By Jarrah Kawusu-Konte, Mambolo August 30, 2025
There are moments in history when the heavens themselves seem to whisper destiny. The story of Dr. Ibrahim Bangura’s rise is being written in ink, in rain, in staff, in crown, and in rainbow. These are more than coincidences; they are prophecies clothed in ceremony.
On April 20, in the Fourah Bay community of Freetown, traditional custodians placed sacred symbols upon his head. That ritual was the voice of the ancestors affirming a son’s path. Then, on August 22 in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone, the Lord ordained another stage, the Coronation Field, a venue whose very name trembles with symbolism, where Bangura stood as though heaven had scripted the ground long before the event.
Two days later, in Lunsar, the heavens broke protocol. As he mounted the stage, the skies opened, not with fury but with showers of blessing. Many would have sought umbrellas; Bangura waved them off. Drenched but undeterred, he stood shoulder to shoulder with his people, sharing both rain and resolve. That is leadership standing firm when the storm tests the ground.
And then came Mambolo, his hometown, the soil of his fathers, the cradle of his beginnings. Here, political leaders placed a staff of authority in his hands. As if to punctuate the ceremony, a rainbow stretched across the sky, nature’s own divine exclamation mark. For those who are spiritual, this was no accident. A king had been crowned, and the cosmos signed the certificate.
The symbolism is undeniable. Traditional leaders, political leaders, the heavens, the people—each has spoken in their own tongue. A crown, a coronation, showers of blessing, a staff of authority, and a rainbow. What more confirmation does one need that the stars are aligning for Dr. Ibrahim Bangura?
But Bangura, mindful of the weight of legacy, did not rest his message solely on symbolism. He spoke proudly of his Mambolo roots, weaving his personal story into the broader national narrative. “I love my family, I believe in family. Wherever you find yourself, never forget your family, always stand by them, always with them,” he told the crowd, pledging that he would never abandon his native Kambia.
In that same spirit of belonging, he paid tribute to the All People’s Congress patriarch, former President Ernest Bai Koroma, a political colossus whose poise and posture still serve as a rallying point for many in the party. Bangura warmly noted the former president’s service to the APC and the nation. Pointing to the smooth road that carried his convoy into Mambolo, he reminded the audience that it was constructed during President Koroma’s tenure, and he offered prayers for the former leader and his family.
He also reflected on the contributions of Ambassador Alimamy “Petito” Koroma, who, as Minister of Works and Infrastructure under President Koroma, supervised that project and many others. With disarming candour, Bangura, the politician and the gentleman said with uncanny humility: “One thing about Petito, no matter how strong one may think of themselves, no politician can beat him in Kambia. It is best to cajole and work with him than to challenge him.”
Perhaps the most politically striking moment came when Bangura turned to one of his current rivals for the APC flagbearer position, Honourable Bai Mahmoud Bangura. Far from dismissing him, he spoke with warmth and respect. “We are competing for the leadership of our party, but that does not make us enemies,” he declared. “He is my brother from Mambolo. I believe whoever wins, the other will support him, because in the end, the power will come to Kambia.”
It was a remarkable display of magnanimity in a political culture often marked by rancour. In that instant, Bangura positioned himself not simply as a contender, but as a unifier, a man capable of transcending rivalry in service of party and country.
But prophecy without people is an empty echo. Here lies the true strength of his movement: it is powered not by ego, not by a cabal, but by the backbone of Sierra Leone itself—its women. The young and the old, the schooled and the unschooled, the market women and the professionals. Women are not merely participants in his campaign; they are its lifeblood. Where women lead, the nation follows.
Picture the scene: a convoy so long it seemed to stretch from Kambia to eternity, horns blaring, songs rising. In Mambolo, thousands thronged to welcome their son of the soil. It was more than politics, it was pilgrimage. From Bo to Lunsar to Mambolo, there has been no let up. Sierra Leoneans are not simply attending meetings, they are answering destiny’s call.
To APC delegates, supporters, and fellow aspirants, the message was unmistakable. The true contest is not within these red ranks. The true struggle is against misrule, economic hardship, and national stagnation. United behind a candidate whose rise is stamped by tradition, blessed by the heavens, affirmed by women, and confirmed by rainbow, victory is not just possible—it is inevitable.
Mark this day, for the drums of victory have already begun to beat in Mambolo.
