Exclusive Interview : The Activist Legal Luminary Dr. Fullah fighting for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Sierra Leone

November 8, 2023

By Kabs Kanu

Some very patriotic citizens living abroad have vowed that however long it takes, President Maada Bio of Sierra Leone will definitely face justice for his human rights crimes and descecration of democracy .

These patriotic Sierra Leoneans are led by no less a person than the well- respected and larvishly educated legal luminary and human rights fighter in Britain , Dr. Alfred A Veenod Fullah, who is making waves as the Chairman of the Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide, a crusading organization with members all over the globe, as its name suggests.

As his countrymen and women cried with pain , terror, and frustration under the despotic and totalitarian rule of former junta leader, Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio. Dr. Fullah decided that complaining and lamentation were not enough. Somebody had to take the bull by the horns. He mobilized and led a staunch delegation to the Hague to file a protest to theprosecutorr of the International Criminal Court ( ICC ). The reception was good and shortly after. the ICC Prosecutor invited Bio tomeetg at the margins of the UN General Assembly.

DR. FULLAH AT THE WHITE HOUSE IN WASHINGTON DC

It did not end there. About two weeks ago, Dr. Fullah traveled all the way from England to the United States to lead another high – powered delegation, this time to the United Nations in New York and the U.S. State Department to file another complaint against Maada Bio.

For those who do not know Dr. Fullah, COCORIOKO decided to interview him for first-hand details of his trips, and he has taken up the gauntlet against President Maada Bio.

Questions

1. Dr. Fullah, you recently led a team to the UN to present a petition against President Bio. How was the reception from the UN ? And what do you plan to achieve ?

Yes, indeed, I led a 10 man delegation/team (i.e., 4 from London, UK, and 6 from the USA) of Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide to the UN Secretary-General’s representative in New York where we received a wonderful, warm and encouraging welcome/reception by the UN Secretary-General’s representatives. We presented a petition/complaint against Maada Bio, his wife and senior government officials, and requested the UN to take action against Maada Bio, senior government officials, and Mohamed Konneh on the following:

a) Punitive measures to be taken for the brutal and extra judicial killings of innocent Sierra Leoneans by the security forces of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) Government before, during and after the June 24, 2023 General Elections, b) the June 24, 2023 ‘Electoral Coup’ by Mr. Julius Maada Bio and his Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Konneh, who stole the citizens’ votes and toppled democracy in Sierra Leone, c) the rumoured intention of the present illegitimate regime to interfere with the nation’s constitution, thereby tampering with entrenched clauses, including, but not limited to, the tenure of office of the President without the effective participation of the opposition and a national referendum, d) state capture of institutions such as the ECSL, Judiciary, the Legislature, Government parastatals, amongst others.

And by God’s grace, we hope that both the UN will give due consideration to our humble demands/requests in our quest for the restoration of democracy and justice in our motherland. Democracy and justice will soon prevail in our country with God’s power.

2. You also presented a petition to the ICC Prosector ? Have you received a positive response so far ?

Yes, we have received a very positive response, but it’s classified and not for public consumption. Le we dai go nor more…

3. Some SLPP supporters are going with the opinion that nothing will come out of these complaints . Do you think Bio and his supporters are naive to play down the seriousness of this matter, and do you think they really have something to worry about ?

Well, Ambassador Kabs Kanu, as you already know, Bio and his supporters are always in denial. They can deny even their own very existence. So, their self- opinionated views don’t surprise me at all. They can say whatever they like, but the end will justify the means by God’s power.

4. After you presented the petition to the ICC, Bio was invited to a meeting at the UN. The hopes of lots of Sierra Leoneans were raised that Bio was going to be informed of a pending investigation and indictment, but it turned out that the meeting was said to have been to promote bilateral relations. Do you have any take on that for Sierra Leoneans who are still confused by this development?

Ambassador Kabs Kanu, let me explicitly say this in plain and simple English, that the mandate of the ICC/Rome Statute is to investigate, indict, prosecute, convict and sentence perpetrators of human rights violations and crimes against humanity no matter how long it takes. Thank God, there’s no statutory limitation to the prosecution of crimes against humanity based on International Criminal Law (ICL). This meaning, Bio, his wife, and senior government officials will be held accountable for crimes against humanity because they “bear the greatest responsibility”…as well as for “aiding and abetting” for such heinous and grave crimes.

5. Please tell our readers what motivated you to become the most active Sierra Leonean human rights campaigner.

As a legal luminary, justice, and human rights campaigner, it behoves or rather saddens me to see the perilous state of affairs of our country and how Maada Bio and his senior government officials and security forces woefully failed to uphold human rights principles, the civil rights of individuals and fundamental freedoms that are protected and guaranteed under law in Mama Sierra Leone. It is these reasons that motivated me and in concert with Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide decided to fight for justice and the restoration of democracy in Sierra Leone.

This is because and as already alluded to above, since Julius Maada Bio assumed office on 4th April 2018, he has engaged in a series of systematic, widespread and wanton destruction of our fragile democratic fabric and national cohesion by dividing Sierra Leone along party, regional and tribal lines. Since Maada Bio assumed office, he had sacked majority employees who mainly hailed from the north and Northwest regions of Sierra Leone. Hitherto, Sierra Leoneans have held their peace in the face of Julius Maada Bio’s continued acts of bullying, political intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, selective justice, extrajudicial killings, rape, mob justice advocated by the First Lady, corruption, dismissals along tribal lines, blatant corruption exacerbating the high cost of living, other violation of human rights, violation of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and killings of innocent, unarmed and defenceless civilians. Also, Sierra Leone has become one of the very few countries in Africa whose citizens, selectively, systematically and widely been subjected to numerous human rights abuses, murder, arbitrary arrests, unlawful imprisonment orchestrated by the government and executed by well-armed State Security personnel against innocent Sierra Leoneans resident mostly in the areas of the main opposition APC party stronghold leaving many dead or some badly injured and some still in detention without trial.

In addition, since 2018-2023, the Sierra Leone Police and Sierra Leone Armed Forces, instead of upholding justice, has become an instrument of oppression with a bellicose and trigger-happy posture, they readily resort to shooting and violence against the defenceless populace, even without provocation. This heavy-handed approach has effectively silenced the voices of critical civil society organisations and hindered the participation of women and the youth. It has also severely undermined public confidence in the safety and security of our poor people in the country. Extensive procurement and ostentatious delivery of weapons and ammunition to rogue elements recruited by the government. The presence of the Police and military in the streets and roads everywhere in the country has progressively intensified more than ever before, making Sierra Leone a Police State.

Ultimately, this politics of stealing the people’s mandate, rampant human rights abuses, arbitrary arrest without trial or even fair trial, and extra-judicial killings must be STOPPED now and not given any space in this 21st century.

6. As Sierra Leoneans continue to complain bitterly about Maada Bio’s abuse of power and human rights offences and his seeming propensity to be getting away with everything, what message do you have for Sierra Leoneans?

My message to my Sierra Leone people is that Bio and his senior government will definitely not get away with murder because he definitely has a case to answer at the ICC in the near future. I will crave your indulgence to please don’t be despondent or despair or lose hope but continue to stay strong, focused, hopeful, steadfast, and resilient as not all is lost

However, it is worth mentioning at this juncture that we have the ability and capability, backed by our compatriots, of rendering Mr Julius Maada Bio’s illegitimate regime ungovernable, should the situation arise.

Finally, please note that the above complaints and demands made to the ICC, UN and State Department are complementing the efforts being made by other well-meaning Sierra Leoneans, on behalf of our voiceless compatriots whose votes have been stolen, and their fundamental human rights violated. And we believe that justice, fairness, and democracy will definitely prevail in our motherland, regardless and by God’s grace.

Dr. Alfred A Veenod Fullah is the Chairman of Concerned Sierra Leoneans Worldwide, Like Minds For Makeni Global and Lead Coordinator for Diaspora Hub Globally.

He holds a Masters degree in Social Policy, LLM Law (Master of Laws) in International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and a PhD in International Criminal Law (ICL) at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.