Wow, the SLPP is in court!

When I received the news late on Monday evening that lawyer Dr. Bu-Buakei had taken the opposition SLPP party to court, my only reaction was that I saw it coming. I saw it coming not because of any premonition on my part, but because former Vice President and erstwhile SLPP Presidential candidate Solomon Berewa had alerted us that once Jabbie set out on a course of action he would pursue it to the end, perhaps to prove a point. He statement was based on his past encounter with the SLPP lawyer and Flag bearer aspirant. Berewa cited examples, in 1996 when the erudite lawyer took the newly elected SLPP government to the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the NPRC in appointing James Jonah as chairman of the Interim National Electoral Commission, INEC as well as challenging the right of the NPRC in handing over the baton of government to the democratically elected President Ahmad Tejan-Kabbah. In 2005 Jabbie acting as solicitor for the late chief Sam Hinga Norman took the party (with me and Prince Harding as national chairman and Secretary-General respectively) to the Supreme Court seeking an injunction to prevent us from electing a Party leader and Presidential candidate. He lost that one on a technical knockout. For some time now Dr. Jabbie in spite of his credentials has aroused the suspicion of most members of the party that he was a mole planted by the ruling APC to cause confusion within the opposition, a charge that he had vehemently and strenuously denied even before an ad hoc group of party faithful of which I was convener and chairman. One of his colleague aspirants had as much as said that even the learned doctor’s 50 million Leones had been paid by the APC through the old/new convert to the APC J B Dauda. As recently as under a week ago I was again informed that a group of interested APC stalwarts had collected 200 million Leones which was to be handed to Dr. Jabbie so as to enable him to disrupt the proposed March5 SLPP convention for the election of the party’s flag bearer. Dr. Jabbie had requested an appointment to meet with me at a time when I had a previous engagement and advised that we could meet later at his convenience. That meeting never took place as he did not contact me again.  (Photo: Dr Sama Banya)

The front page of Monday February 14 edition of the Awareness Times newspaper carried a banner headline quoting Jabbie supporters as saying that both their aspirant, despite his setback in his home constituency as well as they were ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SLPP and that their candidate had no intention of taking the party to court. But several readers took the story with more than a pinch of salt and now they have been proved right. But before that the lucid lawyer had answered questions on the David Tam-Baryoh’s Monologue radio programme on why he thinks he should be the flag bearer of the SLPP. His answers to some critical questions were equivocal although he declared that he would be bound by the majority decision and not take the party to court and NOW THIS. As an individual I am very disturbed in my mind about the sincerity of Dr. Jabbie’s commitment to the SLPP especially when the talk of money changing hands comes into the picture. I have come to this conclusion with a heavy heart as i am also aware of his involvement in some critical legal battles on behalf of the party, but this lack of consistency in his commitment is disturbing. While pondering this, it has to be observed with regret that the executive has demonstrated an unfortunate reluctance to handle this matter rationally. It has concentrated on the legality of its decision regardless of any pending court action that may call for an injunction. Both Solomon Berewa and Abass Bundu have stated this very clearly and because we have ignored that we are going back to where we started. There is no point in saying that if we had conceded Dr. Jabbie would still have found some other excuse to disrupt our schedule because quite frankly he would then be batting on a very sticky wicket were he to attempt that. But the party still has an opportunity to sweep the carpet from under Jabbie’s feet between now and March 9. The time to act is NOW and that can be done even as the court matter proceeds.

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