The Battle for Hearts and Minds Descends into The Abyss of Moral Politic, Witch-hunt and Gas lighting.
It is a tragedy that we now our lives along the bandwidth of politics. What passes for democracy in our country is strictly “Partisan Antagonism”. We replaced our 10 year experience of abject barbarism with a societal chasm that is viewed through party political lenses. Partisan antagonism has become the palm oil with which our national political discourse is eaten. Even in cases where national interests are at risk, or seem to be threatened, our penchant to put our party political interests above the national ones is now the new norm.
Our desire to make our individual political party score cards look better, at the expense of the party opposite leaves one feeling that our country is in a permanent state of political campaigns. As a nation, citizens expect our political parties to come together where national interests are at risk and to criticise where necessary. Sadly this is not the case. What we have in Sierra Leone today is: My Political Party First, My Nationality Second.
What started as an industrial dispute, apparently around pay and working conditions has now descended into a political battle for the hearts and minds of the public. The resulting dismissal of the workers of Koidu Holdings (KH), a mining company in Kono District is unfortunate. Caught between the fangs of political antagonism, there is a real risk that the plight of the people will be lost in translation, thanks to party politics. While the battle for hearts and minds has been in overdrive, the habitual finger -pointing has started in earnest, following the dismissal and suspension of the workers and mining activities respectively.
In the absence of any first-hand information, thanks to my current post code, much of the narrative is not only second- hand but largely sourced from the amphitheatre of public opinion called social media. Do you want a disclaimer? Others had questioned the rationale behind her involvement in the first place, citing her non-elected position. According to a video clip by The First Lady Fatima Bio, she was invited to intervene between KH and the workers. She discussed this with her husband and later engaged the paramount chiefs in the district. It led to direct talks with the management of KH, following which mutual concessions were made into agreements to address the impasse.
While waiting, Mrs Bio who had reportedly undertaken this venture with the blessings of her husband President Maada Bio, later received a letter from KH. She stated that the letter confirmed that KH was no longer honouring the mutual agreement. According to her, this coincided with The First Minister, David Sengeh being copied into the correspondence and discussion for the first time. Fatima questioned why the Chief Minister was copied into the correspondence and not the Ministers of Labour and Mining. At this stage, the least said about the conspicuous absence of the Ministries of Mining and Labour, the better. It is obvious that several allegations, PR battles and the fight for the hearts and minds had triggered this video for the courts of public opinion.
Fatima mentioned receive a letter threatening to sue her from Lumley Beach to Soweto (my words) to which she had also counter sued. Allegations of properties owned by Fatima and her family in Banjul and elsewhere were circulated on social media. One of the allegations mentioned that Fatima still owns a council flat she had during her time in the UK, the type of accommodation offered to low income earners in the UK. That was pre- First Lady. Irrespective of the veracity of these allegations, some believe that the timing could not have been more telling, as they seem to reveal some political fingerprints on them. By the way, our country always engages in the “new broom” ritual called Commission of Inquiry each time a new government takes over. As we all know, a lot of money will be spent to tell us what we already know. In the end, it will be “buff case”. Do we need a reminder that the Pope is Catholic? Other news outlets have released copious reams of information detailing KH’s association with the chequered history of mining operations around the world. Sounds like a campaign to discredit.
Is there an internal Political Witch hunt in the SLPP?
The battle that is fought in the amphitheatre of social media has seen the PR machines, Spin doctors, bloggers, Influencers, commentators and many others have their say. This has raised eye brows around the higher echelons of the SLPP ladder. While taking into consideration that these are social media allegations, views and opinions garnered for reproduction here, some wonder whether a bigger battle brewing here, especially with President Bio’s inevitable succession race? What is fermenting inside the underbelly of the SLPP corridor?
Was Koidu Holdings Right to dismiss the workers?
With the workers losing their jobs, the dark arts of finger pointing has begun in earnest, with some sections blaming Fatima Bio. The dismissal of the workers is lamentably regrettable but was KH right to do so, while negotiations were ongoing about its worker’s terms and conditions of service? A lot of diaspora views have questioned whether KH would have taken a similar action, say in The UK, where “summer of discontent” is part of the calendar. Every summer, workers of several companies including train companies mount series of strike actions over pay, over time or working conditions. They usually come round the table in the end via tribunals but do they dismiss their employees in the middle of the negotiations?
KH has a South African DNA to it and some people seem to insinuate a racial superiority complex at work here. However, others believe that half a loaf is better than none, and they blame Fatima for biting more than she could chew. Many of her critics seem to remind her that this should have been the domain of the Labour and Mining Ministries. That in itself has ironically raised the question about their deafening silence or dormant involvement in the whole saga. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? ……No, it can’t be.
Did KH get the PR war wrong?
When KH reportedly dismissed the employees, was this in response to Fatima’s involvement or a question of “bird wan fly”? While some believe that it was meant to make Fatima a scapegoat, others saw it as a tactic to push the workers into destitution and onto their knees. How this could have endeared the company to the community is anyone’s guess. Others wonder whether KH misread the room. From Burkina Faso through to Niger, Mali, Senegal, Ghana and neighbouring Guinea, the seeming wind of change casts foreign companies as symbols of financial, economic and resource driven leeches and parasites. KH would find little or no support from the Sahel Brigade.
In next door Guinea, President Mamadi Doumbouya cancelled Bauxite Mining concessions to Kebo Energy South Africa, revoked Emirates Global Aluminium and Guiter Mining SA mining licences for failing to fulfil their commitments on promised investments (Reuters-12 May, 2025). In Kono, KH sacked its employees after a failure to resolve an impasse. The apparent wave to nationalise and domesticate resource based companies seems contagious across the continent. In other countries, company contracts are re-negotiated.
So, was Fatima Traore…sorry Fatima Bio wrong to intervene on behalf of her home town?
By virtue of her positon or otherwise, Fatima divides opinions rightly or wrongly. She claimed to intervene on invitation from KH to intervene and with the knowledge and blessings of her husband, president Bio. While some see her intervention as an umbilical matter to the land, her critics see her as interfering in matters that don’t concern her. Although some see her as an unelected person engaging in matters for the elected, others remain uncomfortable with her bucking the trend of First Ladies in our country. In comparison, most of our First Ladies have been political and social accessories. Fatima’s audacity to venture into the testosterone-dominated cage fighting ring might seem too much for some. Some would prefer her job description and person specification be limited to kitchen duties and making babies. Well, she bagged the President; enough to induce the green eyed monster in some quarters.
So, what happens to the workers now in limbo?
The saying that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers cannot be more apt here. With almost 1000 workers losing their livelihood, catastrophe does not begin to describe the situation. Some people are blaming Fatima Bio for the dismissal of the workers; that she was driven by partisan antagonism for EBK’s alleged financial association with the company, while others support her for standing up to a bullying foreign conglomerate. With former Vice President Sam Sumana, The First Lady and Second Ladies all hailing from Kono during the reign of EBK, many are questioning how long will the people sit by the river and wash their hands with spittle. Whether green, red or combat, have our mining sectors been the Cinderella services to feather the nests of our elected and appointed officials, at the expense of the welfare, sustainability, wealth, and health of the people?
With its deafening silence and dormant posture, an interesting letter purporting to be an appointment of a Director General of National Social Protection Authority was made last week, with the remit to “address the gaps in social protection programmes and improve coordination across public and private sectors”. I wonder what that means in English and whether it was in response to the KH-Fatima Bio show. No matter where you stand on this matter, the lives and livelihoods of these workers should not be ignored. Irrespective of how well meaning the intentions were and continue to be, the hope is that the workers will not be abandoned. All they asked for was their rightful rights. We hope that they are not used as pawns on the political chess board or caught in the cross hairs of the partisan witch hunt, in the battle for hearts and minds.
Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
Don’t forget to turn off the light when you leave the room.
Abdulai Mansaray
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