December 11, 2010
The All People’s Congress ( APC ) banners are flying high in Kono where crucial bye-elections for the district chairmanship takes place tomorrow.The APC Iron Lady of Kono, Diana Finda Konomanyi is slugging it out with the Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) candidate Sahr Foa Matturi in what looks like a fight to the finish, with Diana Konomanyi expected to emerge tops.
According to COCORIOKO Man, Solomon Sesay, who is covering the election, Kono has gone red for the APC ,with tension said to be very high and riot police said to have been deployed throughout the district to stave off any chaos from rival supporters.
Diana Finda Konomanyi is very popular with the youths of Kono ,who came out in full swing three weeks ago to give her a welcome that is still the talk of Kono , when hundreds of youth brought Koidu to a standstill with a convoy of over 100 vehicles .
APC officials and supporters are feverishly campaigning for Diana because it is very important that she wins tomorrow >
We bring you an interesting article written more than a year ago by THE DAILY NATION and Sierra Leone International Media Association (SLIMO ) Man, Abdul Bero Kamara , which just about sums up the valued place occupied by Diana Konomanyi in the APC Mantra . READ :
Diana Konomanyi is key to APC victory in 2012
– Monday 27 April 2009.
By Abdul Bero Kamara (Chief), USA.
The historic APC convention is over. The key success of this historic assembly was the democratic formation of what political analysts would call ‘real Brazilian team’. Those familiar with world soccer knows what this means. To the APC, it’s a team ready to defend the flag of the rising Sun in 2012.
Before the 2007 election Dr. Ernest B Koroma of the APC was the underdog and there was prediction from political pundits that Mr. Solomon Berewa of the SLPP was going to win with a slam dunk. That dumb victory never came. Contrary to the popular beliefs the election went to a run off and the APC eventually won in alliance with PMDC. It was a show of ‘country first’ demonstrated by the people of Sierra Leone through the APC/PMDC.
This time around we have the real Brazilian Team that has the wherewithal and the strategy to make run off and alliance with any third party impossible.
Nonetheless, the one person to watch from this team is the determined and dynamic APC chairlady for the Eastern Region Ms Finda D Konomanyi-a woman with the substance and all that it takes to make things happen in the political forum
Who is Diana Konomanyi? Ms Konomanyi is the newly elected chairlady of the APC Eastern region that covers Kenema, Kono and Kailahun. She came to the political lime light in 2004 when she became the first female in Sierra Leone to be democratically elected to a senior position within a major political party.
Ms Konomanyi made her name during the 2007 election as an outstanding personality with a strong conviction and was nicknamed the Iron lady of the APC party because of her tenacity and courage to overcome daunting challenges as a young female politician in a male dominated political system.
When people in her hometown of Kono district were ashamed to associate themselves with the APC party, she stood toe-to toe and face to face with opposition supporters who hated her APC party with passion.
Besides, when her party was on life support in Kono district she sacrificed her life, her wealth and family in order to resuscitate life back into the party, and during the cause of the struggle she worked tireless to sell and promote the ideology of the party and the development it will bring to her countrymen.
As a political celebrity in her own rights she had survived several assassination attempts and countless death threats in her home town of Kono because of her unflinching loyalty, unshakable belief and firm convictions in the cause of her APC party.
Also, at some point when the going became so tough for the party, and some
Political opportunists like Rtd. Major General M.S Tarawallie and many more were switching allegiance to the ruling SLPP, Ms Konomanyi’s
Loyalty for the APC party was put to an acid test by top SLPP government officials.
In this case she was offered money in dollars and scholarship to pursue her graduate studies to any college of her choice-anywhere in the whole wide world. This was a well chosen bait that few could afford to turn down, disappointedly for these SLPP top guns Ms Konomanyi out rightly told them that she will rather die poor with the APC than sell her loyalty for money.
Furthermore, during the time when the rebel war was at its height and the RUF rebel became notorious for raping and maiming, she courageously and fearlessly went to the jungle to free her kidnapped father from Foday Sankoh and Maskita
Why would Diana Konomanyi be the key to 2012 election?
She is the chairman/chairlady of the Eastern Region (Kono, Kenema and Kailahun) a region that is traditionally and predominantly green and will go GREEN even at the detriment of the country. In the last two elections it
Voted overwhelmingly for the SLPP even when the wind of change for national development was blowing, and the whistle for changed had been sounded loud and clear in all corners of Sierra Leone.
Second, there are clear indications that the “unholy Marriage” between the PMDC and the APC is getting sour by the day and it’s very like the relationship will end in a bitter divorce.
In view of the above, all eyes within the party and her BRAZILIAN team mates will be looking up to the “Iron Lady” to make in roads into Kenema and Kailahun, and turn Kono overwhelmingly into a red district
YES SHE CAN!!!
Finally, I have the strong conviction that with our able Eastern region chair in the person of Ms Konomanyi our president Dr. Ernest B Koroma is certainly guarantee a second term without any hassle. Congratulations Mr. President for winning a second term and thank you Diana Konomanyi and the Brazilian team for the hard work.
By and large, my advice to my fellow comrades is that we must all endeavor to give the “iron Lady” our unwavering and steadfast support to make her succeed in her determination to change the Eastern Region from GREEN to RED. YES SHE CAN!!!! and YES WE CAN!!!!!!!
Ms Konomanyi needs our support to make in roads in the bastion of the SLPP; therefore we should continue to work together as a team ready to
March towards the wall of Jericho in 2012, if she stumbles and fails, we will all suffer the consequences, similarly if she succeeds in her quest to change the voting nomenclature in the eastern region-BRAVO to the APC and KUDOS to all the APC members and supporters.
TOP PHOTO : DIANA KONOMANYI AND JENGO STEVENS DURING THE 2007 ELECTIONEERING
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