While one opposition leader, Alliance Democratic Party ( ADP) Chairman Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray is fighting for his life in capitivity by the regime, the undemocratic and human rights-abusing Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) Government in Sierra Leone has detained another opposition kingpin, the Chairman of the National Grand Coalition ( NGC ), Dr. Dennis Bright.
Dr. Bright was invited to the CID yesterday and detained in the run-up to the heated bye-elections to be held in Sierra Leone this weekend, with reports that yet another opposition leader, the Secretary General of the All People’s Congress ( APC ) , Ambassador Osman Foday Yansaneh, has also been invited to appear at the CID.
Sierra Leone’s opposition parties recently merged under the name Coalition of Progressive Political Parties ( COPP ) , with a pledge to work together to defeat the SLPP during the Presidential, Legislative and Local Elections next year. This merger and the momentum being gathered in the country by COPPP seem to be giving President Bio and the SLPP sleepless nights.
The Sierra Leone Telegraph newspaper reported that Alan Luke, former Chairman of NGC UK/Ireland branch told the paper that: “This episode highlights the desperation of the ruling SLPP Paopa Government of Julius Maada Bio. President Bio’s attempt to lure Dr Kandeh Yumkella back to the SLPP was met with a snub, when Dr Yumkella replied saying: “Ar ohl word”.
Mr. Luke went on to state : “Over the weekend, CoPPP visited Dr Yumkella at his residence in Kychum. NGC continues to work with 13 other parties in CoPPP and as a sign of its commitment, withdrew its candidate Mr Ezra Bangura from contesting the Koya bye-election this weekend.
“At the By-election rally, Dr Bright urged the APC to win the elections by a significant margin. It would appear that these actions and the strength and momentum of CoPPP is causing the SLPP a great deal of worry and concern.”
Dr. Bright, who once served as minister under the SLPP Government of the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, is now one of the tough-talking opposition politicians in Sierra Leone, denouncing the misrule, dictatorship and human rights abuses of President Bio’s SLPP Government. He and Ambassador Yansaneh, working together under the banner of COPPP , have been at Koya, where a crucial bye-elections will be held on Saturday.
MEANWHILE, the NGC has condemned a number of social media videos associating Dr. Bright with violence :
“The attention of the leadership of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) has been drawn to a number of videos and photos that are making the rounds on social media associating Dr Dennis Bright with violence.
“Specifically, a video showing Dr. Bright talking to some young people, strangers that he met along the Freetown-Waterloo road, at Songo junction when together with other COPPP members they were going to honor an invitation by APC to attend their bye election rally yesterday.
“It is shocking that some mischievous people are trying to spin a two minutes peaceful encounter by the roadside into a story about violence.
“The NGC wishes it to be known that we strongly oppose all forms of violence and insist that the only way Sierra Leone will develop is if there is peace and stability in the country. We have never been known to be a violent party and we are never going to be one.
“We therefore urge all those who are using the social media to deliberately malign hard working and forward looking citizens to stop the distraction and let us focus on solving the problems we are facing in this country within the framework of good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights.”
While all this drama is going on, the ADP Leader, Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray, is critically sick and Sierra Leoneans are expressing grave concerns about his life, after he was transferred to the 34 Military Hospital at Wilberforce on Monday from the Pademba Road Prisons , where he has been detained for two years now after being denied bail for an alleged bailable offence , which many people also think was stage-managed by the Government to silence Mr. Kamarainba, who has been very vocal in denunciation of the bad governance of the SLPP.
