and that for the purposes of the re-run elections, the Rules and Regulations for the conduct of executives elections of the SLPP published in the in the gazette on the 29 January 2016 shall be used .According to the Court, “the lower level elections in all other constituencies shall remain valid and undisturbed” and that “ The injunction restraining the holding of an SLPP convention is hereby removed,” the Court ruled.
The other faction, led by Dr. Kandeh Yumkella , immediately responded to the judgement by issuing the statement below :*Statement by the KKY Movement on the Ruling of the Court of Appeals on June 5, 2017.*
The KKYM welcomes today’s verdict of the Sierra Leone Court of Appeals. We have remained resilient in the pursuit of justice in the face of a barrage of intimidation, physical attacks on the plaintiffs and their legal team, and relentless verbal and written attacks against our leader in the electronic and social media. Unfortunately, these shenanigans have done significant damage to the party’s reputation and caused immeasurable pain and grief to the victims.
We commend the plaintiffs for their courage; we salute the 117 executive for standing up for their rights after being robbed and disenfranchised by Abbass Bundu and Manso Dumbuya. We thank the judges for upholding constitutionality, protecting the rights of the 117 executives, and overturning a lower court ruling that deliberately ignored critical facts, evidence and basic truths.
Let this ruling serve as notice to others that in the pursuit of justice, we shall never be intimidated; nor will we relent. It is in the collective interest of the SLPP that we do the right thing from the start of any internal process, and we uphold fair play to avoid unnecessary delays in our internal elections. To this end, it should be recalled that several months ago, senior party members have submitted petitions to the PPRC concerning following:
*(1) illegal parallel and inflated delegates list from SLPP UK&I*
*(2) illegal and inflated institutional delegates lists created by Prince Harding*
*(3) the illegality of the December 17, 2016 NEC meeting which had included 117 illegal executives of the 39 constituencies and illegal district and regional representatives*
*(4) the illegality of the current national officers to conduct elections in which they are contestants when their term has expired.*
*We call on the PPRC to perform its functions expeditiously. Justice delayed is justice denied.*
Further, we call on SLPP elders to take their responsibility seriously and solve all these pending issues before rushing to another ill-fated attempt at coronation. We should learn from our mistakes, and we should all commit ourselves to uphold justice, peace, and free and fair internal elections.
Reaching our leader KKY on the phone he said, *”In the final analysis, the silent majority in SLPP have won two big victories; we stopped an illegal coronation and we defended the rights of over 117 dedicated leaders of SLPP . We must now defend the other 150″*.
In order to avoid further litigations, the KKYM strongly urges party elders to use the next few weeks to resolve these other outstanding issues. For us in KKYM, we also have to deeply evaluate whether this is the SLPP that our forefathers created.
*A Luta Continua.*
*©KKYM Media Team*
MEDIA RELEASE
Date: Monday 5th June 2017
STATEMENT ON THE COURT OF APPEAL VERDICT
By: Julius Maada Bio Media and Communications Team
Today, Monday 5th June 2017, the Panel of Justices at the Court of Appeal considering the case – Alusine Bangura & Others v. Chairman SLPP & Others – handed down a ruling with the following orders:
a) That the Lower Level Executives elections in the 39 constituencies that were under the consideration of the Court are declared Null and Void.
b) That the Lower Level Executives elections in the said 39 constituencies be re-run.
c) That for the purposes of the re-run elections, the Rules and Regulations for the conduct of Executive Elections of the SLPP published in the Gazette on January 2016 shall be used.
d) That the Lower Level Elections in all other constituencies shall remain valid and undisturbed.
e) That the injunction restraining the holding of an SLPP convention is hereby removed.
f) No order as to costs
As a respecter of the Rule of Law, Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio welcomes the Court of Appeal Judgement and wishes to appeal to both supporters and general membership of the SLPP to remain calm and follow the directives of the National Executive in implementing the court orders.
Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio also calls on the National Executive to take all necessary steps to fully implement the court orders. SLPP has always been a Party which respects the Rule of Law and has shown deference to the court. As a Party, we must once again use this opportunity to demonstrate to the general public that we are the Party of Law and Order.
While we recognise that there are some Party members in the affected 39 constituencies who may feel disappointed with the court ruling, Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio would like to entreat all Party members in the affected 39 constituencies to respect the court ruling and continue to participate in the internal democratic process of the SLPP.
Finally, the general membership of the Party should consider the court ruling as a Win-Win for everyone and a demonstration of the leadership of the SLPP in promoting internal party democracy in Sierra Leone. We hope that this ruling will lay the strong foundation for all sides to participate and accept the verdict of the people in the National Delegate Conference for which the injunction restraining its holding has been removed.
©Julius Maada Bio Media and Communications Team
