LIBERIA AND THE WAR CRIMES QUESTION: START THE FIGHT AT HOME
The former RUF Staff Captain thought he was in the clear when he found his way to Finland with his family to live happily ever after following the war crimes trials in Sierra Leone that left his colleague fighters serving long jail sentences. Out of the blue we now have news that Foday Sankoh’s right hand man had been picked up and detained by police in Finland. Our initial reaction is that in the 21st century there is no hiding place from the law. We have no idea how this will play out in the criminal justice system in Finland given the arguments by his supporters that he had worked out a deal with the Special Court for Sierra Leone to keep him out of jail and in turn help prosecute his colleague ex-combatants. It’s not clear if that immunity should be respected in Liberia. So we can ask for at this stage is for the law take its course.
Let’s turn to our brothers and sisters in Liberia who helped bring this case to where it is now. Why don’t you start by dealing with some of those holding power today in your country who were clearly involved in the destruction of your once beautiful country. The point is the main people have not denied committing atrocities at all. When you put those people on trial, you may easily discover that apart from nasty guys like Benjamin Yeatin who has escaped justice there are many others all over the world who deserve to be in jail for killing people and destroying whole settlements.
So while you try to prove your case against the RUF Staff Captain, don’t forget to continue your agitation for some of those who are senators and kingmakers today to be taught a serious lesson before they die.
COVID 19 DRAWING EVER CLOSER TO SIERRA LEONE
African countries are now beginning to confirm COVID 19 cases weeks after Asia and Europe reported their first cases. WHO says Europe is now the epicenter of the pandemic. Across the Atlantic, The Don has banned flights from twenty-six European nations from the US for a month. Surely now, this is very serious business.
In Sierra Leone, we cannot say that people are panicking but the national temperature is rising. In about twelve hours the virus spread from Kenya in the east to Ghana and Guinea in the west. Given our relationship with Guinea – the mass movement of large migrant communities across our common border and the large volume of trade between both countries, alarm bells are ringing. Some people are even suggesting that our authorities are covering things up because they believe we already have some cases. We have no information contrary to what the ministry and our own sources are telling us. Those who were in Sierra Leone throughout the struggle against Ebola can understand why the people are so concerned but the last thing anybody wants to do now is to panic or cause other people to also panic and run to nowhere.
Here’s what we think:
1. First of all this idea of people virtually praying for COVID 19 to land here so they can score cheap political points or make money like they did in the Ebola war is absurd and wrong. It must stop. It is unpatriotic.
2. This is not a civil war. Asylum claims based on COVID 19 will be rejected in the west because the whole world is affected. It’s not much use causing panic in your country and fleeing abroad crying COVID 19. Zero chance!
3. We warn those now taking money from the treasury to prepare for a possible outbreak to be very careful how they spend government money because as it is now at the Commission of Inquiry, so shall it be on the day of reckoning.
4. Calling on the authorities to close all borders looks like a good idea on social media but can we do that at this stage? What are the diplomatic implications of Sierra Leone waking up one morning and closing its borders – Land, Sea and Air? Can we really cope with that? We don’t have to do all what America under Trump is doing. They are a powerful nation.
5. Let’s just follow established protocols and save our lives instead of panicking and closing all our borders only to discover a week later that salt and cooking oil are not in the market because our border is closed.
WAS SELLAS TETTEH EVER IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING?
Sellas Tetteh was only in charge of Leone Stars on paper. Those who are with us on this step forward please. Frankly we feel sorry for the guy because we know how difficult it can be when the whole world believes you are in charge of something and therefore making all the decisions but in reality you are not. All you get is loads of abuse and critical newspaper comments when something goes wrong with what the public believes you are managing.
We know Tetteh is a professional and we respect that but consider the acrimony that accompanied the process of his recruitment as head coach and how in trying to please some Sierra Leoneans, the SLFA ended up putting a structure in place that resembled the Tower of Babel – they put a mercurial and temperamental man alongside a sly guy with British reserve to work with Tetteh on the national team. Both men had their spin doctors in the local media constantly calling for a Sierra Leonean to get the job. Newspapers and radio stations wrote and said a lot about Tetteh including unethical details about his health. We have not mentioned the fact that he was caught in both the civil war in the SLFA and the war between the football association and the Ministry of Sport. He should have left long ago.
So Tetteh is now gone but the problems inherent in the management of the national team remain. We predict with little difficulty that we are in for another round of battles for the vacant position.
MADAM MAYOR PLEASE SELL OUR FOOTBALL TEAM NOW
Even before the end of this SLFA football season, Mayor of the SUN, the great lover of social media should begin negotiations with all the groups that have recently come forward to buy the Freetown City Football Club over. It’s that urgent. We will hold the MAYOR personally responsible if she dithers until the team is relegated and hence becomes unattractive to buyers. In fact she should strike the deal now so that real cash will be injected into the squad to save it from almost certain relegation.
Let’s be honest with ourselves team management and general organization is shambolic and that explains the mediocre display by the boys on the pitch. Whose idea was it to have a football team in the first place? Was it Mayor Morgan Heritage or some Councilors looking for a way to draw cash out our small budget? After all these years, the team has failed, barely managing to stay in the Premier League. We don’t think that is good enough. Here’s how we think the Mayor should proceed with ending our interest in running a football team in line with certain factors we will also discuss below.
1. There are at least FOUR really good players in the current squad including the goalkeeper. As a great lover of social media, the Mayor should put them up for sale using social media. There are teams with big money around waiting to swoop on those players.
2. Put the team itself up for sale and start talking to bidders during the brief break between the end of the first round and the start of the second. Forget about how that might affected the morale of the remaining players because they are very bad right now.
3. Not many people in this city follow the team anyway so there will be no significant political consequence for selling off this failed outfit.
4. What’s the point of holding on to a team that is as badly managed as FCFC? Here’s this example: the former manager took on Bo Rangers away in the last league. He lost the match and was later reported to have collected cash from the major financier of his opponents. He admitted receiving the money which he said was used to buy water for his players. That may be true but is that the way to run a football team? Didn’t we provide their needs on that trip?
5. Let’s sell this team and put that money into sanitation or reclaiming our burial grounds from the so-called Friends of the Dead.
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