GUINEA IS NO LONGER A SAFE HAVEN BUT…
Last week the government announced the arrest in Guinea of FIVE soldiers they describe as fugitives. Apparently, they are wanted for attempting to subvert the state. That’s a very serious accusation and it possibly explains why they took to their heels to hide away in neighboring Guinea. Our information ministry says we should expect them back home soon to explain their actions, possibly before a judge. We will wait for that.
Meanwhile, are people facing such charges the only ones we are interested in from that side? There are many fugitives hiding in Guinea – there are those that committed serious offences like murder that have simply crossed the border. We have to find a way to be able to track down criminals who easily use one of the many entry points into our neighboring country to flee.
By the way, are we also sending people opposed to the junta regime in Guinea back home in a kind of quid pro quo? We suspect it’s definitely not a one way traffic flow. At this stage we are only asking for information so we are able to understand the inside of MRU cooperation.
In the dying days of George Weah’s government in Liberia, we sent some alleged drug traffickers over to Monrovia in a blaze of publicity. Our sources in that country say the guys were controversially freed and allowed to leave Liberia. Have they returned to Sierra Leone?
Anyway, criminals looking to make Guinea their home to escape justice should know by now that it’s not a good hiding place anymore. Without prejudice to the case of the FIVE soldiers, the whole of West Africa might soon be too hot for criminal behavior. We just want to leave normal lives despite all the difficulties.
IS SLFA DEFYING COURTS ORDERS AT KINGTOM?
We are getting information that some guys at the SLFA headquarter have found a way of sneaking into their offices in defiance of a court order that caused bailiffs to lock the place up. Defying a court order is a very dangerous practice that could give some people free accommodation at a government housing complex on Pademba Road. We suggested in this column recently that the SLFA are in a mess of their making right now.
The head of the place inherited the problem for which the court has now been forced to act against them but treated it as a non-issue despite being constantly reminded. He was probably quietly hoping that the problem would go away forgetting that the lives of several people and indeed whole families were at stake.
Before TD Brima took over at Kingtom, Paul Kamara, in his capacity as Minister of Sport issued lifetime BANS on several stakeholders in the game, accusing them of match-fixing – along with doping, match-fixing is the most serious offence in modern day football.
Johansen was in charge of the SLFA at the time. She was caught in a CATCH 22 situation. She benefitted from Paul Kamara’s fight with those whose names appeared on the list because they were out to bring her down. However, Kamara had become so powerful during the period of what King Messi called football SONKOR SONKOR that he now turned his attention to Johansen’s administration. She had nothing to do with those match-fixing claims but she wasn’t vocal enough as Kamara pushed through his old agenda against those stakeholders.
Why on earth did TD Brima not simply DISMISS that rubbish when he came to power? Many stakeholders urged him to do that. Unfortunately, he enforced it against an international player who decided to return him to work. Now the SLFA office is under lock and key while other cases are being filed. TD Brima has a lot of work to do as he also faces a formidable challenge to his hold on power.
TD Brima can do the following to get around the current challenge:
1. Immediately strike down that foolish match-fixing nonsense, apologize in an unqualified way to the affected people and at the least pay their legal bills. At that point we will all join him to plead with the others to stop legal action. By the way, his letter of apology should be published in ALL local newspapers.
2. TD Brima should consider his position in the light of that monumental error of judgment in upholding that wicked action by Paul Kamara
3. In the meantime he can continue running SLFA by whatsapp.
SUDDENLY NSA LOOKS UNRECOGNISABLE UNDER Dr. ABDULAI
Why did Principal keep that incompetent guy with his KGB leadership style for so long in office at an organization as important as the NSA? Only a few months after he was thrown out of office, look at what is happening at the place under the leadership of Lawyer Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai. Anyway, some political appointments make no sense but in a democracy the big man can hire and fire. That’s what the book says. We need just one more push – (and that’s not in the hands of Principal), the whole sports sector in this Land that we Love would take a dramatic turn for the better.
The other day a NATIONAL SPORT DEVELOPMENT FUND was launched in Freetown. There are still questions around where cash would come from in sufficient amounts to support the sector but launching the fund is an indication that Saffa Abdulai knows what to do and is willing to take risks. We are looking up for follow up actions to convince ourselves that this nation is serious about sport.
The reality of the situation is that knowing the capacity of the new NSA boss, he hasn’t really had time to settle in the job and he has made a big difference already. The previous guy was simply out of his depth. He made a huge mistake to anchor his stay in the office on his connections with the high and mighty of Sierra Leone politics. When the chips went down, they had no choice but to tie a brick around his neck and dump him in the Atlantic Ocean.
The guys now running the NSA have inspired people in the sector and beyond, giving them something to look forward to, not just hefty per diems from overseas trips with the national football team.
Many young people have been encouraged to go around NSA and help deliver specialized tasks. We neve+r knew such facilities existed.
On a wider note, there are many other such square peg appointees in political round holes across the system that should be urgently put out of their misery. Anyway, like we noted just now, the buck stops on the desk of Principal. He doesn’t really need our help to identify and dislodge them in the best interest of Sierra Leone.
MADAM FLOOD MITIGATION TAKE A LOOK AT PIKE STREET
Our Freetown Mayor is all over the place again talking about flood mitigation, cable cars, climate change and Tolongbo politics. She is not saying anything about the report done by the Audit Service of Sierra Leone and indeed the conclusions of the Public Accounts Committee of parliament. The other issue she is hiding away from is the open wound of Bormehs springing up in different parts of Freetown.
We took this picture last weekend along Pike Street, close to Jomo Kenyatta road. In the days when Sandy was Lands Minister, the FCC Mayor was locked in a bitter struggle for land in that area. We invite her to take a look at what that same place looks like today.
We are waiting for her response before we complete the story. This navel-gazing and tik tok inside City Hall should stop. See you soon!
Copyright © 2024 Politico (26/06/24)
