By Abu Shaw in London (15/10/2021)
The ruling SLPP govt is washing its linens in the open in the aftermath of the Koinadugu Bye-Elections where the SLPP stole votes to a dubious victory.
War of words is currently manifesting in the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples’ Party as SLPP compatriots and sympathisers bombard each other in public much to the astonishment of the silent observers in the country. The ongoing bitter exchange between the irate Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Lahai Lawrence Leema and the Civil Society Organisation activists Mrs Marcella Samba-Sesay and Madam Etta M’briwa has taken Sierra Leone politics to a different level today. ‘Better Late than Never’ is a clique that most Sierra Leoneans would happily associate with Marcella Samba, Director of the National Elections Watch NEW and Campaign for Good Governance CGG. Marcella has eventually decided to do the right thing by calling a spade a spade and by exposing the inadequacies of the SLPP Deputy Minister Lawrence Leema. (Photo: Marcella Samba blasts Minister Leema, right, two SLPP bodies falling apart).
The electoral fraud manifested in the Koinadugu Bye-Elections blamed squarely on the National Electoral Commission NEC was so blatant that the people of Sierra Leone could no longer hide their disgust over it. As a consequence, SLPP sympathisers like Marcella Samba and Etta M’briwa have bravely joined other government critics to expose the unprofessionalism exhibited by NEC officials in Koniadugu District. Mrs Marcella Samba reached boiling point after her own NEW workers, who were deployed in Koinadugu to monitor the local elections, were manhandled and detained by security forces on the orders of top SLPP government officials. Through the local media in Sierra Leone, Marcella blasted the negative conduct of the police and the NEC in the strongest possible terms, and she also gave an ultimatum that her detained officials should be released within 48 hours. Marcella Samba’s threat has sent shock waves across the SLPP circles and beyond. Thus, forcing Minister Leema to fight back to protect his government’s image. Leema blasted Marcella by accusing her of not being happy because the government had turned down Marcella Samba’s requests for assistance.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-7357360780567964&output=html&h=345&adk=2282423035&adf=2098076385&pi=t.aa~a.2340864923~i.14~rp.4&w=414&lmt=1634484987&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=6457675062&psa=1&ad_type=text_image&format=414×345&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheorganiser.net%2Fsierra-leone%2F3626-war-of-words-escalates-as-slpp-civil-society-directors-bombard-inept-slpp-minister-leema&flash=0&fwr=1&pra=3&rh=321&rw=385&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&sfro=1&wgl=1&fa=27&dt=1634484990156&bpp=2&bdt=2457&idt=2&shv=r20211013&mjsv=m202110080101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Dfa969930e76d4ea3-223e4f8dd6cb0090%3AT%3D1634484988%3ART%3D1634484988%3AS%3DALNI_Ma76vw3ttzb3LHWu8ZMkQTEhoUPIA&prev_fmts=0x0%2C414x90%2Cauto%2C414x345%2C414x345%2C414x345%2C414x345&nras=2&correlator=5224337814924&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=903133132.1634484989&ga_sid=1634484989&ga_hid=2056453627&ga_fc=0&u_tz=-240&u_his=1&u_h=896&u_w=414&u_ah=896&u_aw=414&u_cd=32&u_sd=2&adx=0&ady=1884&biw=414&bih=699&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=31062938%2C31063118%2C31062524%2C31063140&oid=2&psts=AGkb-H9Or3cqe8IRjZsPwme4w_KufRoOsxIX0Llvp2OcIzLCB6Nv13TM0IwholyFWE1_1S_0en_1B_c%2CAGkb-H9OXmG7dudue69fwFwBtUJR9ik4p_zGfB5Ns1nsLGRNSsQe7VsAu2SIYbwAM1wLXinkQdVPKApY-aYm%2CAGkb-H-XiaWDaWl_f49vzuIMVKyKjD6mYhCr-Z2MOMFnzhGTb8SB4Itpo3awaOVm3egQw4slDmpdljFxAg%2CAGkb-H_vxuhF2XifflAKFVVY8ncs7IdR8db-dFAZngxK5kE85V776aDJb873WOUwAmetW-aptmrS3KMflHOM&pvsid=2717854225418160&pem=536&eae=0&fc=1408&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C414%2C0%2C414%2C896%2C414%2C699&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=8&uci=a!8&btvi=5&fsb=1&xpc=Q0Ry23MGc9&p=https%3A//theorganiser.net&dtd=12
However, Marcella Samba’s rebellious stance this time around for the truth has increased her fan base tremendously in and outside the country. Sierra Leoneans who had initially condemned and hated Marcella for being pro-SLPP and her lethargic behaviour to fight in the interests of the people have now hailed her as the new heroine. This is Marcella undressing the SLPP Deputy Minister Leema on her Facebook Page: “Democracy works best when the citizens are able to keep their government in check. Be an active citizen. Ask the right questions. A coward Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs fighting shame! How are my marriage and husband connected to the issue of organised violence and vote tampering NEW released in the just concluded Bye-Elections in Koinadugu? Check out Dr Sambassey Sesay, one of the most decent professionals I know, he has never been involved in party politics. Next time stick and speak to the issues,” Marcella Samba blasted the arrogant Deputy Minister Leema.
The war of words has continued unabated when another SLPP party sympathiser Etta M’bawa unleashed her tirade on the violent-oriented Minister Leema, who is widely believed to be the Hercules Heels of President Bio’s imminent downfall. This is Etta M’briwa’s audio lambasting the SLPP government in general: “SLPP has done worse than what the APC did. You people are a disappointment. You did not only do bad things, some of the people you created who have been making noises for you were given top jobs and getting more wages than the Permanent Secretaries who are the ones running the ministries and the backbones of the ministries. No wonder the Permanent Secretaries are more corrupt than the ministers. (Photo: President Bio and his wife Fatima have failed the nation).
“These corrupt Permanent Secretaries often urge and remind the Ministers about travelling around the country because of the per diems and allowances that follow. You, people, met the 2% salary scale under the APC government but now you have to balloon it to 8%. This tribalism and nepotism are too much. You came to power and decided to make the SLPP party a Mende party when in fact, the SLPP party was founded in the north. When you read the history of the SLPP, the people from the north are the backbone with some people from the southeast. But now you have hijacked the SLPP and you do not talk anything good about Sierra Leone.
“What have you done? Every day we hear from the people of Bo that thieves have broken their homes because of the lack of light in the City. When there is electricity, thieves would not come out because they know that people would be awake and walking in the streets. Thieves are presently disturbing the people in Bo and Kenema. Also, in Kenema the roads are so terrible. I recently visited the residence of the Resident Minister East at Reservation. Can you imagine, my Landcruiser SUV I was driving touched the road on the way to the Minister’s house? The road resembles a graveyard for children. No wonder there is no development in Kenema, a stronghold of the SLPP government. The road looks like an abandoned graveyard.
“Electricity supply is out of the question. Then you begin to remember that these were the people who voted for the SLPP in 2018. This is one of your strongholds and they do not have light. Poverty is so clear in Bo and Kenema. Before, when President Ernest Koroma of the APC was in power, you would love to go to Makeni. Some of us would see truly and surely, this is where President Koroma came from. The Makeni Teko Barracks where I was born, we used to go there frequently. You will get the urge to go there. My own village, when you go there you will see life. The roads were well made and light everywhere. Today, go to Bo, the Second City, it looks like one area where people gather to mourn for funeral services. Not to talk about poverty and everything.
“My old school, the Queen Rosary Secondary School, QRS, had an event recently, I could not go. I do not have the urge anymore to go to Bo. Even if you have houses there you would only stay in the hotel where electricity is guaranteed. The place is so dark in Bo. The SLPP government is not trying to decentralise. People are starving in the provinces. All the benefits the government is giving out end up with your people only. APC spent whole lots of money to buy buses but you SLPP came to power, all the buses are now in the Scrap Yard. We are tired of saying these things. Look at the poor transportation issues. Many times, I give people a lift but I had to stop some people because they do not have face masks. You will feel sorry for the struggling people. Even though I know it is a private vehicle, it’s risky to do so, but you see people queuing for transports. What is wrong if the government could maintain these buses?” Etta M’briwa concludes her condemnation of President Bio’s failed government.
Following Marcela Samba’s and Etta M’briwa’s public condemnation of the SLPP government, Adebayor, one of Sierra Leone’s most active social media critics, went on to praise Marcella Samba and Etta M’briwa for fighting for the people at long last. Also, other vibrant social media activists in the persons of Ibrahim Fornah, the Peoples’ Power, Cash Box, and Comrade Koita also levy praise on these two gallant women in Freetown who have now risen above party political lines to put Sierra Leone first. Political observers are cautiously optimistic that Marcella and Etta would continue the good work. Perhaps, other silent CSO Directors and the SLPP media would rise up to the challenge and show some amount of patriotism in these trying times in Sierra Leone.
