Kabs Kanu: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 12 August 2023:
British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone – Lisa Chesney, when you foreign diplomats on whom so much is expected remain so naive and hypocritical, that is why Africa will never grow tired of producing despicable dictators and tyrants like Maada Bio. How can you get so easily fooled by Maada Bio’s fake promises of electoral reforms?
First of all, you do not put the cart before the horse. What President Bio ‘s Elections Commission first needs to do is provide what international elections observer groups, U.S, the European Union (EU) and international stakeholders and moral guarantors of peace, security , democracy and good governance are demanding disaggregated results from the polling stations as recorded in Results and Reconciliation Forms (RRFs) to show how the final elections results were determined in what is definitely a rigged electoral process. Until Maada Bio can produce such evidence, he cannot talk about electoral reforms.
After thumbing his ugly nose at you and refused to produce the disaggregated results from the polling stations, you had the temerity to blink first and pay a courtesy call on Bio’s new Foreign Minister, Timothy Kabba. To me, this sounded like compromising your principles and integrity.
After Maada Bio had stolen our elections and while, with impunity, he is sitting on top of it, it was not the right time for a diplomatic visit short of telling him to do the right thing, if you are serious about seeing democracy prevail in Sierra Leone.
The right thing would have been continuing to insist that the ECSL produce the disaggregated results from the polling stations. Without that, Maada Bio ‘s Foreign Minister did not deserve a courtesy call from you, Madam. And did the government media report it right that you were praising him for electoral reforms? How can you be so naive?
What kind of diplomacy is Britain practicing in Sierra Leone? A diplomacy of compromising with electoral fraud, coups through blatant elections thieving and undemocratic change of governments? And you expect Sierra Leone to take a credible place among the community of nations?
The idea you have promoted is that you do not care for the working of the constitution and the rule of law in Sierra Leone, just what the nebulous Maada Bio needs to continue trashing the country.
But why should we be surprised, Lisa? Your country, Britain, imposed Maada Bio on us in 2018, thanks to the surreptitious dealings of the then High Commissioner, Guy Warrington. You could very well be continuing the policies of Guy Warrington.
Some of us who know you western diplomats for your hypocrisy and double standards, l knew it was just a matter of time before you blinked after Bio started pulling wool over your eyes . It is a shame.
I am even more ashamed for you, reading that you did stress Britain’s neutrality in Sierra Leone’s politics. What message was that? When did Britain become a neutral partner in Sierra Leone’s chequered politics?
That our former colonial masters who actually still hold a lot of the aces and determine much more the economic direction our nation goes would do nothing to teach President Bio a lesson for criminally stealing the Sierra Leone elections? If that happens, Lisa, you have joined forces with President Bio to destroy Sierra Leone.
Come on Lisa. You know that President Bio floating an idea of electoral reforms after stealing the June 24 elections is a criminal ruse. You are too smart to fall for such gimmicks. By your educational standard and diplomatic training, you have been able to read between the lines that Bio’s promise is just deception to paper over his criminal act.
You did not owe the Bio government a courtesy call. They owed you one. By going to see them while they are unlawfully holding hostage the people’s mandate and you commending Bio for his fake promise of electoral reforms, you have sent the wrong message to this government that all is well, after all, and to the people of Sierra Leone that they cannot depend on your government to help Bio respect democracy, the law and the constitution in their country. Knowing lawless President Bio for his spirit of impunity, you will be encouraging him to wax worse.
Let it not be what some of us are thinking, that the British government would ultimately let Maada Bio get away with criminality and destroy democracy and constitutional civility and resume normal relations with him. I am very confident that you are aware of the dangerous precedent you would set in so doing.
Maada Bio deserves to be isolated by your government for committing a criminal act against the people of Sierra Leone, the constitution and indeed the world political order. We demand no less from you, especially when we know that it is your budget support and economic aid that keep our nation’s head above waters.
You cannot botch it this time. If you do, the people of Sierra Leone will hold Britain accountable for any subsequent chaos and for the evil going on in our country under this fascist government. We are watching.
Samuel Marconi Kamara, please stop. You are talking to intelligent, knowledgable people. What has Maada Bio delivered since Britain imposed him on us in 2018 ? My dear compatriot, Bio has delivered nothing since he came to power but a catalogue of human rights abuses, killing of perceived opponents, maiming of innocent people, distorting and destroying social, economic and integrity institutions —the judiciary, parliament, civil society, the human rights organization, media ( Look at the charade at 98.1 Democracy Radio) , the Anti-Corruption Commission, NRA, Bank of Sierra Leone, NATCOM, everything. Bio has infested them with tribalism, corruption and the selling of interests.
You are right to say that Bio is the most criticized and antagonized president in the history of our country, and why not ? He is the most divisive, unproductive, naive and vengeful ( Look at how his buzzards are destroying the livelihoods of the Abacha Street women by demolishing their stalls ), tribalistic, wasteful ( Flying needlessly all day on friutless trips like the proverbial Ghanaian sankofa bird ), deceitful ( Stealing our elections in broad daylight and to deceitfully mask his criminality, calling for electoral reforms ); Bio is also full of impunity, one of the things, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( TRC), that triggered the civil war that killed half-a-million people and left our infrastructure in tatters.
The June 2023 depravity was not an error. It was a calculated criminal enterprise, undertaken to cheat the people of Sierra Leone of their electoral mandate in broad daylight ! ! ! Bio is no better than the common thief being chased by robbed marketwomen at King Jimmy Market. What a shame.
Bio deserves to be run out of town, tarred and feathered.
Kabs Kanu,
Here is the thing. The British High Commissioner and the British Government cannot put their reputation on the line by aligning with the APC in their foolishness.
First, the APC had as its flagbearer a man facing a serious allegation of corruption, a man who has a court case for embezzling millions of dollars of state funds. This is the same man who had bulldozed his way to the party leadership by violently dislodging other competitors. Second, your flagbearer had signed an agreement with the Commonwealth secretary general that all disputes emanating from the elections must be settled in court. Your guy refused to go to court because the party had no data to build their argument of election rigging on. If the APC did not agree with ECSL’s pronouncement of a President Bio victory, why didn’t they go to court to prove the ECSL wrong?
Third, it was evident in the days and months before the elections that the APC was not ready to go to the polls. The party was broken financially. The crooks fronting the party had embezzled all membership contributions. The party was also not able to maintain offices in many areas of the Southeast because there was no money to pay rent. There was also no money to pay agents, thereby leaving many polling stations in the country unrepresented.
Considering the foregoing, the APC was only looking for a reason to raise hell. They got one – mistakes made by the ECSL in the tabulation of votes. But mistakes happen in all elections around the world. Fact is, ECSL’s mistakes were not enough to change the result. The APC lost by a blowout. The International Community knows this hence they cannot support the APC in their foolishness. I feel sorry though for those APC MPs who have allowed themselves to be used by a coterie of greedy and reckless morons fronting a party that has no hope of winning national elections in Sierra Leone for a long time. The MPs are used as pawns by those begging the president by night for a pardon in their COI convictions. Are these the people that you would expect the International Community to go to bed with?
I don’t always agree with Kabs Kanu, but I agree with him on this one. As one who loathes both SLPP and APC I have the luxury of being objective at any given moment in the name of trying to extricate my country from the disease called SLPP and APC. In a contest between SLPP, APC and Satan for the presidency, there would be no contest – the devil would carry the day. I know his primary intention, which is to make me fall foul of Allah/God all the time, so that I would end up in Hell. Therefore my relationship with him would be one of constant suspension with no let up. I would rather be in such a relationship rather than one in which people who look like normal humans (SLPP and APC } are really the devil.
Kabs Kanu has clearly reinforced the numerous standards which the West have in their repertoire in dealing with the developing world, especially Africa, the evidence is all over the place ; the noise which they make about their democratic values is at best tenuous. They would support or turn a blind eye if a dictator were a mass murderer as long as he was their dictator; likewise if a democratically minded leader does not dance to their tune, they want him out of the way; the hypocrisy is tangible. The British High Commissioner’s visit to the Foreign Ministry helps to explain why Africa is pivoting toward the East – principally Russia. So without as much as lifting a finger the Russians are charming Africa; their foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is a smooth talker.
As a people, we must confront our problems squarely and try to find a solution to them somehow somewhere. The solution may be nasty, but if that’s what it takes, so be it. The West have lost their way.
Well said, brother
Sincerely, I personally do not see anything wrong with paying Maada Bio a courtesy call to listen to what the SLPP still has to say…but allowing oneself to be swayed and persuaded, now therein lies the problem; We are fully aware and the rest of the world knows that these past elections weren’t quite credible enough…transparency and credibility were totally missing in the entire process. Now what truly bothers me, is the fact that Maada Bio has adamantly refused to release the original ECSL results to the general, public – Why? A true servant of the people must obey the voice of the people. What is he waiting for?
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A President cannot legitimize himself…Only the votes cast by the people can do such a sacred thing, and here we are today, thirsting and yearning for a legitimacy that comes directly from an authentic voting process but there is none whatsoever to be found; The British High commissioner shouldn’t allow herself to be tricked by the petty antics of Maada Bio…she must demand that the original results must be duly released so that we can put all doubts to rest…anything short of that will be a betrayal of trust already enshrined in that esteemed office she is currently holding;
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Now although Maada Bio believes that most Sierra Leoneans are completely wet behind the ears…naïve, and immature politically, there are some of us who are on a mission to prove to him, beyond all doubts that he is the one sadly mistaken; Sadly mistaken, to think he can brazenly steal an election and get away with it; Sadly mistaken to think he and his delusional wife can stoke the fires of tribalism and hatred and are not held accountable for their deplorable actions; Sadly, and tragically mistaken to think that our beloved Sierra Leone belongs to them alone, and not also to abjectly poor, lowly beggar on the streets of Freetown.
“and not also to abjectly poor, lowly beggar on the streets of Freetown”. Even if SL would be rich like Germany, it would not be like that.
“Without courage wisdom bears no fruit”. It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. That is what I perceive of the president, H.E Dr. Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio.
H.E Dr Julius Maada Bio in my opinion, is the first ever presidential candidate in Sierra Leone that has received the highest criticism in Sierra Leone political stage, yet he is still delivering. That is the courage I meant of.
Sierra Leoneans within and abroad may wonder who this man is truly is. Remember! Ex-Head of State, Rtd. Capt. Valentine Strasser was once asked in a radio interview which went viral. In his statement, he said H.E Dr. Julius Maada Bio is a man that is difficult to understand.
Sierra Leone is endowed with talents. The people are quick to forgive and forget. That is the spirit we have learnt to develop in the past that has placed our country to the world stage. I hope we can keep such a courage.
The June 2023 elections from its inception to its final day when the results were announced were full of anxiety. But, we stood up as patriotic Sierra Leoneans to go to the pools and have our votes cast. Though it is perceived by some people and some of the international community reports that it lacks transparency, yet we also read reports from other civil society groups, the Bar Association and more noting that the elections were credible. The two words used in this context that looks confusing is “transparency” and “credible”. Most Sierra Leoneans were now waiting to see the aggrieved part to go to the court for the interpretation of the two words “transparency” and “credible”. Since there is no complainant,then the reciprocal is no case.
To err is human. Since the authorities concern have learnt that there were errors in the electionery process identified, that is why the government has instituted a committee to seat and discuss on these issues so as to prevent it from occurring in the future. Remember, learning is a continuous process.
You are forgetting the Rtd Brigadier General,fountain of wisdom and it pleases the president. you should definitely add the above titles, everytime you mention Maada. By the way, I did not address you by your name, as I am not sure, what is your title? Is it ING, Pastor, Chef?
What does one call a taxi driver? I wonder. Is it chauffeur Bangura or driver Bangura. How about a street sweeper? Please enlighten us.