Sunday March 20,
2016 - The
corruption mafia exposed again as the World Bank bars
the Dutch company that reportedly sold that marine
patrol vessel and Fly Salone airlines is no more.  It was not so long ago that some sections of the government-controlled media tried to sell the usual mantra to the people of Sierra Leone of having a head who cares about them. Quite a lot of smoke and noise was made of what was described as a new patrol vessel, named after the late Sorie Ibrahim Koroma which would be used in the battle against illegal fishing within our coastal waters. On the website of the State House website, we found this - "President Ernest Bai Koroma Wednesday 11 November commissioned the newly acquired Fisheries Patrol Vessel FPV Sorie Ibrahim Koroma surveillance and research boat at the Queen Elizabeth 11 Quay, Berth One, Cline Town in Freetown. The surveillance and patrol boat is a multipurpose state of the art vessel that will monitor, research fishing vessels and poacher in the territorial waters of Sierra Leone. It would appear, that given the size of the boat and all the specifications as it was commissioned on that day, that the amount of nearly six million US dollars was way above the real cost of such a boat for which we would urge the Anti Corruption Commission to trail the money and loss to the people of Sierra Leone. Indeed, the World Bank has now issued a statement which clearly indicates that another massive corruption enterprise is at work at the centre of which is one of the money spinners of the rat at State House, one Captain Pat Sowe who has now been transferred to another ministry. Meanwhile Sierra Leoneans are still reeling from news that the much-hyped Fly Salone airlines has folded up after its equally much-hyped launch late last year. However despite this publicity, McPhilips Travel, an entity that is often associated with all things relating to passenger and freight services among others had this message on its website -a message that was also found on the website of the airline Fly Salone "To all the Fly Salone passengers who have flying arrangements. We regret to inform you that Fly Salone has ceased trading. All passengers will therefore be unable to fly with this airline as the Company will shortly be entering into Liquidation." What's going on? We would urge law enforcement agencies including the Anti Corruption Commission to investigate these two incidents that have tarnished the image of the country, State House and the Presidency with a view to bringing to light the true story of the failure of Fly Salone airlines and the nearly six million dollars reportedly paid for a patrol vessel, the transaction of which has led to the barring of the Dutch company involved. |
Sunday March 27, 2016 -
It's Easter Day - a
celebration of the very basis and foundation of
Christian belief - the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ
over persecution, crucifixion and death on the cross.
 As we mark this very foundation of Christianity, we pray that the Good Lord will grant you victory over your personal fears, your personal worries and all the negative things that may cast doubt on your faith. Be strong in the Lord and take courage in the fact that as He arose from the grave, baffling those who had set watch over His tomb lest "his body be stolen by his followers" so would He enable you to have victory over your personal fears and worries. As we celebrate this day, our prayers are with the poor, oppressed and voiceless people of Sierra Leone - that one fine day they will be free of the yoke that has seen lawlessness, injustice, greed and massive looting of the peoples' wealth taking centre stage against the wishes of the vast majority of the people. Even as one Rev Reinhard Willi Gottfried Bonnke once told the people of Sierra Leone that the suppressive yoke of the then APC regime will be lifted, so too do we pray for the true freedom, liberty and democratic rights of all who live within the borders of Sierra Leone irrespective of party, regional or ethnic affiliation. We pray that that the Lord will hear the cries of the suppressed and lift the yoke from the shoulders of the people. We wish you all very happy Easter celebrations. Long live democracy. Long live the rule of law and justice. Long live the people of Sierra Leone. Amen |
Monday March 21, 2016 - Landmark
ruling at ICC as DRC warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is
found guilty of crimes against humanity including the
use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Guilty
verdict welcomed by rights groups as well as Prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda.  The International Criminal Court sitting in the Hague has today unanimously found a former DRC warlord and former Vice President of the DRC Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo guilty of crimes relating to the action of his forces in the Central African Republic. The Chamber found that Mr Bemba, a Congolese citizen, was the MLC President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armée de Libération du Congo ("ALC"), the organization's figurehead, and source of its funding, goals, and aims. An MLC contingent of three battalions totalling around 1,500 men was deployed by Mr Bemba to CAR in 2002 at the request and in support of former CAR President Ange-Félix Patassé to counter forces loyal to former Chief of Staff of the Forces armées centrafricaines ("FACA"), General François Bozizé. The Chamber found that acts of murder, rape, and pillaging were committed consistent with evidence of a modus operandi apparent from the earliest days and employed throughout the 2002-2003 CAR Operation: after General Bozizé's rebels had departed an area, MLC soldiers searched "house-to-house" for remaining rebels, raping civilians, pillaging their belongings, and, on some occasions, killing those who resisted. ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda welcomed the trial court's decision vowing to bring to book all those accused of human rights violations as she pursues justice for victims. In a video message on the ICC website, she made these observations part of which we reproduce here. "Today's conviction of Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba for his failure to prevent and punish troops under his authority and control for their rapes, murders, and pillaging marks a crucial moment in the long search for justice for the victims of the 2002-2003 events in the Central African Republic ("CAR"). Justice for the victims of the CAR has been our primary and sole objective in this case. This case is also noteworthy in that it has highlighted the critical need to eradicate sexual and gender-based crimes as weapons of war in conflict by holding accountable those who fail to exercise their duties and responsibilities that their status as commanders and leaders entail." |
Friday March 11,
2016 - Al
Shaabab sympathiser and journalist is sentenced to death
by a court in Somalia. Echoes of what happened in Sierra
Leone during junta rule in 1997/98. A man who has been described as a respected broadcaster and journalist in Somalia for many years has been sentenced to death by firing squad for his alleged role in supporting the terrorist organisation Al-Shaabab. Hassan Hanafi, it is alleged, used his connection with Al-Shaabab to finger colleague journalists - threatening them with death should they fail to fall in line with the edict of Al-Shaabab. In a profile of Hassan Hanafi on the BBC website Abdinoor Aden had this - "Hassan Hanafi was a respected reporter and broadcaster in Somalia for many years. Now, he has been sentenced to death by firing squad for colluding with Islamist militant group al-Shabab in the murder of five fellow journalists between 2007 and 2011. Hanafi was born in the central Hiran region of Somalia in the early 1980s. When his family moved to Europe in the 1990s, he was the only one who stayed behind. From 2003, he became a household name to many radio listeners in Somalia after joining popular Quran FM station in the capital Mogadishu. He left in 2006 to become an online reporter for a leading Somali website. A few years later, signs of his affiliation to al-Shabab emerged as he became the major source of all breaking news or reaction from the militant group. He ran a secret bureau, monitoring news and threatening any reporter who spoke out against al-Shabab or portrayed the group in a bad light. He would summon the offending journalists to meet him at his car. Some were killed on the spot while others wisely declined and went on to flee the country. Nearly all the murders had a similar pattern. The victims were shot from close range in the streets or at a hotel. Others had explosive devices planted on their cars. Often when a journalist was killed, Hanafi would be among the first to arrive at the scene or to confirm the person's death. The likes of Hassan Hanafi were also to be found in Sierra Leone during those terrible days of junta occupation led by one Johnny Paul Koroma. There were journalists who did not only drink from the bloody cup of the murderous junta but kept their supply of fuel and looted vehicles by fingering journalists perceived to be against the junta. Fuel chits were supplied that ensured that the looted vehicles gifted to them were ready to be used in the service of the junta as one David Tam Baryoh witnessed when he was arrested. |
Sunday February 28, 2016
- As UK
nurse is admitted in hospital for the third time, a call
for more
to be done to address the trauma and medical
conditions of Ebola Virus Disease survivors in Sierra
Leone. 
(Update
- Good news. She's back home. Discharged from hospital
on February 28, 2016.)News that brave UK nurse and Ebola Virus Disease survivor Pauline Cafferkey has again been admitted into hospital has got the medical and health care community into an overdrive on how much is really known about the devastating disease and its effects even after it fails to squeeze the life out of those infected. One recent report on the effects of the disease on survivors states - "One of the patients, a 25-year-old man, died 1 month after recovering from EVD. He developed deteriorating respiratory symptoms and fluid buildup around one lung about 3 weeks after being discharged. The authors conclude, "We can expect some survivors to have long-term clinical needs. The epidemic is waning but the effects of the disease it caused will remain." The UK-based Guardian news outlet in a headline "Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey transferred to Royal Free Hospital" noted - "Pauline Cafferkey, the British nurse who contracted Ebola in west Africa in 2014 , is being transferred to the specialist unit at the Royal Free hospital in London for the third time since her return to the UK. Cafferkey, 39, who is said to be in a stable condition, was initially admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University hospital and on Tuesday afternoon an RAF aircraft landed at Glasgow airport to transport her to London. A spokesman for the Royal Free said: “We can confirm that Pauline Cafferkey is being transferred to the Royal Free hospital due to a late complication from her previous infection by the Ebola virus. She will now be treated by the hospital’s infectious diseases team under nationally agreed guidelines. Another UK-based news outlet, the Independent has this report which should be of great concern to all those health care delivery systems in Sierra Leone. It is the continuing story of a treacherous and vicious disease that will do all it can to stay in the tissues of the affected. That even while health officials celebrate and declare victims free of the disease, the roaring deceitful and evil beast still thrives in hidden pockets that the victim's immune system cannot reach. "Ebola can stay buried in survivors’ tissue meaning that its effects could continue long after people have apparently recovered, experts have said." We note that other voices are now been raised over the thieving of funds meant for the battle against the Ebola Virus Disease after the Auditor General published a second report on the rampant thieving that saw beasts in human form rejoicing over the spread of the disease as funds were allocated to the gang of looters of state and other funds directed from the bowels of State House. The report is titled "Phase 2 Report on the Audit of the Management of the Ebola Funds" and makes sad reading. |
Thursday February 18, 2016 - Six
Sierra Leoneans crucified by the courts. Their crime -
daring to protest against perceived terrible living and working
conditions that have destroyed their way of
life...thanks to an anti-people thing passing for a
government in Sierra Leone.  Two weeks ago today, State House controlled judiciary in Sierra Leone caused six activists protesting against the government-assisted land grab vultures to be slammed with heavy fines and from all accounts prison sentences because they dared to protest in a country where Sierra Leoneans are not allowed to raise their voices in anger should they perceive they had been robbed of their lands and natural resources. What makes this court decision even more anti people is that, according to reports, the protesters dared destroy forty palm plants/trees belonging to a perceived land grab French company, Socfin. Forty palm trees in a country where the palm tree grows in many areas and from which Sierra Leoneans, even before the arrival of Socfin had devised ways and means of getting dividends from - brooms to sweep and clean their homes and surroundings, palm oil that is used in cooking many a delicious dish and as animal scientists would tell you, the leftovers can be a component of animal feeds. Who in Sierra Leone would not know about, if not tasted the refreshing taste of the palm wine dubbed by many who ply the villages and hamlets as "from God to man"? Who would not know about the oil that is derived from the roasted "nuts" derived from within the hard kernel of the "banga" that is roasted and forced to yield the oil therein known as "natai"? A visit to the website of the company at the centre of all this, Socfin, gave us this as a part of its commitments. It was signed by one Luc Boedt as CEO. Kindly recall that the BBC had a special Africa Debate programme on Friday February 24, 2012 in which the land grabbing issue was discussed and in which representatives of the government and civil society groups participated. This was the report we carried after that successful and very interesting debate. |
Friday January
1, 2016 -
As Sierra Leone's commitment to human rights comes under
scrutiny, rights group says the government of the rat
has failed to bring perpetrators of violations to book.
Condemns the public examination of humiliation of school
girls alleged to be pregnant.  This month sees the spotlight focused on Sierra Leone's human rights record under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the rights group Amnesty International (AI) has, in a report, evaluated the implementation of recommendations accepted by Sierra Leone in a previous UPR. AI says it remains concerned about continuing complaints of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, arbitrary arrests, and excessive use of force by police. It says it is also concerned about the use of criminal defamation charges against journalists which undermine the right to freedom of expression and the ban on pregnant girls attending mainstream school and sitting exams. Amnesty International has also documented increased restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly during the state of emergency imposed in July 2014 to combat the Ebola outbreak. There has been an increase in arrests of opposition members, bans on peaceful protests and an unwillingness to tolerate dissent following the removal of former Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana on 18 March 2015. On Sierra Leone’s Independence Day on 27 April 2015, 15 members of the main opposition party, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and a Senior Officer from the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, were arrested in Kenema following a protest at the SLPP office. They are currently on trial. There are concerns about excessive use of force during arrest by the police with several people injured. The examples highlighted are the tip of the iceberg of human rights violation by state actors and others enjoying the protection of the state. It would be recalled that a number of reports on these violations have been reported on and in some instances, the rat himself had authorised investigations but alas, nothing has been done giving the impression that impunity would always be encouraged as long as it serves the agenda of the government and its operatives. Impunity should not be allowed. Update: If the deputy minister was cleared of rape - what about the other charges relating to alleged violent conduct against the victim? What message is this sending to others who use their position - be it in the party or government or connections thereof to take advantage of their victims? Is the Joseph Kamara ACC aware that this could well have been the case of an official using/abusing his office for an advantage and that he should have taken the appropriate action? |
Wednesday August 5, 2015 - As the bookkeeper of Auschwitz is sentenced we plead with the international community to bring to justice all those who deliberately slaughtered, raped and made sexual slaves of Sierra Leoneans in a deliberate policy that had the hallmarks of genocide. 
On one of our pages we brought you the story of a 93-year-old former member of a team that processed the victims of Nazi terror at the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. He did not personally take part in the executions, but he was a part of a system that started off with the processing of new inmates brought in at the concentration camp. Oskar Groening did not take part in the gassing to death of prisoners nor did he take part in the many execution squads dotted all over the place but the law found that he was complicit in a process of extermination of human beings thought to be walking the wrong path as prescribed by the evil overlords of the Nazi regime. The bookkeeper of Auschwitz was found guilty by a court and sentenced to four years in prison for his part in the activities at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Leon Schwarzbaum was 22 when he was transported to Auschwitz. He told me he is now 94 - the same age as Groening. He pointed to the tattooed numbers on his arm. "When they punched this on my arm they told me no-one lasts long in Auschwitz." After the verdict, I saw him again; four years is the right sentence, he said, after all he's an old man. Can he forgive Oskar Groening, I asked? "No," he replied. "I lost 30 members of my family in Auschwitz." The Special Court for Sierra Leone has now almost wrapped up its operations but we are reminded of the formation of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone whose duties and other documents could be retrieved from its pages. The Residual Court would, say if Johnny Paul Koroma pop up suddenly swing into action and try the knave, killer and rapist whose band of like-minded individuals enslaved and visited awful horror upon horror on the people of Sierra Leone. These are some accounts of atrocities as found on the pages of the Sierra Leone Peace Museum. We need justice for the thousands murdered, even more numbers raped and abducted and the millions traumatised. |
Monday February 3, 2014 - Accounting for the country's resources - an anathema for the government of the rat where simple arithmetic becomes a complex equation aimed at covering the tracks of charlatans bent on taking the country down the road to infamy - never mind the "re-branding" mantra. 
We have waited, we have watched, we have tried to figure out why since the audit of government accounts for 2012 was made public, none of the sewer rats extolling the virtues of the King Rat and who see no wrong in his manipulation of Parliament and the Judiciary, have commented on the massive thieving going on in the affairs of state. We can only come to the very painful conclusion that since they are all beneficiaries of the thieving machine, they dare not make a squeak in that direction lest they lose their part of the loot. Rather than tell their overlords that the thieving would in the end lead the country to the same state that the country would never want to tread again, the pay-as-you-go writers, refuse to acknowledge that the massive thieving now going on could lead to one and only one thing - the disintegration of community, region and state with dire consequences for all innocent Sierra Leoneans who continue to suffer in silence and are not a part of the state resources plundering machine oiled and kept running from the heart of State House itself. You would think it is the God-given right of King Rat and his caboodle to steal, steal and steal. That they are not accountable to anyone not even their conscience, assuming there's any left in the pool of moral bankruptcy in which they swim exposing their ill-gotten wealth. The reckless spending of the peoples' resources and wealth highlighted in audit reports, like this AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF OVERSEAS MISSIONS AND HIGH COMMISSIONS FOR THE PERIOD 1ST JANUARY 2003 TO 31ST DECEMBER 2010 and the failure to hold those responsible to account shows all too clearly that the smoke and mirrors State House occupant does not care about such reports and so it was with quite some interest when we heard that he was trying to make good on Sierra Leone's suspension from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Why the suspension? Again the government and the various functionaries simply cannot figure out their basic arithmetic and this from a rat who once headed an insurance body that did simple and somehow complex sums that determined just how much the insured should pay on a monthly or yearly basis or whatever time reference in question. In the EITI all that is being asked for is transparency and some honesty in reporting what is paid into government coffers by the various industries - and this is not confined to mining alone as oil blocks sales and allied fields appear to be yielding more money into the coffers (read thieving paws of the rat of a President). On the website of EITI there's an interesting report for Wednesday January 22 with the headline - "Big jump in revenues from Sierra Leone's extractives sector" with the sweetener that "revenues are up by almost four times but remain a small part of the economy". |
Wednesday October 12, 2011 - The truth is finally out. Now we know why the high priest at the altar of falsehood, profanities and indecency dedicated to the smoke and mirrors President expunged those articles from his web site reaffirming once more that for a few dollars more he would be willing to lie on oath in order to earn his supper. And this from a so-called man of the cloth who has been caught out more often than not - lying to his face and feeling good about it.
We now know why those articles were expunged from the web site of the high priest who thinks nothing of lying through his teeth to please his masters at State House in Freetown. Remember what he wrote about the Bo incident in which one man was reported killed by the police, some structures belonging to the APC ruling party torched and the flag bearer of the main opposition SLPP Brigadier (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio got hurt? The pro-APC, pro_Ernest Bai Koroma publications had a field day with each tabloid trying to outdo the other in presenting a feel-good article that would be pleasing to their paymaster/s at State House. It was a time to write articles pleasing to their handlers at State House. And please recall too that when the President ordered an investigation, we pleaded that no comment be made that would somehow appear to blame anyone? This piece of advice given in good faith was ignored and just to please his master, his mammon at State House the high priest at the altar of lies, falsehood and profanities dedicated to his god ernest bai koroma published articles blaming people left, right and centre as well as here, there and everywhere and even going as far as to suggest that there was no one at the APC party office in Bo on that day? Well we now have a copy of that report and we can state here that the reason why those articles were expunged was because the report showed that what had been published, as usual was a big and deliberate lie aimed at keeping his master happy. And pleasing his master we doubt very much because we know that there are good and honest people at State House, real professional journalists and civil servants who would always frown on anyone who on one hand gloats about a diplomatic appointment while on the other becoming the chief fabricator and purveyor of lies, more lies and damned lies. Below are some of the headlines, the articles of which were expunged and for which action we demanded an explanation. None was forthcoming, none was expected. That is what happens when you, as we say "broke congosah" on the gossiping liar's head. Journalist says the chaos in Bo was well-planned by the SLPP Where is the blood ? The biggest hoax since ‘Janet Bundle’ ? Exclusive : How Maada Bio got hurt in Bo Among the key findings of the report after investigating the Bo incident was 1. The SLPP thank you rally was legal. 2. That Rtd Brigadier Julius Maada Bio was indeed wounded during the attack. 3. That the APC Office was occupied by APC supporters on the day of the attack and that even before then preparations had been made to attack the Maada Bio march in Bo with instructions given to women allied to the APC to collect stones. 4. Stoning was started by APC supporters from their party office. 5. The SLPP supporters attacked and torched structures of the APC. 6. One bike rider was shot and killed by a named policeman who still remains free. We will now bring you most of the expunged articles so that you can see further proof of the devious methods of a compulsive liar and we daresay the typical "kongosah bench" carrier. |
