ALIMAMY PETITO KOROMA MULLS GOING OVER TO THE SLPP
Titus Boye-Thompson, London
Reports going viral indicate that the All Peoples Congress’ former Chairman for Kambia District, former APC Member of Parliament, former Minister of Trade and Industry, then Works and Housing and penultimate former Ambassador to China is poised to declare for the Sierra Leones Peoples Party has now lost its shock value. The rumours have persisted for so long that if it happens any day now, as we are being informed, then this will be the most open secret of this election and the most foolhardy decision ever made by a Kambia born Politician. In very simple terms, the twice failed APC flag bearer, Alimamy Petito Koroma cannot be as unwise as that, to jettison a reviving career in APC politics at this time when all minds are being turned to forgiveness for his massive sell-out of the Party after he heaped praises and unwarranted accolades on President Maada Bio at the Temne Pentecostal Church, Freeown sometime after the passing of his wife, Rev. Linda Koroma.
It seems also that there is something wrong with the water in Mambolo, it was from this same village that Sumano Kapen hailed, served as Chief before being deposed by the very same Alimamy Petito Koroma, a disavowed nephew of the Chief before he came to Freetown, some reported that he fled for his life on foot to serve ultimately as SLPP Chairman before he switched over to the APC just prior to the 2018 elections. From what many saw as a failed attempt to stem the tide of SLPP Paopaism and violence within the Party structure by a pogrom of minority tribesmen within the hierarchy, Chief Sumano Kapen’s defection had some semblance of rationality and on whose decision, was failed by a defect in the process that saw the Presidential candidate lose an election won by other cadres of his Party in such a manner that many up to this day are convinced was a rogue decision.
Prediction of betrayal
To say that the move to jump ship by Alimamy Petito Koroma to the SLPP had been long predicted as a happenstance would really be a understatement, what is now evident is that the rogue was waiting for the timing to be just right. Having said this, the timing can now be no worse than any if what is being rumoured turns out to be true. It was only last weekend when APC grandees gathered at Kambia District to observe Eid prayers at which occasion Alimamy Petito Kotoma went all out to make a damn good show of reconciliation in the APC within the District. He held hands and publicly exchanged cordialities with arch enemies like Bai Mahmoud and Thamsellah, the current District Chairman to declare to all and sundry that the rifts have been healed, we are all one under the Red Sun once again. Was Alimamy Petito Koroma lying, and if so, was that not so brazen as to constitute a hanging offence in the old Wild Wild West? In fact, the rumours are so heinous that it beggars belief that any politician can sell himself so low and render himself devoid of moral integrity, political sinew and credible character. However, those who are in the know have vehemently asserted that “one of those in the front row at the praying field at Kambia, sat with APC Flag bearer, Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara on Friday last would not be with the APC any time soon, and before 24th June 2023.”
Death of “Lady Macbeth.”
There is a truism in the adage that “behind every great man, there is a woman.” Sadly, the loss of Rev. Linda Koroma sounded the death knell for Alimamy Petito’s greatess.his manhood was challenged, he lost not just his wife but a solid rock that had stood by him and as many had intoned, was the one that had pushed him hard and determinedly on his voracious quest for power. She was felt to have been of such longing for the main prize that some would describe her as Lady Macbeth, though not to her face; she was always to be seen with a very broad though wry smile when partisans and supporters of her husband’s quest would address her as “Madam First Lady awaiting.” At her passing so suddenly as a victim of Corona Virus, the whole concept of Alimamy Petito Koroma dissipated. Those who were close to him at the time recall that his period of mourning was intense, he lost his hitherto robust sense of reasoning and fair play that endeared many to him. Consequently, it soon became clear that decisions around his personal and family life were much vaunted and flawed, with the public manifestation of his confusion occurring at that woeful speech at his church, singing the praises of President Bio and then referred disparagingly to the APC as “that Party I belonged to a while back!” It is also well known that having been approached to cross over to the SLPP as Maada Bio delayed the announcement of his running mate for this specific purpose in 2018, it was Rev Linda Koroma who blocked any serious consideration of such a move, convinced that the worst APC government is better than any other party in power.
So why now?
While many are asking the question that if it is true that Alimamy Petitois jumping ship to declare for the SLPP, why is he choosing this time to make that move? Seasoned political watchers easily point to a confluence of events that would have spurred not just Alimamy Petito’s position but such a decision may also have been influenced by the drubbing that he and his cohorts have suffered at the hands of Team A. For one, the dismal showing of a mere 12 votes that he scored during the flag bearer elections would have been a jolt to him. He was definitely expecting to have put up a better showing, even coming a close second to Samura Kamara’s first would have not been that bad but to have scored one of the least votes across the board was rather insulting. It is understandable therefore that he would have found it difficult to overcome that defeat, he may have felt cheated and humiliated hence this timing being exerted to cause maximum damage to the APC at a time and place where the Party least expects him to let loose. Blaming this defeat on the much touted Team A, it would have also caused him greater consternation that his close political confidante, Sirajin Rollings Kamara was also toppled from his status as front runner in his vie for representation as MP for Freetown West after being defeated by the Team A candidate. Both men, it may seem have been so flagrantly hounded out of their political aspirations that a conspiracy of evil may have been hatched between them and others unknown as a result. While all of this is pure conjecture, they are however based on grounded theories of social and political analytics, intimate past experience and strategic insights into the relative political, personal and characteristic dynamics between the main players. In the event, it would not be unexpected that if Alimamy Petito goes, so too would Sirajin!
To be fair to these comrades, several attempts have been made to reach both men, to elicit their reactions and to give them a chance to respond to the viral predictions of their impending move to the SLPP. It is no doubt going to be a blow to the APC to lose any one vote at this time but what is immediately practical at this moment is for the whole party to focus on the goal which is to convincingly win the impending elections. The battle is uphill but not impossible. Kambia will, as a result of this impending betrayal, become a major battleground for the next elections and as has been done before, the APC must win the District, and win it big!
EDITOR’S NOTE :
The views expressed in this article have nothing to do with COCORIOKO’s perspective on the issue. We are aware that Hon. Alimamy Pepito Koroma has lately been hobnobbing in Kambia with APC flagbearer Dr. SAMURA KAMARA , so it is not likely that he is mulling transferring to the SLPP.
