Operatives of the incumbent Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) in Kabala are reported to have last Friday 19 May 2023 set the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) Koinadugu District office ablaze but it was a failed attempt to burn it.
Eyewitnesses say perpetrators climbed the wall of the structure with fuel and lite a fire om the floor at around 6:45 to 7:00 pm.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Shalom, the APC Young Congress Leader, North-East region, Mohamed Jimmy Marah named one Mohamed as the prime suspect of the attempt to burn their party office. Marah said Mohamed has been at the APC office and slept there up the time of his defection to the SLPP.
He said upon receiving the news of the fire, they rushed to the back of party office where the transformer is installed, extinguished the fire, and saw some huge damages on the building.
“The transformer and other accessories were badly burnt by unknown person. We saw cracks on the wall, caused by the heat of the fire and several things were also vandalized by the fire,” explained Marah.
According to the APC Young Congress Leader, North-East region, during their preliminary findings they also discovered that the perpetrators climbed the wall, entered the building, lite the fire on the floor and ran away. He said they were spotted by neighbours, adding that Mohamed who has been at the APC party office, was spotted among those who ran out of the building having set it ablaze. He reiterated that Mohamed is the prime suspect for the attempt to burn the APC office.
“We saw fuel spillages and footprints on the wall of the party office,” he said and added that when Mohamed defected the SLPP last Thursday 18 May he was encouraged by the APC district chapter to hand over all APC party particulars in his possession and vacate the office, but he refused to do so. He failed to turn in the APC party office keys. Marah said the party engaged the family with regards his refusal to handover keys to the doors of the office, but they didn’t take it seriously. He the door of Mohamed was primed and all APC particulars including the keys were retrieved from him.
Marah disclosed that it is not surprising to them, informing that the campaign banners of the APC Leader and presidential hopeful, Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara were also vandalized few days ago before the attempt to burn the party office. He said that there was no cause for such incident, as the building is not powered from external. source.
“There is no generator which at least could have led to the cause of the fire,”. He said though the matter is at Kabala Police Division, yet they are going to do proper inspections of the building. The Young Congress leader said it was a deliberate act considering how the building was accessed via the wall climbing.
He informed that eyewitnesses have also pointed accusing fingers at Mohamed and others. Police, he said have commenced investigation into the matter.
as well as allegation commercialization of Ward 148 symbol against him, proved futile.
