President Ernest Bai Koroma again tested his popularity with the common man last Friday and found out that it has soared more than ever before.

The streets of Freetown came to a standstill after the President had paid an unannounced visit to the Temne mosque (the same mosque where Maada Bio was recently rejected) during Friday prayers.

“The President came in unannounced, but the moment he was recognised, news went round and the number of worshippers kept mounting more than we have ever seen before, and by the time we could realise it the whole mosque had been surrounded by onlookers. By the time he came out, thousands of people had lined up the streets. Women singing, men dancing, boys jumping around, girls clapping; some waving, others spreading their cloths on the streets. It was an emotional scene to behold, with the President smiling and waving his trademark white handkerchief as the crowds followed him,:” Sheik Bilal Kargbo told The Torchlight.

“I’m sure opposition supporters who witnessed this scene must have been shaken to the core. Such crowds and such popularity were the opposite in the opposition’s wishes,” a Freetown political analyst commented.