By Zainab Joaque
A candidate for the up-coming Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) presidential election, Rodney Michael has threatened to sue both the acting General Secretary of the FA, Abdul Rahman Swarray and its Public Relations Officer, Sorie Ibrahim Sesay for "false defamatory statements against my person and damage to my reputation".
Michael was responding to questions about the content of a letter of complaint he sent to the chairman of the SLFA Normalization Committee against Swarray and Sesay, dated 19th April 2013, which refers to a programme aired on African Young Voices (AYV) radio on Wednesday 17th April 2013 with both officials as panelists.
Michael said “a defamatory statement made by the Public Relations Officer Sorie Ibrahim Sesay, stated that I used funds belonging to the Premier League Board ‘illegally’ to support a journalist by the name of Alhaji Komba and suggested amongst other negative comments that I had not judiciously spent the PLB money in an acceptable manner. The acting General Secretary endorsed the statements by Sorie Ibrahim Sesay knowing very well they were not accurate…”
He added that he had "witnesses to prove that the programme was a pre-meditated plan orchestrated to attack the personalities of people in football by the two employees of the association mentioned above, and prior to the airing of the programme many had been informed of their plot and thus listened to their attacks as Mr. Swarray boasted of his control over AYV radio".
He drew the attention of the Chairman, that "his task will continuously be made difficult when members of his secretariat who should be aiding his role by handling the day to day administrative responsibilities and working in the interest of the Association and the owners of the Association who are members decide to malign and attack personalities in an unprovoked manner and with no justification attempt at tarnishing and damaging their reputation".
A request he said was made by his Lawyers, Michael and Michael to the station to produce a recording of the said program but that AYV refused which he said “is contrary to the Independent Media Commission Act”.
In his response General Secretary Swarray said there was nothing to comment about, “I cannot comment on somebody who does not have a stake in the football association, he is not an official of the FA, he is not a candidate as there is no election now, I am aware that he owns a football club but that is registered with the Southern Region Association”.
Swaray stated that if Michael had any evidence of him endorsing Sesay’s statement he should produce it.
Sorie Ibrahim Sesay also denied the allegations saying, “This is unfortunate on the part of Rodney, as he does not have the facts”. He said if he did have the fact as alleged in his letter of complaint, Rodney should provide the evidence, insisting that what he said was, “if Komba attacks my personality again, I will hit him and his godfather and that I know how they ran the PLB”. He challenged Rodney to “go anywhere to seek redress”.
