The All Peoples Congress political figure Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara may be touring across the country and nursing the hope of becoming the flagbearer of the APC and eventually the president of Sierra Leone, but he seems to be giving a dim view to the trouble that is hanging around his neck that may foil his ambition of becoming the next President of Sierra Leone.
While Dr Kamara is trying to keep himself busy with reaching out to the nook and cranny of the country in an effort to interface with the people of Sierra Leone so as to win their hearts and minds as he listens to reports of their plight and unique challenges and problems, the powers that be, as well as the Judases in his house, are using the long arm of the law to try to keep him at bay and frustrate his political aspirations.
Samura could be seen as highly hopeful of becoming the flagbearer of the APC to contest and win the upcoming 2023 Presidential elections but he may be downplaying the fact that he is already a belled cat, whose movements can be noticed and plans to contest the upcoming elections frustrated through some nagging court cases hanging around his neck.
As we ponder this thought, it is essential to note that, among other legal issues he is struggling with, Dr Samura Kamara is charged with two counts of receiving a principal and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of USD2, 560,000 disbursed by the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sometime in 2016 for renovation of the country’s New York Chancery Building in the United States of America.
And while this issue should have been an open-and-shut court matter, it has continued to drag till when: only God knows, as the latest about the matter is that other six prosecution witnesses have been added or joined in the case being pioneered by the Anti-Corruption Commission. So when would all these witnesses finish giving their submissions, as the nation moves towards holding its presidential and national elections in about 11 months’ time from now? Samura has yet to appear again in court on Thursday 4 August 2022 to listen to the testimony of another prosecutor, and the matter continues.
Many, as this issue surrounding Samura Kamara continues to derail, would see the whole thing as a calculated plan to frustrate his flagbearer ambition and destroy his chances of contesting the upcoming Presidential election.
This is because while this legal tussle could have been an open-and-shut matter, it is gradually being dragged and getting close to the period of active politicking and electioneering, a time when people like Samura Kamara and others would want to throw their hats into the political ring of serving as presidential aspirants for the APC. And they would still be faced with clearing their heads of accusation of corruption of various sorts in court.
The New York Chancery building legal tussle is just one spoke that could be put in the wheels of Samura Kamara, which could adversely affect is political or presidential ambitions and destroy his chances of serving as flagbearer for his party or contesting and winning the 2023 presidential election.
It must also be noted that Samura Kamara and other APC big guns are battling with the ruling and recommendations of the Commissions of Inquiry set up by the SLPP-led government that they have a case to answer relating to their stewardship during the 10-11-year rule of the Ernest Bai Koroma-led government, as the APC party is being ripped apart with internal party squabbles as well as with a fierce rivalry in the rank and file of the party for the flagbearer position towards the upcoming 2023 general and presidential elections.
While members of the Interim Transitional Governance Committee (ITGC) of the APC are presently in a deep crisis over issues of infidelity to truly serving the party, allegiance to individuals, membership registration, preparation of meeting agenda, disunity and unilateral decision, among others, there is also a fierce fight and character assassination of potential party flagbearers by members of the opposing camps within the party. This is too bad for a party that wants to win a national election and take the reins of power from an incumbent party that is looking for the slightest chance to destabilise the opponents.
Dr Samura Kamara is part of a party that is presently ripped apart, with subtle and sometimes overt antagonism taking place among the rank and file of the party.
Even though some party members continue to say that the APC is a family and once election time approaches, the squabbles and internal wrangling within the party would be water under the bridge, all we are seeing for now is that things are at sixes and sevens within the party; the situation is in a rather confused and badly organised state, something that suggests what might happen during the period of electioneering.
Presently, senior members of the party’s caretaker body the ITGC are highly suspicious of one another about who is or is not really serving the interest of the party and its supporters across the length and breadth of Sierra Leone and beyond.
The APC should have known by now that all the cards on the table of politics in this country have been stacked against them by the powers that be. So, they better know what they do. Hence the party must therefore close ranks in order to face the battle that is ahead of them and for those seeking positions in the party, as well as flagbearer aspirants like Dr Samura Kamara, to survive and possibly win the upcoming Presidential and national elections on 24 June 2023. Hence Samura Kamara should tread wisely to ensure he is not trapped in the web of the long arm of the law and the powers that be.
Forum would therefore like Samura Kamara and the APC to know that a house that is divided against itself can never see success or win a battle; it would always be at the mercy of others; at best it would crash and burn.
