By Sahr Mathias Bendu
In a recent article I wrote I gave the history of The Kono Progressive Independence Movement founded by Chief T.S Mbriwa and PC A.A Mani which emerged in 1955 in response to a widespread feeling among the people in the rich diamond district of Kono, that they were NOT getting enough attention from the national Leaders. This movement later teamed up with another group led by Dr Edward Blyden, a Creole, in 1959 to form the Sierra Leone Independence Movement SLIM… This neglect and marginalisation continues unabated, to date successive regimes in our 50 years of independence have prostituted Kono. They have all shown interest only for her diamonds. Nothing more! Kono is constantly placed on the altar of sacrifice for the development of other parts of Sierra Leone, while she is left bare and backward. Look back at the massive development that took place and is taking place in other regions…” In another piece I attributed the poor state of affairs in the district to the fact that there was so much hate among Konos themselves. Today, I am paying attention to this internal hate among the Kono people. As one of them myself, I believe in the saying that a life not examined from within is not worthy living. Rumor has it that the bitter seed of discord geminated during the 1967 general elections in Sierra Leone, between the faction loyal to the Rev Paul Dumbar (SLPP) and those loyal to PC T.S Mbriwa and PC A.A Mani on the other hand who had under political grouping known as Daa-o (inside the pot) who later joined forces with the APC. That discord is believed by many to have grown bigger and stronger to stifle development in the district. Weak politicians who have since then ruled our country have taken advantage of it and exploited it to its fullest through a divide-and-rule antic. It has proved an easy walkover since the Konos were already divided, foolishly. Immediately after the 2007 general elections in which the APC emerged victorious, a Kono man, Samuel Sam-Sumana, became Vice President. So did the First Lady and the wife of the VP. They triumphantly visited their home district. One of the Ladies said “if Kono is not developed this time, blame all of us here on the high table and in the covered stand here today. They included the VP Sam-Sumana and his wife, the First Lady, Diana FindaKonomanyi who later became the Chairman of Kono District Council and John Yambasu who is now ambassador to Russia. But others in the covered stand were AiahMbriwa, Sahr S Gbenda current Major Koidu City, Dr Komba-Kono minister in the Vice President’s office to name but a few. I wonder what they are going to tell the Kono people this time, when the campaign shall be declared. When they were all entangled in the saga between the VP and Diana Konomanyi, a rift that continues up to today. The Paramount Chief, elders of the district and the APC Party have tried to settle the conflict but they have woefully failed. Probably because our President is enjoying it. They have decided to focus their attention on this rather than on the development of their district. Kono is a district that is never placed on any platform of development by past and present regimes, accepting many regions have been transformed into a “works yard”, to quote government officials, Kono district is an exception. It seems totally excluded for the current APC government’s socio-economic development plans. Today, the main trunk roads linking Kono to other parts of Sierra Leone are in the most deplorable state. It got to a point last year when both public and private transports stopped plying the routes to Kono district. Yet, supporters of the current regime in Kono are seriously busy tearing each other apart. Other regions have over the years received pipe-borne water facilities, higher institutions of learning, and most district headquarter town have repaired and (re) constructed new roads while nothing has happened in Kono, expect the empty No 11 Sand, which even the highly-drugged RUF rebels knew contained no diamonds. Perhaps it is one the biggest fake projects by the APC government for Kono district, which brought nothing but false hopes and distress to the forgotten youth of Kono. It also brought about destruction to the roads between Koidu Town and No 11, and the alleged untimely deaths of a large number of youths as the sand caved in on them. Sadly the issue was swept under the carpet. For nearly five years we the Konos have been using all our knowledge and strength to betray each other’s cause. We have been busy bringing our individual ancestral grievances or conflict into national politics and urging the powers that be to avenge for us by sacking our own kith and kin from their jobs, simply because they are on the other side of the political spectrum. Back to where I started, one of the Kono political heavyweights, A.A Koroma, also of blessed memory, had the opportunity to have done the most basic thing for Kono – repaired the road leading to the district from its northern flank. But he, like the others woeful failed because of their egocentric tendency. During the administration of President TejanKabba and his SLPP party Dr SamaMondeh, another Kono man, was Minister of Agriculture and Food Security. That appointment did not help the district for reasons I will discuss later. Samuel Sam-Susana’s selection as presidential running mate was perhaps a fulfilment of the 1961 political pact believed to have been gone into between APC and Daa-o that the VP would come from Kono. But that seems to be being erased with acrimony and political bloodletting against the VP by both his own people within the party and others. Is it our hatred, intra-party rancor, political bigotry and greed that have left us in this reckless and hopeless state of affairs for this long including under the current APC rule? Or the grievance our in-law, the current President, holds against our Paramount Chiefs who cheaply surrendered Kono district to the SLPP in the 2007 general elections? Or is it the vindictiveness of our own brother, who has surrounded himself with sycophants? Join me in part 2. The author is Director of Communication and Outreach at FDID-SL (Foundation for Democratic Initiative and Development); Tel.: 076 63 19 63/ 077 82 06 92
