Having strategically engaged a cross section of coalition of opposition political parties through series of consultation with its National Advisory Committee (NAC) at a recent meeting on the way forward for the approaching 2023 elections, the beleaguered main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) is set unseat the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) from office through the most legitimate means.This disclosure was recently made publically by the Acting APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Sidi Yayah Tunis in an interview he granted Radio Democracy, FM 89.1’s breakfast show – Good Morning Salone.
Alhaji Tunis said his party will leave no stone unturned in rallying the masses in the strongest preparedness ever to democratically unseat President Bio and his failed despotic SLPP regime.
This, backed by several engagements with other political actors in the already adulterated democratic process, seems to be yielding fruitful results.
At a recent meeting with visiting United States House of Congress delegation to Sierra Leone, Liberia and other neighbouring countries, the APC National Secretary General, Alhaji Ambassador Dr Osman Foday Yansanneh informed the US House of Congress lawmakers about several states-sponsored killings that have been perpetuated against innocent Sierra Leoneans including APC members and supporters across the country, under the watch of President Bio.
These, he explained, include those of the central prison on Pademba Road, where so many innocent people were killed by state security personnel allegedly from the Presidential Guard Unit, for which no investigation has been conducted.
Amb. Alhaji Dr Yansanneh told the House of Congress delegation that Sierra Leoneans were also killed by Sierra Leone Police personnel in Makeni, Tombo, Lunsar, Lumley in Freetown, Tonko Limba, Mile 91, Tonkolili district, among couple of other cases of murder which still need to be properly investigated to bring the perpetuators to book in order to end the culture of impunity.
The APC scribe added that most of the killers are either released by the police on orders from above probably from the presidency, or pushed by people very close to the powers that be and end up lying to the victims’ relatives that the perpetuators have escaped from detention.
He informed the US House of Congress delegation that armed personnel have on orders from above attacked and destroyed the APC national secretariat on 11 Old Railway Line, unlawfully arrested and detained dozens of APC members and supporters, on several occasions, all in furtherance of constantly unleashing all forms of political harassment and intimidation against APC members and followers.
Dr Yahsanneh explained that independent and democratic institutions that are expected to be working fairly without fear or any forms of influence from the ruling SLPP, are no longer severing as mandated by the laws of Sierra Leone.
He pointed out that the Political Parties Registration Commission, the National Electoral Commission, the Sierra Leone Police and the Judiciary are no longer serving as independent institutions.
Dr Yahsanneh however observed that the aforementioned democratic institutions are now wrongly used by President Bio and the governing SLPP government to protect those in power, adding that the government is always putting in place political restriction to limit the participation of the APC and other political parties in the democratic process.
The APC National Secretary General recalled January 2020 when the APC gathered in Port Loko for its National Delegates’ Conference which was halted by a politically motivated court injunction that was slammed on the APC party that restrained the party from carrying on its activities since then to date.
Alhaji Dr Yansanneh told the US House of Congress delegation that such limitations are viewed as a deliberate ploy by the Bio administration to keep restricting the APC from taking part in the approaching 2023 elections. He says the delegation and the world over clearly know that President Bio has done nothing good so far in close to five years in office.
Dr Yansanneh said the world over including the visiting US House Congress delegation know very well that the Bio administration “is a corrupt government”, which was why they wasted well over Four Million United States Dollars (USD4M) and paid international media outlets on image laundering in a bid to position Bio and cover up his regime failures and position it as the most successful governance system the country has ever produced but that didn’t work as planned.
The APC scribe said international systems and development partners are regularly making follow ups on what is going on in Sierra Leone which was why the US House of Congress came in as a visiting fact finding mission, reiterating that the US government had the impression that the Bio regime has a clear Human Rights record but “the government doesn’t have a sound and impressive human right credential”.
For these acts of misrule, the APC National Secretary General said the only political alternative Sierra Leoneans are looking forward to is the APC, and come 2023 “the APC will be there to deliver the people from the mass suffering imposed on this nation by the Bio-led SLPP corrupt government.
