By TAMBA BORBOR
The just-concluded Kono Conference held in Washington DC, United States of America, has seen participants comprising mostly Konos in the diaspora resolve to rally behind Madam Finda Diana Konomayi.
Their decision was expressed with raucous applause during the two-day Conference which started on the 3rd-4th August, 2017 as the Lands Minister laid the truth bare regards issues surrounding sacked Vice President Sam Sumana.
As most the participants before the Conference had been fed with one-sided narrative that Madam Finda Diana Konomanyi was the brain behind the sacking of Sam Sumana, hearing her own side of the story, attracted almost instant favour and support for the Iron Lady of Kono politics.
Most of the Kono diaspora were shaking their heads in acquiescence as Lady Dee as the Minister of Lands, County Planning and the Environment (MLCPE) is fondly called, narrated her unselfish and good-hearted role in helping a kinsman become Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
“Why would I want to fight and destroy a brother that I almost single-handedly selected to be the Running Mate in the 2007 elections under the umbrella of the All Peoples Congress (APC),” Diana Konomanyi queried.
She went on to urge all well-meaning Konos to prioritise the development and advancement of the interest of the district and focus less on scoring individual political goals and discontinue the senseless and unjustified blame-game against each other.
Amidst unanimous applause, the Eastern Region Chairperson of the APC carefully spoke her mind while armed with the truth which had never been available to the Kono diaspora but fully-cooked up stories to smudge her hard-earned good name.
At the end after digesting the other side of the story which they had been prevented from accessing , all expressed and showed support for her (Diana) while making it clear that she is being relied on to spearhead the development aspirations of Kono District in her position as one of the highly-placed Konos in the ruling Government.
“I would do my best for Kono district and our people with your expressed support as we all need to come together as a family to push for the betterment of our homeland,” she stated.
The Conference ended in a familial atmosphere and a joyous note as indigenes of Kono embraced each other in a show of tribal unity and bond.