National Elections Watch Chair Marcella Samba resurrects horrific Maada Bio elections criminality U.S Ambassador wants to sweep under the carpet

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His Excellency David Reimer, the  predecessor of U.S Ambassador Bryan Hunt, left him a template to follow — The SLPP government must produce the aggregated polling stations results to demonstrate how President Maada Bio came to be declared winner of Sierra Leone’s Presidential Elections last year.

MARCELLA SAMBA

When he arrived, Bryan Hunt seemed to be hot on the case. But by the time the Tripartite Committee finished its six months of sittings, the U.S Ambassador had been compromised. He was no longer interested in issues surrounding the production of the disaggregated results . Rather, he dictated that the committee go with the 80 recommendations that have to do with electoral reforms.

Countri Bloggers concedes the fact that the ambassador had been sounding the warning that the Tripartite had nothing to do with a rerun. As a matter of fact, even the opposition APC deputy publicity Secretary. Mr.Mohamed Pope Kamara , made it clear this week that when the Tripartite started, a rerun was never part of the package and he said that APC Executive members, who are now being variously accused of selling out and deceiving the grassroots of the party knew that. But they chose to fool their people.

So, we , as a newspaper, do not share the views of other APC  bloggers, journalists and supporters agitating now that there should have been a rerun. POPE was right. The issue of a rerun had been discountanced  and ruled out from the onset.

However, though it was clear that a rerun was never part of the Tripartite, an investigation about what went wrong and punishment of the culprits were definitely part of the bargain. How the U.S. Ambassador is now dismissing that vital component of the tripartite is the most annoying outcome of the process.

Ambassador Hunt negated his responsibility to continue pursuit of the investigation about how President Maada Bio rigged the elections at the last moment for reasons best known to himself. APC bloggers. Journalists and supporters say he was bribed by President Bio.

We have no evidence to substantiate the allegations.

Meanwhile, the Chair of the Sierra Leone Elections Watch , Mrs. Marcella Samba, is once again raising up the issue that angry  Sierra Leoneans believe the Tripartite and Ambassador Hunt wilfully ignored to the detriment of democracy in Sierra Leone —failure of the Elections Commission to release the authentic results of the elections.

A very dangerous precedent has been set in Sierra Leone.

Abomination in Sierra Leone, as First Lady Fatima Bio and Co. halt church services in Kenema to permit secret society procession today, Pentecost Sunday

By Thaimu Turay 

Church leaders in Sierra Leone have vehemently protested against the action taken by the First Lady of Sierra Leone , Mrs. Fatima Bio and the authorities of Kenema- one of the strongholds of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) —to call off church services today, Pentecost Sunday, to permit a procession by a secret society that requires everybody to be indoors.

According to informed sources , the procession is held every time a leadership decision is about to be taken. The secret society ” Spirit ” has to come out.

Supporters of the ruling SLPP and the Bondo society denied that church services were banned. But many eyewitnesses said it was true—churches along the routes of the procession were banned from opening. Secondly, it was required of everybody to halt all activities and be indoors from 6am to 12pm , so how could church services be held in such circumstances ?

READ THE LETTER OF PROTEST BY THE CHURCH :

BODY OF CHRIST KENEMA

Subject: Complaint about a plan resurgence of the “Kayndu” tradition and the Procession on Sunday 19th May, 2024 (PENTECOST SUNDAY).

We, the undersigned representatives of the Body of Christ in Kenema, which includes KCPC, PFSL, KCC, Wailing-Women, Praying Women, Emerging Women, EPFK, and The Inter Religious Council, write to you with deep concern regarding the planned resurgence of the “Kayndu” traditional procession in Kenema city. This practice was banned from processing on Sundays by the late Paramount chief PC Alhaji Amara Vangahun and the Women’s Leader late Haja Massah Kaisamba in the presence of the church leaders in Kenema.

Historically, the “Kayndu” tradition has imposed severe restrictions on township activities, including a complete halt to all movement from 6: am – 12: pm. It is being alleged that the first lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone is behind this planned Sunday procession.

This restriction poses a direct threat to our constitutionally guaranteed rights, notably our freedom of movement and our freedom to practice our religion without interference.

As a city that holds Sunday as a sacred day for worship, any obstruction to our ability to congregate and perform our religious practices is unacceptable. We wish to remind the authorities that:

Freedom of Worship: According to the Constitution of Sierra Leone, every citizen is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This includes the right to manifest and practice one’s religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice, and observance.

Freedom of Movement: The constitution also guarantees the freedom of movement, allowing citizens to move freely throughout the country and to reside in any part thereof.

Freedom of Association: Citizens have the right to freely associate and assemble, which is integral to our communal worship practices.

We, therefore, firmly oppose the reintroduction of the “Kayndu” tradition on Sundays especially this Sunday 19th May 2024 is very important as is one of the most important Christian date in our Christian calendar disregarding this annual commemoration of the descent of the holy spirit is the total disregard and disrespect of our Christian faith and it infringes upon these fundamental rights. We kindly appeal to the authorities to reconsider and halt any plans that would prevent us from exercising our religious freedoms and disrupt our regular Sunday worship.

We appeal to your office and all concerned authorities to recognize and respect our rights.

Thanks for your kind consideration.

Yours faithfully,

…………………………………….

Rev David S. Coomber

PFSL Regional Chairman

+23276 – 534088

……………………………………..

Rev. Francis S.M. Kamanda

KCPC President

+23273 – 612088

…………………………………..

Rev. Patrick Kpaka

EFSL Regional Coordinator

+23276 – 079787

……………………………………

Apostle Ezikel K. Amara

EPFK President

+23276 – 757443

……………………………………

Alhaji Sheku Kamara

Chairman inter religious council

Eastern Region

+23276 – 643376

Cc:

– Interreligious Council

– Pentecostal Fellowship of Sierra Leone (PFSL)

– Peace Commission

– Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone (EFSL)

– Intercessors for Sierra Leones (IFSL)

– Council of Churches Sierra Leone (CCSL)

– Legal link Sierra Leone

– Inspector General of Police Sierra Leone

– Sierra Leone broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC)

Canada: 107 receive this year's B.I.G Black Ideas Grant

 By: Thaimu Turay

On May 14th, FFBC rewrote the story of Black self-determination, celebrating solutions, and building a future where every Black voice is heard, and every Black community thrives. The 107 recipients of the B.I.G Black Ideas Grant are a testament to this.

FFBC congratulates this year's recipients of the Black Ideas Grant. With this funding, FFBC is confident they will continue to make a profound impact on Black communities across Canada combatting anti-Black racism and improving outcomes for Black communities.

We'd like to thank Minister Kamal Khera (centre in photo), Minister Hon. Marci Ien, Minister Ahmed Hussen, and Member of Parliament Julie Dzerowicz for being alongside community members, as FFBC announced recipients of the B.I.G. Black Ideas Grant, a pivotal investment geared towards propelling solution-oriented initiatives led by Canada's Black communities!

Credit: Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC)

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Freetown City Council responds to the arrival of early rainy season havoc

FCC Comms: Countri Bloggers: 23 April 2024:

The rains have come early and jumped ahead of our flood mitigation plans. FCC flood mitigation activities started at Juba Bridge on 3rd April.

After about five days we moved onto the canal at Lumley which had also become an illegal dumpsite last year. From there work began and is still ongoing at Kroo Bay.

The heavy rains in the early hours of this morning were accompanied by the return of an unfortunate habit – some Freetonians emptying their garbage into gutters and waterways during the rain.

As a consequence, we saw an overflow of a number of key drains and gutters across the city, including at Portee. This unfortunate practice is most often done by but is not limited to residents living in hillside communities that cannot be accessed by sanitation vehicles.

Speaking about the Council’s efforts, Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr said: “the Deputy Mayor, the Chief Administrator, the FCC team, and I were out on the streets until way after dark to ensure that we effectively addressed the situation at Portee and elsewhere. All roads were cleared, and residents were sensitized in the process.

“FCC flood mitigation activities will continue for the next few weeks. We are confident that within a few days, the positive impact of the recently expanded public space cleaning and the continued flood mitigation activities will yield positive results.

“Additionally FCC is in the process of strengthening our sanitation bylaws; we are hopeful that parliamentary approval for that will be granted soon.

“In the meantime, a reminder to us all that garbage on the streets doesn’t fall from the skies. Freetonians please don’t throw your garbage in the streets, gutters and waterways and please do not use “Clean Salone”!! Please only use FCC approved waste service providers who operate with tricycles or vehicles. Thank you!”

#TransformFreetown
#KeepFreetownClean

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Hon. I.B. Kargbo says APC divided to the point of being ungovernable

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By Thaimu Turay 

Hon. IB Kargbo Confirms Division in The APC Party, Calls for Major Restructuring
05 April, 2024

Senior member of the All Peoples Congress (APC) and one-time Senior Adviser to former President Ernest Bai Koroma, Hon. Ibrahim Ben Kargbo has confirmed that the APC is divided.

Hon. Ibrahim Ben Kargbon made this disclosure in an interview with The Exclusive newspaper.

Hon IB Kargbo stated that the APC party still has all the potential and what it takes to take over the governance of the Republic of Sierra Leone provided that the party itself undertakes a major restructuring exercise

“The present destructive elements within the party cannot provide any room for political success. The APC in its present form is divided in such a manner as it continues to make the party itself ungovernable,” he averred. “The problems of the party,” he further confessed, “started far back in 2017 when an unexpectedly large number of Sierra Leoneans vied for the leadership of the party most destructively. The weakness of the APC in 2017 and 2018, he said, was found in the fact that there was no proper mechanism for discouraging weak and unknown politicians from vying for leadership. To this, he said, “It was already clear that close to 20 APC members vying for one position, already created the potential to divide the party into camps.” Some observers, he went on, also believed that the destructive announcement of a 3rd political term of former President Ernest Bal Koroma also divided the party into factions. “This was not helped by the fact that the Vice President then, Sam Sumana was dangerously removed from office, creating more division in the party,” he stated further.

Speaking further on other factors that have divided the APC, Hon IB Kargbo said, “The protracted court cases when the so-called NRM took the APC leadership to court was another factor which created more division. The so-called new constitution which was at variance to the State Constitution when it comes to provisions of government and human rights already suggests that the so-called new constitution should be further amended.” Some members of the APC, he noted, have argued that the party has been left in the hands of few people for manipulation. “…and that in itself does not create any room for internal democracy within the party. For the party to survive and work towards preparing itself for leadership, there is a great need for the promotion of massive reconciliation to bring all the factions together and there is also a need for a national convention to convey to address these issues that threaten to divide the APC party,” the veteran journalist and seasoned politician suggested.

He concluded: “Yes, the APC is the largest political party in the country, the APC has the potential to take up leadership….But this can only happen if the party is internally structured to provide enough room for honest and democratic practice. The present division which the party deliberately created out of greed should be addressed if APC is to return to its glorious days.”

It’s not a secret. But oh ya. D destructive elements dem nor go wan accept, en find ways for bring in peace. Maybe dem attack pa IB sef. Now that everyone knows that , the political landscape don clear say, na APC and SLPP go only survive. We the independent minded citizens, wish them go institute checks and balance. So salone go grow. There are fine guys in both parties. Now that the APC lef em sef gee dem ragamuffin dem in 2018 and 2023. Now dem for gee chance to d young dynamic educated one them, in the interest of mama salone.

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Aid Attack Fallout

 

The Israeli military has dismissed two senior officers and reprimanded three others after concluding an investigation into an airstrike in Gaza earlier this week that killed seven volunteers with the World Central Kitchen. The probe found the drone team that mistook the volunteers for Hamas militants didn't have enough evidence to order the strikes and deviated from standard operating procedures.   The nonprofit, led by celebrity chef José Andrés, had been delivering aid to the enclave before the group suspended operations due to the attack. The World Central Kitchen volunteers were traveling in three vehicles marked with the group's name and emblem when the strikes happened. The Israeli military said the drone team had spotted what they assumed was a weapon over the shoulder of one of the workers. The World Central Kitchen said it had coordinated its movements with the military to avoid such incidents and that its workers were not armed. Nearly 200 humanitarian aid workers have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, per the UN.    Separately, McDonald's announced it will buy all 225 of its restaurants from a franchisee in Israel following boycotts related to the war.