SENATOR PRINCE JOHNSON HATES THE WAR CRIMES COURT FOR LIBERIA
If you are having a sound sleep every night, spare a thought for a man called Senator Prince Johnson of Liberia. The guy has been blasting his friend, the current president of Liberia, Joseph Boakai for pushing proposals to establish a WAR CRIMES COURT to try those who committed WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY during the civil wars in Liberia at the start of the 90s. Many Liberians want this court so that people will pay for their crimes against the people of Liberia.
Sen. Johnson came from exile in Liberia and declared himself a pastor and ended up becoming a Senator representing the politically powerful Nimba County.
We, in Sierra Leone have seen a Special Court at work in this country and some of those convicted are still in jail in Rwanda. Sen. Johnson is aware of this. So we understand why he should be worried.
1. The way things are going now in Liberia, it’s looking very likely that the WAR CRIMES COURT would become a reality in the near future because the current government has committed itself to closing the civil war chapter once and for all.
2. George Weah played around with the issue but for political reasons disappointed those who voted for him so that the WAR CRIMES COURT would be established. In the end Weah became a ONE TERM president and we are here again talking about the same court.
3. Sen. Johnson is busy issuing threatening remarks aimed at the peace and stability of Liberia but he should be very careful not to dig several other pits into which he could easily fall. We still remember the small matter of how President Samuel K. Doe was tortured and killed in front of TV cameras while somebody enjoyed himself on pints of beer.
TECHNICAL HITCH OPENS BANK VAULTS IN ETHIOPIA
There are many Sierra Leoneans who are quietly hoping that they will wake up one morning to witness what happened recently in Ethiopia where people suddenly realized that they could withdraw more money than they deposited in some banks. And they absolutely withdrew CASH on that day.
The explanation is that some computer system mal-functioned and opened the way for new millionaires to be made instantly. Now the authorities are trying to track down those who withdrew those large sums to recover the cash. We are waiting for them to make their results public in the next few weeks but in the meantime here’s what we think:
1. Is it not possible that people in the banks or the agency providing IT services for the banks may well have deliberately created the situation to steal money? We may be wrong but in these days of economic squeeze people are becoming bold.
2. Why can’t the authorities simply close the loophole and wish those who have managed to withdraw cash good luck? What do they intend to do with their new millionaires?
3. Anyway, our own banks should now check their own IT systems again and again to prevent Ethiopia from coming to Sierra Leone. It’s possible.
SIERRA LEONE SHOULD FIGHT KUSH WITH CAUTION
People who like having a clean shame all the time should be very careful these days moving around the communities of Freetown in particular. We say so because groups of young people are going around arresting and shaving the heads of people they suspect to be high on KUSH. We have met some members of these gangs who have told us that their campaign is aimed at clearing their communities of KUSH boys and girls and it includes destroying their hangouts. We saw on social media what happened in the deep south of the country – that’s in a place called Sulima. Suspected KUSH hangouts were attacked and destroyed and dealers chased out of the village.
A few things could go wrong if something is not done quickly.
1. The vigilantes conducting the weekend raids in the slum communities of Freetown could easily produce unintended consequences by causing casualties as they try to arrest and shave suspected KUSH addicts. We hope we don’t wake up on Monday mornings to find dead bodies in our backyards.
2. Isn’t it likely that ordinary people could be mistaken for KUSH addicts by the raiding gangs? Isn’t it also likely that some will use the anti-KUSH campaign to settle scores? Let’s just factor that as we consider what to do about KUSH menace.
3. What is this thing about shaving the head of suspected KUSH addicts? Are we being told that clean shaven people don’t smoke KUSH? What kind of logic is that? So you shave the guy’s head and send him home for the night. Next day the guy returns to the joint to smoke more KUSH. We don’t get it.
IN FACT ARE WE REALLY PREPARED FOR THIS FIGHT?
In the last two days or so we have heard unbelievable testimony about the condition of the agency that should lead this fight against KUSH and other narcotic drugs. It’s a very old agency that has simply not enjoyed the budgetary support it needs to take care of itself in the first place before attempting to go after rich and powerful drug dealers. The head of the agency says he doesn’t have enough staff or vehicles to move around and do the job. That’s a serious issue but we think there are other important issues he didn’t mention.
1. NDLEA needs a study that sets out what is really happening in the narcotics trade. This fight has to be led by intelligence otherwise we may never get to those supplying the retailers and consumers that vigilantes are chasing every weekend.
2. We absolutely need a NATIONAL CONFERENCE, bringing together all the agencies involved in this fight. Going around communities taking pictures of social media is not going to solve the problem. We need a road map by which to proceed because knee-jerk and sporadic responses are only there to do what everyone else is doing – complain and complain, blame and blame.
3. Yes, NDLEA needs all the resources they can get to lead the fight but it is up to them to look for extra money outside Sierra Leone. They know that our national budget can NEVER adequately support them to achieve their aims. Complaining in parliament is one thing but doing something in the context of today’s realities is something completely different. Let’s not make excuses.
STOP DEPOSITING BUILDING MATERIALS ON OUR STREETS
This is now a common practice that must stop. Not too long ago we read a press release from the Sierra Leone Roads Authority warning against the habit of people building houses using our roads as stores from sand and stones. It’s not as if they would pour the items on the roads for a few hours and then clear the road again. Sometimes it lasts for weeks, even months and during that period vehicular and pedestrian movement is badly disrupted.
Those who are in this habit know very well that they are infringing on the rights of other Sierra Leoneans but they just don’t care. This is something that must stop immediately. It’s happening in many places so both the smiling Tik Tok Mayor and the SLRA cannot tell us this is news to them. In fact why would SLRA issue a press statement about something they know nothing about?
We are living in a city where some people think they can do anything. This is a country where politicians like the Tik Tok Mayor believe they should first consider politics before the welfare of the good people of Sierra Leone. To issue a press release and not back it up with action is to tell the subjects of your statement to always ignore you because you are not serious about anything.
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