By Kabs Kanu
Though some supporters of the main opposition are flashing signs that they might not participate because it might disrupt the goodies they anticipate, it looks like some sections of the general populace are not having it. They want an impactful and positive outcome from the Tripartite Committee and the Paopa government seems to be expecting a public response that might not augur well for peace and security in the country.
The evidence was demonstrated as Freetown was on edge today, with the SLPP Government sending out heavily- armed troops to patrol the city and set up checkpoints as tensions begin to boil over ahead of the release of the Tripartite Committee recommendations on June 19, 2024.
Despite the heavy, no – nonsense security blanket thrown over the city, our man Tunde Scott sent us two videos that showed a motely number of ecstatic people out in the street apparently rallying and a commentator in the background saying that the small group had started rehearsing for what is to be in the coming weeks. That those Sierra Leoneans were still bold to take to the streets , despite all the deadly reprisals of the past and threats from the SLPP Government , is an indication that public dissent has still not been tamed.
What remains unclear , however, is what is fueling the expectations of people when two key international stakeholders —The U.S Pernanent Representative to the UN , Mrs. Linda Greenfield and the U.S Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Bryan Hunt —have made it emphatically clear that a rerun of the June 24, 2023 elections was not possible as an outcome of the Tripartite Committee investigations into the disputed polls.
Government officials, including President Maada Bio, his Chief Minister David Sengeh and Information Minister for Civic Education, C. Bah, as well as some former spokespeople of the opposition APC have all asserted that there will be no rerun, because only the Supreme Court, according to the constitution of Sierra Leone, had the mandate to order one.
When I put this question to a top member of the APC today, he responded that regardless of these assertions,” There will be something good in the Tripartite recommendations for the party and people are expectant. ”
COCORIOKO pointed out to the APC man that even the leaders of the party have not been talking of a rerun and they have been very reticent to warn partisans not to “preempt the outcome of the Tripartite Committee.” In response, the man, who seemed to be brimming with optimism , said that “People are hopeful, as I told you, that there might be a change in the country after June 19.”
Some bloggers and social media citizen journalists have said that there might be a Government of National Unity, but this notion was quickly dismissed by rabid supporters of both the ruling SLPP and the opposition APC. “Astafulai seven times, SLPP will never share power with the APC” , cried a supporter of the SLPP . ” Maada Bio won the elections and his party is going to rule until 2028″. Some APC supporters stated that their leader , Samura Kamara, “will not dare” to share power with Maada Bio . “That will be the end of his political career ,” one blogger boldly emphasized. “We want Maada Bio to just go “.
Last week, President Bio asserted that he will complete his term and he threatened that anybody who came into the country with a bullet would meet a bullet. The president even gloated that some of those who tried it on November 26 last year did not live to tell the story.
Given the rhetoric from supporters of both parties and President Bio himself, this month will be another defining moment in the chequered history of the country.
One hopeful sign however was that both the SLPP and APC released a joint statement this week decrying hate speech and inflammatory language on social media as leaders of both parties appear to believe that, whatever the outcome of the Tripartite, unity and the peace and safety of the nation should be the overriding prerogative.
SEE BELOW THE VIDEOS OF SOME PEOPLE ON THE STREETS ALLEGEDLY “REHEARSING ” WHATEVER THEY ARE PLANNING TO DO IF THE OUTCOME OF THE TRIPARTITE TURNS OUT TO BE UNFAVORABLE TO THEM.
