By: Francis F.M. Harding
The All Peoples Congress Member of Parliament, Hon Abdul Karim Kamara, has disclosed that the head of the 21-man Interim Transitional Governance Committee (ITGC) of the party is contravening the April 2022 court ruling by Hon. Justice Adrian Fisher, which clearly spells out the mandate and operations of the 21-man committee after it ordered or called for the dissolution of the now defunct APC Executive.
Hon. Kamara, who is a member of the 21-man committee, made this disclosure yesterday 9 August 2022 while speaking on the Good Morning Salone programme of Radio Democracy, 98.1 FM. He was at Radio Democracy to step in for the ITGC Secretary Hon. Abdul Kargbo.
The court ruling by Hon. Justice Adrian Fisher did spell out the dissolution of the APC party National Executive to give way to the setting up of a 21-man Interim Committee to be instituted by Alfred Peter Conteh and the supposed Majority Parliamentary Leader, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, aka Chericoco. The 21-man committee is mandated and expected to subsequently set up another committee to conduct lower tier elections to culminate into a National Delegates Conference that will elect the National Executive.
“The outgoing National Executive of the All Peoples Congress met at their party headquarters on Old Railway Line, Brookfield, in Freetown and unanimously agreed not to appeal against the court ruling.” Hon. Kamara, who represented, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, noted: “Giving the way forward, Hon Justice Fisher ordered that an Interim Transition Governing Committee be formed to conduct the forthcoming National Delegates Conference.”
He said Justice Fisher had said the ITGC should be appointed by the plaintiff, Alfred Peter Conteh, one among his members shall be the chairman. And that the Majority Parliamentary Leader, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah aka. Chericoco shall nominate in consultation with members of Parliament, 2 members from the north, 2 from the northwest, 2 from western area, 2 from south, 1 young generation representative, 1 diaspora member, 1 women’s representative, 1 legal representative of the party of not less than 20 years standing.
He said they that on the committee are members of the creation of the court, adding that 12 members are representing the party, whilst the 9 specifically are representing the plaintiff, Alfred Peter Conteh.
He referred listeners to the constitutional requirement of Section 90 (10) which gives them power to promulgate the rules of the lower level election as a 21-man committee, as the rules had been gazetted. He continued, saying that the court ordered the 21-man committee to do the lower level election within sixty days after the Political Parties Registration Commission had gazetted and it should be supervised by them. He maintained that the court had asked them to hold the first National Delegates Conference after twenty eight days but they are waiting for the rules to mature. The court mandated them to resolve all membership dispute within the party prior to the National Delegates Conference in accordance with article 10 of the March 7th 2022 APC Constitution and to ensure those membership dispute that required to be dealt with at the first National Delegates Conference pursuant to (13) (f & g) of the same APC Constitution 2022 are resolved at the National Delegates Conference by inclusion on the agenda.
He stressed that the judge gave them two mandates, internal membership dispute and they should resolve it before the convention, and people who left the party to join other political parties, form another political party this should settle by the National Delegate Conference according to article (13) of the March 7th 2022 APC Constitution. “The Court said they should appoint an auditing firm to audit the APC party. The court also gives mandates to form the Election Transition Committee,” Hon. Kamara said.
Hon. Kamara said the interesting thing of the ruling is that 9, 10, (6) in other to achieve unity within the party decision of this ITGC shall by simple majority. He was also asked which two types of membership to regularize and who are the kinds of people who are involved in it. In responding, he said the judge talked about membership and the judge referred them directly to the APC Constitution of 2022 and the rules should be in line with the same APC Constitution 2022.
He continued, saying that the 21-man committee should resolve two types of membership. One the internal membership are the members who are not being paying dues up to one and two years but when they want to go into a convention the party will give seven days of blanket for members to regularize their membership and this should be resolve before the party as it is in the ruling 90, 10 (4) it is clearly spelt as it does not need an interpreter. And for the other type of membership this are people who have been driven, suspend from the party and to reinstate those people they should go the APC Constitution 2022, (13) (f & g) of the same APC Constitution 2022 (g) reads “the decision of the admitting a person to the party shall be made by the National Delegates Conference”, meaning a committee or NAC doesn’t have the powers to reinstate somebody.
When he was asked about the membership of the party about the procedure to reinstate Alhaji Chief Sam Sumana back into the party. When he cleverly answered the question from the quest, he said contact has been made from the former executive but at that point a decision was made, at that the March 7, 2022 APC Constitution was not yet at that point.
He said from his personal point of view “The former Vice-President who he hold to high esteem see a letter reinstate him of a party and he see counter letter from the secretary of that committee it behold seen as a gentle man, as a former vice president. He said the former vice president should have done a letter of disclaimer. As the former vice president as a peace ambassador and the way in which they say he has been reinstate him has create turmoil in the party.
As one man took the party of illegality to court in terms of selection and that will not stop any other person to go the court with the APC. He pleaded with the members of the APC that there are people who have spent their money, time and resources for them not to vacate from the party as the court has said. He was still asked by the studio guests for who reinstate or who is debunking Sam Sumana. He answer that there was no meeting and minute to the effect of such nature. He said the twelve men have not been invited to any meeting. He said they saw a press release when the chairman sign a press release, that one is an insult on a structures party like the APC. He ends up saying Alfred Peter Conteh single handily wrote the letter.
He said there are two things affecting the Peter Conteh team with the exception Hon Ibrahim Bundu, he said none of them have ever be an elected genitor of the party, lack the institutional memory and the knowledge and skills over the 2022 Constitution of the APC. Alfred Peter Conteh and team should not create a picture like the 12 men in the committee are not for Sam Sumana and they are the ones that were against him. He continued to say to Chief Sam Sumana that there is a process that the constitution prescribes that they should allow us as committee to do their work so that the party will not have another person who will take them to court and deprive the APC to not contest the 2023 elections.
He continues to say that they are not against Chief Sumana but it is the procedure of getting him that they were against, adding that they need a whole block vote in Kono.
He said it “looks like Chief Sam Sumana’s hand is in all of the court matters against the APC”, but members within the committee wouldn’t want his name to be measured.
He said there was no division in the room but there was a time when the chairman said he wanted to appoint a committee that should include diaspora coordinators, district chairman and the like. He said while the membership was okay with the proposal, they insisted that he should come with the petition that people had sent to him. And he pleaded to the membership of the party to come and talk sense into the 21-man committee. He said the court ruling was a decision but as a party there was no option as the party has the right to apply as the country is at the tail end. He said Alfred Peter Conteh finds himself in a situation where he is not knowledgeable in steering the affairs of the interim body of party; rather he lacks the leadership quality, and he also seemed to be under pressures from people who are not showing up.
The presenters of the program said they invited members from both sides of the committee including those in support of the reinstatement of Sam Sumana and those against but Rev. Sulaiman B. Kamara, PRO from the Alfred Peter Conteh said, was absent whilst Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara represented the secretary of the 21-man committee.
