With the weakest main opposition ever in the political history of the country, the All People’s Congress – APC which is being constantly muscled by the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), last Thursday 26th June, 2020 through the Appointment Committee of the House of Parliament approved three judges recently nominated by President Dr Julius Maada Bio to serve at the Appeals Court. That development made no good news for the embattled APC party, its members and supporters across the globe, in that the political appointees approvals by the House clearly exposed the ruling SLPP’s grand conspiracy being plotted against the main opposition APC party through the judiciary.
It appears as if the Government has already seen the writings on the wall, even though the confirmations are very much suicidal to the APC party and its members, the ruling party won the day and fortified their defence well in the event of any emerging appeal matter.
Besides, no matter the circumstances the SLPP Government legal system is going to use those new judges appointed by President Bio against the APC party be it in the petition, treason and other matters in the event they happen to go appeals court in a not too distance future. As spectators, the public is patiently waiting to see how the SLPP Government’s judicial plans are going to be unfold against their arch arrival APC.
The President Dr Julius Maada Bio led administration since April 4th 2018 to date has so far tried all it could to strangulate the indomitable APC party to its demise with several embattlement and politically motivate strategies; ranging from the throwing away of APC MPs from the well of Parliament, the grabbing of the position of Speaker of the House, ill motivated elections petitions against ten APC MPs who ended up losing their legitimate seats to unelected ruling party selected representatives to the list is long all in furtherance to bring their opponents.
Government apart from that also instituted politically motivated administrative tribunals to probe past government including APC members in an unhealthy hatred name of democratic accountability and financial prudency.
All of these are being done to fight the APC party, render it discredited although President Bio and his Government know very well that most of these actions have been legally challenged and will be further questioned, especially that petitions of ten APC MPs, the ‘cooked’ treason trial of former Defence Minister Alfred Paolo Conteh and other matters. Those are part of political and judicial reasons for the Government’s rush approvals of the three Appeals Court Judges so that they can sit on any probable appeal matter in defence of Government’s interest and the actions, as well as deliberate political mistakes to cover up the presidency from embarrassments.
The approvals of Hon. Fatmata Bintu Alhadi, Hon. Justice Komba Kamanda and Hon. Justice Alhaji Momojah Stevens all three of them as Justices of the Court of Appeal, loudly rings a bell in the ears of the main opposition APC and the public as a whole, following a huge sold out by smaller opposition party including the Collation for Change, National Grand Collation and independent MP. In fact, inconsistent Dr Kandeh Yumkella has always registered support to whatever Government is doing. A move he is being described as one of the betrayer politicians in the well.
APC MPs may have however done all they could to turn down the approvals of the three presidential nominees as judges of the Appeals Court, but to no avail and ended up being defeated by ruling SLPP MPs with support from smaller opposition parties, thereby digging graves to bury the APC alive. APC MPs’ refusals emanated from that fact that Hon. Justice Komba Kamanda and Hon. Momoh Jah Stevens in the event any appeal matter reach them at their court they will do disservice to the APC.
“The APC lost its motion for the approval of the presidential nominees with the exception of Justices Komba Kamanda and Alhaji Momojah Stevens,” a press release issued by the Department of Public Relations, House of Parliament states, and adds that majority of the MPs confirmed that all nominees are fit and qualified for their designated positions.
However this development in the eyes of the public does not sound well for the main opposition APC party and democracy, more so when they are always on the disadvantaged side of the unstable democratic process.
Specifically for the leadership of the main opposition APC Chrenor Ramadan Maju Bah didn’t vote the two justices-Momohjah Stevens and Komba Kamanda on grounds that they are highly influential in the country’s judicial system especially their aiding of the legal profession misuses and flagrant abuses of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone. Others of the APC also refused to vote the two presidential nominees as state by one APC MP at Parliament; “we have no reason to vote these people to sit at the Appeals Court having perpetuated so many injustices against the APC party, its members and supporters in closed to three years now.
Komba Kamanda Justice is infamously known for his revoking of ten APC MPs through a pushed petition verdict that turned in legitimately elected parliamentary seats to selected ruling SLPP representatives, whiles Stevens is presently presiding over the man treason trial matter which former Minister of Defence Conteh is standing. It is consequently not surprising to see Government rushing up with the appointments approvals of these two judges to sit at the Appeals Court of Sierra Leone.
And if with that being the situation come final judgement of probable matter that may have the tendencies to reach an appeal level the two – Kamanda and Stevens will surely be there ready to defend the Government, which is where the APC will be burying itself in their own dug grave as Kamanda and Stevens will never sit by to see APC winning appeals cases in their court. Rather they prefer making matter worse for the opposition party and politicians to please their pay master.
