COCORIOKO SCOOP
BY JOSEPH KAMANDA : OUR EMBEDDED REPORTER ON THE ERNEST KOROMA CAMPAIGN TEAM :
The Sierra Leone political world is in a state of shock and grief , as one of the Kingpins of the All People’s Congress (APC ), Organizing Secretary and Deputy Mayor, Mr. Foday Kalokoh , died this morning , along with three other party stalwarts, in a tragic road accident at Matenneh Village, 10 miles from Makeni, on the Makeni-Magburaka Highway.
The two back tires of their Mitsubishi blew out and the van veered out of control and somersaulted three times , killing three of its occupants , while three others survived . Killed along with Mr. Kalokoh were Messrs Sam Fornah, from London, an aspirant for Parliament in the forthcoming elections and Alimamy Sesay, Mr. Kalokoh’s security guard.
THE WRECKAGE OF THE SUV THAT CRASHED AND KILLED THE APC KINGPINS
Mr . Kalokoh and others were among APC stalwarts and supporters who accompanied Party Leader, Ernest Bai Koroma, for the APC Peace March, which was held in Makeni Town yesterday when the party painted another Sierra Leonean city with its colour -RED . According to the Secretary -General of the APC, Mr. Victor Foh, who spoke exclusively with COCORIOKO , the march was a roaring success. The APC were supposed to have had another march in Magburaka today .
Tragedy however struck the party and the nation this morning when its members died in this fatal accident at Matenneh Village, 10 miles from Makeni. . The Mitsubishi they were travelling in to Magburaka blew the two back tires and rolled over three times.
THE BODY OF FODAY KALOKOH WRAPPED IN A RED SHROUD AT THE SCENE
According to reports, Kalokoh, the fighter he is, did not die without a valiant struggle. When the tires exploded and the Mitsubishi van started swerving right and left , he was said to have grabbed the steering too to help the driver get the van back under control, but it was too late .As is customary with SUVs that blow a tire, the van rolled over ( three times in this case ) before finally resting on its back.
THE BODIES OF THE OTHER VICTIMS ALSO WRAPPED IN A RED SHROUD
Kalokoh, Fornah and Sesay died on the spot. The three other occupants were critically injured and were taken to the Magburaka Hospital where doctors are fighting to save their lives.
A huge motorcade of APC supporters and officials had driven the bodies to Connaught Hospital in Freetown for postmortem examination. After that, the bodies will be taken to the Columbia Davies Funeral Home to be prepared for burial.
The APC Leader , Mr. Ernest Koroma, has ordered all peace marches and tours of the provinces suspended temporarily while the party mourns the deaths of its members.
JUST YESTERDAY IN MAKENI : LEFT IS FODAY KALOKOH AND THIRD FROM LEFT PARTY LEADER ERNEST KOROMA
Mr. Kalokoh was very instrumental in making sure that hordes of people got legally registered during the recent Voters’Registration exercise. A man who could speak different Sierra Leonean languages, Mr.Kalokoh even went to Bonthe and helped to have people registered .
He was one of the brains behind the resurgence of the APC and the success of the peace talks which united feuding partisans recently.
FODAY KALOKOH ADDRESSING A RECENT RALLY
Kalokoh’s death is a big blow to the APC and it will be difficult to effectively fill the void he has left.
WARNING TO SOME SIERRA LEONE NEWSPAPERS
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