NEGATIVE PUBLIC OPINION SWEEPS AG OUT OF OFFICE
We are still trying to find out what actually convinced Priscilla Schwartz, the sacked Attorney General to bring treason charges against Paolo Conteh and two others and then fail woefully to win the argument in court to get the indictment stick. We may not know that any time soon but her position in government became totally untenable the moment the jury entered a NOT GUILTY verdict at the end of the trial. At that point we kept our eyes close to social media waiting for her letter of resignation. It NEVER came through until Principal pushed her out of the cabinet. Again, why she decided to fight to the bitter end for her political life could only now be a chapter in her book, when she decides to write one focusing on her time in the NEW DIRECTION government.
Public opinion turned against her so quickly and with such a force that it became clear at the end of last week that Principal had to listen to the people and send the first woman Attorney General on her way. Indeed many openly called for her resignation but of course she thought she could ride out the storm. Had she stayed, she could have cause serious political damage to the New Direction.
The outcome of the Paolo Conteh case indeed served as the trigger for her to be shown the door but there was already a groundswell of opposition from with the Green Movement to the way she was conducting business in that office. Here are some issues to consider:
1. First of all our sources say she was completely out of contention for that job. She was here looking for another job when CHARLIE BOY was suddenly sacked one afternoon and Principal turned to her to serve in that position. Could it then be that she struggled throughout her time in that place?
2. The legislative program of the New Direction is in shambles because bills approved by cabinet are on the shelves of her Guma Building office with parliament waiting. Recently, the new IMC bill ran into trouble with parliament and was thrown out. Commissions that the government is trying to set up have still not seen the light of day because everybody tells us the documents are with the Attorney General. The regulations to support the emergency measures in the Coronavirus war have still not reached parliament.
3. We have also heard about contracts and agreements requiring scrutiny and approval from her office taking forever to grab her attention. Government business slows down in the process.
4. Many people would have forgiven her for disrupting their lives so much in the Central Business District while the Paolo trial was on, had she brought home a guilty verdict. As it turned out there is no sympathy for her right now.
5. So Anthony Brewah is the new Attorney General, the job he wanted along. We understand many lawyers have congratulated him and wished him well. Hope he stays longer in this new job after that brief exercise in the Local Government Ministry. We don’t want a THIRD Attorney General before the next elections please.
POLICE DEMAND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION TOO
We all know that our cops face challenges in their policing yet they continue to answer the call of duty. There are very good officers and the not so good ones but in every human settlement their essence for law and order to prevail cannot is unquestionable. Without their presence, society would degenerate into chaos and unspeakable mayhem. From Freetown here to New York and London, they however continue to face criticisms in the way they do their work. If it is not corruption or brutality, it can be partisan behavior. Our cops here have been accused of similar crimes over the years and civil society groups have largely spearheaded such condemnation.
Well the spokesman of Sierra Leone Police, Brima Kamara was on radio the other day, to explain an incident that left a police officer with stab wounds following confrontation with a male civilian during curfew hours at Aberdeen, west of Freetown last Thursday. Kamara’s naturally quiet voice betrayed a bit of emotion as he narrated how their colleague got rescued by a back-up team before the injured officer could have possibly bled to death. He used the opportunity to take a swipe at civil society groups/ human rights defenders saying they are quick to condemn police actions but never those of civilians who attack the police. He quite clearly stated the rights of cops were also being violated.
Well the argument of the police officer makes sense; the truth is, in any confrontation, the party that is generally considered to be the disadvantaged attracts sympathy. Moreover, the fundamental role of the police in enforcing the safeguarding of life and property places it in a difficult situation and not far from controversy. But that is not to say there have not been cases where civilians have not come to the aid of police. We believe the misgivings or mistrust between the Police and populace could be bridged through effective engagements at community level. That said, we cannot agree the more with officer Kamara that attacks on the police like the brutal killing of Police Sergeant Lamin as barbaric as it was, deserved condemnation by all strata of society, particularly human rights defenders. Yes the cops too are human beings with rights that need protection as well.
THE CONTROVERSY AROUND THE CORONAVIRUS WILL NEVER GO AWAY
Yes we have clocked 100 days of covid-19 presence in the country and we all would want to see this virus disappear for good. Who will forget how its highly infectious nature has necessitated a complete overhaul and alteration of normal life? Even toddlers now tell grownups to wear face mask and never in our time has an outbreak of such pandemic proportion strangulated an entire world as corona.
The disease has brought an unsettling atmosphere, coupled with an avalanche of conspiracy theories that just wouldn’t go away. Some say the virus was that of an experiment that went tragically wrong in a Chinese laboratory and for others it was a disease killing whites and rich people, even as more blacks continue to die from the virus than any of the other races in the United States. And in the States some believe it was a plot to reduce the black population. There are people in Sierra Leone who have emphatically argued that there was no coronavirus and that the government was out to make money even when evidences abound of people being admitted to hospital or succumbing to the disease.
One could tell from the lack of social distancing in public places that people just underrate the threat posed by the virus or are just exhibiting acts of defiance. There is that taxi cab driver who tells passengers he doesn’t even believe the virus has reached Sierra Leone.
Coronavirus has also given us a real feel of what confinement could be like following the imposition of two brief lockdowns. Confined to a three day home stay on each occasion, people have come to value freedom the more, whilst also perplexed that multiple offenders could brag about causing harm to others and be ready to go behind bars. Most Sierra Leoneans have never seen a face mask before and would never wish to be confronted with a situation that could warrant their wearing of one again. We hope this virus would go away soon.
UBA PLEASE IMPROVE YOUR ATM
This is a rather honest advice to our friends at UBA who we hope will handle the matter with the urgency it deserves. The Automated Teller Machines (ATM) are becoming very unreliable and frustrating in their service delivery to UBA customers. The machines would either be empty of cash or faulty, leaving customers frustrated and embarrassed. The ATM at Saint John in particular would say it is temporarily out of use on a Friday and remains that way throughout the weekend. It becomes operational again only at the start of the working week. People might need money on weekends and would feel let down not to cash in through an establishment that installs a system that is often unreliable. The problem is the same with the machine at the bank’s Lumley branch. We would encourage the management to improve their services to customers through this ATM system. Other than that, the staff interpersonal relationship with customers is fantastic. There is true customer care display which people dealing with bank very much appreciate.
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