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President Ernest Bai Koroma has today 2nd
October 2009–his birthday–sworn in the
Independent Review Commission set up to
review and determine the circumstances as
well as establish the facts relating to (i)
incidents of political violence and
intolerance that occurred during the month
of March 2009 in Gendema (Pujehun District),
Freetown (Western Urban) and Kenema (Kenema
District), and relating to the roles and
responsibilities of political parties, law
enforcement agencies or any other persons or
groups with regards the afore-mentioned
incidents of political violence and
intolerance.
The other functions
of the committee include to make necessary
findings or conditions that shall provide a
full understanding of the circumstances that
resulted in the incidents and to recommend
measures to be taken and mechanisms to be
put in place to effectively prevent the
occurrence of any such incidence in the
future.
Addressing the
Chairman and commissioners, President Koroma,
after congratulating and thanking them for
answering to "the national call and
sacrifice", said they were "carefully
selected after due consideration" by both
the All People's Congress (APC) and the
Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).
The President
maintained that, "We believe you can look at
it objectively and with a great thought in
relation to the sensitivity of the issues",
noting that Sierra Leoneans should now be
prepared to put the past behind them for a
better nation.
"We've come a long
way in terms of showing the signs of good
governance, as we have been graded by the
World Bank as the country with the fastest
move towards political stability, having in
mind where we are coming from....We have a
great responsibility to maintain this
record. We should therefore discourage all
isolated incidents with the tendency to
reverse our gains. There must be a
commitment to ensure that we don't move
backwards anymore."
The Head of State
commended both the APC and SLPP for in the
first place signing the April 2 joint
communiqué which made provision for the
setting up of this committee
and the just-concluded Bankole- Thompson
Commission on rape allegations which
were proven to be untenable in law.
"As a government, we
will ensure that the communiqué and its
contents are implemented to the letter."
Giving the vote of
thanks, the Chairman of the Commission, E.E.
Constant Shears-Moses, on behalf of his
commissioners, expressed gratitude for
"giving us the opportunity to serve our
nation and for the confidence reposed in
us," assuring the President that they are
determined to succeed in this onerous task
in a bid to put violence behind us .
"Having made sure
you appointed people who are independent
minded, we shall deliver the goods...
We shall not let you down," he declared.
Other members of the commission include
William J. Saffa and Brig. (Rtd.) Mustapha
Kahota Dumbuya, while Harun Alrashid Bah is
the Secretary.
Present at the
meeting were APC Deputy Secretary General
Franklyn Bai Kargbo, SLPP Women's Leader
Isata Jabbie Kabba, and civil society
activist Charles Mambu.
The Press
Secretariat
State House
02 October 2008 |
