorship.
With all this on our SLPP plate, why the heck are we fighting one another and building walls of division and spreading the vilest lies against our flagbearer aspirants?
Why are we using APC tactics and propaganda against ourselves, whilst giving APC a free ride?
Why are we turning the flagbearer contest into a blood sport?
Don’t we see that APC is smiling wolfishly at our follies? And why shouldn’t they? We are doing their work by damaging our chances in the upcoming elections.
Let me say this now. I am not contesting the presidency as an ego drive-by shoot-up. I want to win because I believe that I can bring about transformative change to the country.
That is why I have articulated a clear vision to make Sierra Leone a shining light on the hilltop of Africa.
If, however, I don’t win, I will always remain SLPP and support the winning candidate with all my heart as well as financial and organizational muscle. I hope that other candidates make the same commitment to party and country.
We should never let the aggressive ambition to be flagbearer cost the party the chance to win the Presidency.
I am calling on all SLPP flagbearer aspirants, supporters and delegates to understand that we must stand together and work on strategies to evict APC from power. Let’s stop the sniping, infighting and craziness.
Focus your anger at APC and start thinking about post-flagbearer strategies on forming a national united front for the urgent task of winning the next election for SLPP, so that we will save our beloved Sierra Leone from another APC dictatorship.
Editor’s Note:
Tomorrow, Friday, 11th September, Sierra Leone Telegraph will publish a recorded exclusive interview with Mr. Alie Kabba.
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