By Crispina Cummings
Some people of Gbangbatoke village in the southern Moyamba district have called on the anti-corruption commission to come after their Paramount Chief, John Jibao Russel-Nyama II, for “petty theft of chiefdom property and abuse of office”.
Both Michael Albert Margai and Mustapha Fofanah made these allegations in public and at a well-attended Town Barrie meeting held by Edward Stile Jengo, the parliamentarian representing that part of the country.
The MP had gone to thank his people for their support and asked that they share their concerns with him, in a frank and open forum, so that he could take them up with the appropriate people and institutions.
Margai alleged that when people were found wanting, after having tried them by the native administrative court, NA, they were asked to pay a fine of Le188,000 or were locked up if they couldn’t afford it.
Fofanah claimed that the chief had sold off as scrap some metals that were under the bridge separating the new from the old town. “He sold them for Le9 million. We also had also some monetary transaction and he owed me Le39million and when I asked for it the chief called his committee of section chiefs and other stakeholders to agree to banish me from the village,” he explained.
Former section chief, Samuel Santigi, said a huge amount of money was being generated in the chiefdom through jetty fees and market dues and handed over to the chief.
“But we see no development as a result of that revenue. When I asked about that I was sacked. Can you imagine for 11 months now the native administration goes without salaries for its staff. The people here want the ACC investigate the chief’s administration. This is dictatorship,” he alleged.
The ruling All Peoples Congress district party chairman, Hedga Howard, also suggested that to the MP that the allegations were so serious that the ACC should be called in. He said the chiefdom development fund was being controlled and administered by the Paramount Chief alone yet the township could not boast of a simple public toilet.
When confronted on the above allegations, PC Russel-Nyama said as far as he was concerned all of them were complete lies and that he was merely doing his job.
“Out of the chiefdom development fund we built my office and other administrative blocks. The seat I occupy now has been there for over 133. Maybe the people are used other chiefs before me. Their administrations look different from mine. That’s why they are complaining”, he explained.
When asked if he knew Mustapha Fofanah and whether they had any money transactions as alleged the chief said they had no business of that sort, adding that he could not have banished him for that.
“I suspended him from the village because he was disrespecting everyone in the village. Even the MP was part of the meeting that agreed to suspend Fofanah from the village,” he explained. When challenged by Politico, thechief agreed that that decision against a subject wasn’t constitutional but he had to do so to deal with him.
He said there were six sections in the district and all five were satisfied with him and his administration but the people of Gbangbatoke were the only ones complaining.
Meanwhile, the people also told the MP that they wanted a community centre, hospital quarters at Mano Dasse, a school in Wubange, stores in the upper Banta chiefdom and scholarships to three university students at Njala.
Asked whether he was part of the team that agreed to banish Fofanah, the MP said yes but openly apologised for being part of arrangement. He said he was aware of the details and background to the decision. “I want to apologise to Mr Fofanah for that. I wasn’t aware of the details,” he said.
(C) Politico 26/02/14
