Tribute to a fallen hero… Smith is dead but alive
On Sunday, May 11th 2014, the former Resident Minister East, William Juana Smith, was laid to rest in Kenema town. Thousands of people from the four cardinal points of Sierra Leone poured into Kenema City to pay their last respects to someone described as a hero. The late man died at the Choithram Hospital in Freetown after a protracted illness. (Photo: The late William Juana Smith)
I first met Mr. Smith a little over two years ago in Kenema City when he was officially welcoming the former SLPP flag bearer aspirant, Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara, who had just defected to the APC after losing the SLPP flag bearer contest to Maada Bio during the August convention in Freetown.
Just after crossing the carpet to the APC, Boie visited Kenema and the late Smith organized a red-carpet welcome for him. It was during that welcome ceremony that Smith was introduced to me as a fervent APC supporter who had earned the nickname, “APC Smith.”
My relationship with the late Mr. Smith became cemented through an Economist, Businessman and Philanthropist, Momoh Konte, who was one of the late man’s closest friends and whose Hill Cut Road residence both of us visited on a regular basis and where we ate, and drank amid jokes together. I was in the habit of whetting his political appetite with joking information that President Koroma had listed him as the next Lands Minister or Works Minister. The late man always smiled, followed with laughter and would say “Ohhhh Ade, stop this madness.”
Some six months ago, myself together with Momoh Konte and a handful of other friends visited W.J. Smith at his residence in Kenema where we hung out and cracked jokes together. Later, the late man took us on a conducted tour of his newly built house which was then under construction, and where he was buried yesterday 11 May 2014.
The history of the APC party and Sierra Leone as a whole will never be complete without the name, William Juana Smith, a statesman whose remarkable role in national development will ever be remembered. He is dead but his deeds are alive and kicking and he is still alive in our minds.
Had death some to spare, I am sure Smith would never have died but, alas, the cruel and merciless thing is the certain end of every living organism.
Although he died in one of the highest positions in this nation, Smith hailed from a small town called, Limba in the Bagbo, Chiefdom in Bo District, Southern Sierra Leone. He was born in 1944 in that small town from where he rose to the position of Resident Minister of the Eastern Region after holding several key positions in the ruling APC. He attended the BDEC Primary School in Jimmi and later proceeded to the Saint Andrews Secondary School where he sat to his O’ Levels, after which he worked for the TAEGO Library in Kenema and later became vendor for the Daily Mail.
After joining the APC in 1964, his first major appointment in the party was District Secretary, Kenema and later Regional Secretary, East. He was later appointed the Kenema District Chairman of the party and rose to the rank of Eastern Regional Chairman, and later National Publicity Secretary up to 2005 from where he was appointed Resident Minister, East in 2007. Throughout his political life, Smith displayed maximum loyalty to the APC since he joined in 1964. He is on record as being a steadfast politician who never forsake the APC, even during the turbulent days when he was perpetually molested and beaten up in Kenema just because of his loyalty to the APC.
But throughout his tenure as Resident Minister of the Eastern Region, he never took political vengeance on any political opponent. He was respected for his political tolerance as he was a friend of members of all other political parties. His tolerant political spirit went a long way to foster peace in the Eastern Region.
Smith will forever be missed by even the Lebanese Community who regarded him as a father who was always ready to respond to their call. Youths in the Eastern Region have lost their Icon who rubbed shoulders with them and taught many how to dress in modern fashion.
It is not a secret that the late man was a well-dressed gentleman who took delight in putting on jewels which made him appear younger than his age, little wonder many beautiful young girls were fond of him.
I miss Smith as thousands of Sierra Leoneans do but I am sure Momoh Konte is missing him most. This is because Momoh Konte and the late Smith were almost inseparable friends. In fact the late man spent his last days in Momoh Konte’s house after returning from China on medical treatment. It was from Momoh Konte’s house that he was taken to the Choithram Hospital where he passed away on the 23rd April, 2014 at about 8pm. Till his death, Smith was an active member of the APC National Advisory Council (NAC) and he once served as Editor of the APC-owned We Yone Newspaper.
Smith is survived by six children, eleven grandchildren and a wife plus several relatives and friends.
Rest in Peace our dear friend and father, Sierra Leone will never forget a man like you. We love you Pa Smith but Jesus loves you more. Good bye, good bye and good bye…
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