By Kabs Kanu
Freetown, December 23, 2023 —The Economic Community of West African Stayes (ECOWAS ) today sent a high-powered delegation comprsing two other West African Presidents to hold closed door meetings with embattled President Maada Bio and former President Ernest Koroma.
PRESIDENT BIO ( CENTRE ) IS SEEN HERE WITH SENEGAL’ S PRESIDENT MACKY SALL ON THE LEFT AND GHANA’S PRESIDENT NANA AKKUFO ADDO ON THE RIGHT.
It is reliably learnt from our diplomatic sources in Sierra Leone that ECOWAS has smelt the rat that , even if there was a coup plot in the background, some of the November 26 shootings were stage- managed and that Maada Bio is on a witch hunt that will endanger peace and security in West Africa. So, ECOWAS sent the Presidents of Ghana and Senegal to Freetown today to hold closed door meetings with Bio and former President Ernest Koroma to help diffuse the encroaching chaos in the country.
BELOW IS THE SLPP VERSION OF THE VISIT
However, my diplomatic sources tell me that ECOWAS has cautioned Bio to be careful and to cool off his witch hunts and seek peace before he plunges Sierra Leone into another war.
SENEGAL ‘S PRESIDENT MACKY SALL MADE THIS TWEET
The sticking point indeed is the treatment that the Bio government has meted out to former President Koroma since the November 26 events. Dr. Koroma had been invited to the CID in Freetown, where the Inspector General of Police, Mr. William Fayia Sellu and Information Minister, Chrrnor Bah, have been telling the world that he is being investigated for likely nvolvement in what the government calls an attempted coup on November 26, 2023.
ECOWAS does not seem to be buying the Bio government allegations.
If ECOWAS had truly believed that Ernest Koroma had broken the law as being remotely alleged by the SLPP government ; and had committed a heinous crime like treason, especially planning a serious disruption to peace and democracy , like a coup and is indeed a genuine accused, they would have backed off him because meeting him behind closed doors would have amounted to interfering with the administration of justice. But it would appear that ECOWAS is leaning towards public perception that it is a witch hunt and has decided to nip the problem in the bud before it gets worse.
Another sticking point is the alleged extrajudicial killings and widespread arrests of citizens hailing from the Northwest of Sierra Leone since the alleged coup attempt, as well as the illegal searches and seizures , which violate civil and constitutional rights.
And there are other possibilities that America, Britain and the UN , who use regional organizations to make peace and also have erring African presidents behave, may not be unconnected with the ECOWAS initiative.
Those noisy SLPP louts on social media advocating persecution of Dr. Ernest Koroma may just be backward in their political thinking and may not understand that things are no longer what they were before in Africa.
Nobody will falsely accuse and harm Dr. Ernest Koroma, if indeed he had nothing to do with the coup attempt . The international community knows what presidents like Bio are capable of doing to hold on to power and eliminate his rivals. They are ever ready to thwart these nebulous schemes. Thus, talk is that they do not believe the SLPP allegations.
WHY ANOTHER ECOMOG IN SIERRA LEONE ?
Even the reasons for ECOWAS troops to be deployed in Sierra Leone have been explained. It is now learnt it is to protect the interests of the APC, SLPP and the people of Sierra Leone. They are not coming to whollly and unconditionally support Maada Bio. The ECOWAS force will be neutral.
Again, the West could be behind the ECOWAS troops deployment.
In fact, the deployment is going to benefit opponents of Bio also because if there are any more public demonstrations now, Bio will not be able to send out his Kamajor police and army to kill innocent people.
The international community has decided to intervene hands-on in Sierra Leone , so extremist supporters of the SLPP who sound rabid and bloodthirsty on social media cannot go on and do what they please in our country. The U.S, Britain and the UN work through regional organizations so, this is fully supported by them.
We thank the international community that they have not left Sierra Leone in the hands of Maada Bio and his bloody hounds. They are after him every step of the way to stop him from carrying out his diabolical desires in Sierra Leone.
