The political arena in Sierra Leone was turned turpsy-turvey yesterday when a note verbale and a letter said to be from the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) that was circulated on social media seemed to invite Sierra Leone’s President Maada Bio to a bilateral meeting with the ICC Prosecutor, Mr. Karim Khan, along the margins of the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly.
Sierra Leoneans all over social media were jubilating after the missives started circulating . However, supporters of Mr. Bio’s party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP) trashed the authenticity of the documents and said they were fake and they accused supporters of the APC of faking the letter.
But the leader of the delegation who handed the ICC the letter of complaint and petition to the ICC prosecutor during the massive demonstration against President Bio at the Hague on August 14, Dr. Venood Fullah, told COCORIOKO in an exclusive interview last night that the documents were authentic and genuine. He however noted that the documents were not meant for public consumption at this time and must have been leaked by somebody in the UN or within the SLPP.
Whole day today, SLPP supporters have been insulting the Publisher of COCORIOKO, Ambassador Wilfred Leeroy Kabs-Kanu at FACEBOOK and WHATSAPP for reporting the story. We decided to publicize the letters because they looked genuine to us . We reasoned that if they were fake, then somebody with remarkable skills to construct note verbales and diplomatic articles must have been the culprits, if at all. But it turned out that Dr. Fullah said the documents were genuine.
ABU SHAW OF LONDON PROVIDED THE REPORT BELOW ON THE ISSUE.
As Bio Receives ICC/UN Invitation, State House Turns Upside Down & Bio Scrambles for Answers
By Abu Shaw
The International Criminal Court ICC has officially invited the SLPP President Julius Maada Bio for discussion amid the crimes against humanity complaint.
ICC has issued this letter with the blessing of the United Nations. State House, the seat of power is currently topsy-turvy following the major development from the ICC to the Bio presidency. Last week Monday, July 14, Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide CSLW conducted a massive protest in Den Haag (The Hague) where protesters physically handed over a petition to the ICC, a complaint against Maada Bio and his violent SLPP regime. Four days later, the ICC responded positively by inviting the Sierra Leone leader Maada Bio as a consequence. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Sierra Leone Christians piously prayed after hearing the ICC invitation. Good Muslims too continue to pray for the country. (Photo: ICC Chief Prosecutor Mr Karim Khan KC).
Ostensibly, the ICC revelation is good news for the majority of Sierra Leoneans as news of the invitation letter reverberated in every nook and cranny of Sierra Leone. And as information filtered through that the bloody-thirsty SLPP President Maada Bio has been formally invited by the ICC in consultation with the United Nations, there was and still is a huge sigh of relief in the Sierra Leone communities around the world. And coming at a time when the country is at a stalemate exacerbated by the fraudulent June 24 general and presidential elections, most citizens see the ICC invitation of Maada Bio to the United Nations next month as a step in the correct direction to get justice for all victimised Sierra Leoneans in the last five bloody years of the Bio regime. (Photos: Maada Bio and the ICC Chief Investigator Mr Mark Dillon).
The invitation letter is invariably the first step of a long road to facilitate the arraignment of Maada Bio before the ICC for crimes against humanity, charges that will surely fit the failed leader and his cohorts. The ICC letter dated July 18, 2023, was to notify the presidency about the complaint against Maada Bio. It came out just four days after the submission of the petition to the ICC in The Hague by Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide. The ICC responded positively by inviting the principal accused Julius Maada Bio to a meeting next month. This fight to get real justice for victims of human rights violations in Sierra Leone is a solemn fight coming from different fronts. But the Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide protest on July 14, 2023, was the catalyst that finally ignited the ICC letter.
Bravo to all patriotic citizens who in diverse ways contributed to this ICC invitation letter. Four days after the Concerned Sierra Leoneans handed over their petition to the ICC Chief Investigator Mr Mark Dillon, the bombshell was unleashed by the ICC in consultation with the United Nations General Assembly UNGA. The UN summit is slated for September 19, 2023, when leaders around the world would convene in New York. With the ICC invitation, Maada Bio will surely appear in New York to respond to the ICC letter, a preamble that will eventually lead to charges of crimes against humanity as documented in the petition dossier by Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide. (Photos: During the protest on July 14, 2023).
Pressure is apparently mounting on the Bio regime following the positive response from the ICC demanding that Maada Bio must meet with the ICC Chief Prosecutor Mr Karim AA Khan KC in New York. Patriotic Sierra Leoneans in the country and abroad are visibly elated since ICC’s invitation letter to Bio hits the news wave. Social media platforms are on overdrive displaying the ICC letter. In Sierra Leone, the illegal SLPP regime is presently digesting the ICC letter in absolute shock and the fact that it is happening at a time when the fraudulent elections on June 24, 2023, impacted negatively on Maada Bio is in the air, the SLPP regime would wish this reality would go away ASAP. Below is a brief from the ICC letter thus –
[ICC] RESTRICTED
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please find attached a Note Verbale from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr Karim A. A. Khan KC for onward transmission to H.E. Mr Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone. We would be grateful if you could confirm receipt and transmission of this email with its attachment.
Kind regards,
Description: Description: International Criminal Court
The Office of the Prosecutor
Email: [email protected]
www.icc-cpi.int
Core Values of the Office of the Prosecutor | Valeurs fondamentales du Bureau du Procureur
