Even in murder there is usually a motive

The usual campaign of calumny against the people of Kailahun district has resumed. Earlier it was from Paul Kamara in his diatribe against the Mendes or people of Mende descent in his farcical column of â€œmami Salone en Pikin.â€ In the series the Mende are presented as tribalists, murderers and a generally unfriendly people. According to the editorship of the African Champion newspaper, the very popular NPRC coup of 1992 was planned and executed by people from the Kailahun district. The paper has in fact alleged that the warrant to execute Bambay Kamara and others in December 1992 was signed by John Benjamin in his capacity as Chief Secretary of state in the NPRC. All such foolish allegations were made in order to present the people from that district in bad light. That I could dismiss with a wave of my hand, because even if I have to say it, the people from Kailahun have not only distinguished themselves in the public life of this country, but they are also one of the friendliest people with whom one would like to associate.

A new form of hate and slander has been launched in the pages of the Standard Times newspaper. It began with the ill-informed columnist of the newspaper Santigie Kamara. He wrote last week that we the people of Kailahun district had participated in his imagined plot to destroy Solomon Musa because the former President Tejan Kabbah had intended to appoint the young man as the countryâ€™s Inspector-General of Police in 1998, a decision which according toÂ Santigie Kamara the standard times columnist did not go down well with some people in the district. We had not only plotted the young manâ€™s downfall, but that we had influenced the decision of the members of the Parliamentary Selection on appointments to reject him. A commentary in the Standard Times of Tuesday 13^th July follows in the footsteps of its columnist by insinuating a Kailahun district leadership involvement in the scheme. Even in cases of murder or other serious crimes, there is always a motive. What would be the motive of the people of Kailahun district in wanting to sabotage such a prestigious proposal? Who would not pray that people of the decision-making body come from their district? What district would not pray for the head of state or his deputy, or anyone of influence to hail from among its sons and daughters, especially in Sierra Leoneâ€™s influence peddling environment? Readers may recall the recent inequitable distribution of tractors by the minister of agriculture and food security. Santigie Kamara alleges that the district did nothing to help Solomon Musa when he was in trouble in Hong Kong. He really must be writing in total ignorance of how international matters are handled. It is because of such plane ignorance that I have persuaded myself not to get involved in his education as it would be an unproductive endeavour. Both he and his editor accuse the previous SLPP government of doing nothing to secure Solomon Musaâ€™s release from prison. Here too I will not go into any details except to say that I was this countryâ€™s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at the time in addition to my being very close to Solomon Musa. Accompanied by Dr. Kadi Sesey then Minister of Development and Economic Planning, I visited Solomon Musa in his Hong Kong prison. Solomon has his story and it would be better if he chose to put it out rather than aiding others to distort the facts; that however is a decision which only he must make. He must remember that the Appeal court in Hong Kong increased his prison sentence.

Finally no amount of mudslinging or calumny or innuendo will impact negatively on our reputation and our character as a district. The newspaper may continue to report the Hinga Norman affair whichever way it pleases but as a party we are thankful that the incident is behind us. History will exonerate us just as it has exonerated us after the newspapers Libyan rice smear although it remained reticent over the India rice affair.Â Â Â Â Â Â

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