I J Kabbah Blasts SLPP – “We told you Maada is not a Popular Candidate”
The National Women’s Leader of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Mrs. Isata Jabbie Kabbah commonly known as I J Kabbah, according to sources close to the Bio sensitization, have told Salone Sledgehammer that she blasted the SLPP for their “senseless tribal motivation to elect Bio, a blemished Presidential Candidate”.
Chatting with friends on her husband, the aging former President Kabbah’s joint visit with Bio in Biriwa Chiefdom, a predominantly Mandingo settlement, to appeal to them on behalf of Bio, I.J. Kabbah said:
“The elders in the party who mostly belong to the Mende tribe claimed that this man was popular and would defeat President Koroma. Some of us knew he was not, which is why we did not support him and now we are faced with the difficulty to sell him both in and out of the country. People just don’t want to associate themselves with him and his past human rights record”.
She further stated that “My husband is not so healthy right now and should be enjoying his retirement from politics, but I always have to drag him out to help us garner some support for Maada. We virtually had to hold his hands just to help him walk and I don’t think it is fair to him.”
Salone Sledgehammer source informed us that the executives of the SLPP are becoming increasingly concerned at the rate at which President Koroma is gaining popularity and support in the so called SLPP strongholds of the South and East of the country. They are worried that the President is busy launching and commissioning various development projects in those areas and other parts across the country.
The projects according to our source are becoming very unwelcoming for the SLPP considering the fact that they ruled the country for eleven years with not a single development project to point at in the entire south and east as their legacy project while in governance.
Many in the SLPP, including I. J. Kabbah believe that the flagbearer elections were manipulated by the elders of the party in favor of Maada Bio against Usu Boie who they considered a Tejan Kabbah candidate because of tribalism.
President Kabbah is partly a Mandingo and is perceived to be very popular among the Mandingo people and he is also considered the most successful leader of the SLPP in recent time, which makes him very attractive for the SLPP campaign.
Kabbah himself has publicly denounced Maada Bio for his past criminal records, ranging from illegal sale of the country’s passports and funds transferred to foreign bank account, award of fraudulent defense contracts to his brother Steve Bio, to fraudulent transfer of funds as payment for helicopter engine which did not belong to the government, while serving as Head of State in the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) regime.
Bio’s candidacy has also been frowned at by many in the country and the international community for his human rights record and his involvement in the extra-judicial execution of 29 innocent Sierra Leoneans, including a pregnant woman.
The Biriwa stunt has also been criticized from many quarters because of the tribal messages and sentiments preached by the SLPP in an already deeply divided tribal chiefdom. A move many referred to as “dangerous” in a volatile election period like this, a concern also expressed by I.J. Kabbah.
“How can we keep accusing the President of tribalism when he is busy building malls and constructing roads all across the country, how can we keep accusing him of tribalism when he has over 15 Ministers and Deputy Ministers in his government that are from the Mende tribe, which is more than any other tribal bloc?” she asked.
“The truth is, my husband developed a few good policies and established some institutions, but do the people even know about them? Ernest Koroma’s roads, buildings, agriculture business centers, hospitals, ambulances are seen everywhere. Tejan Kabbah is not running against him and Bio has nothing but bad records hanging over his head. We made a terrible choice as a party,” she concluded.
By Salone Sledgehammer:
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