I accuse!

Lamin Vonjo Ngobeh’s election petition against my nephew Paramount Chief Mohamed Sama Kailondo Banya had been a trying time for my family. As I had written after the lower court’s decision against us, that court had granted us a Stay of Execution because we lodged an Appeal. The court had upheld only the matter of failure to publish the chiefdom councilor list. Fortunately in the Appeal Court two of the three Appellate Judges upheld the Paramount Chief’s ground of appeal and a related point. The question that had baffled me and which Chief Banya’s solicitor had emphasized was why the Chief had to pay the penalty for an omission over which neither he nor any of the other three candidates had any control except the government’s ministry of Local government? Now I believe the popular saying that the law or its application is sometimes foolish. (Photo: Dr. Sama Banya)

The Luawa chiefdom councilors’ list was revised long before those of many other chiefdoms whose list were published in the Gazette ahead of the Luawa list. Like others, the list had been sent by the Local government ministry for printing. The government printer held on to it by a verbal instruction from its supervising ministry of Information and broadcasting. My family literarily had to force the next action. What I could not understand is what business the information ministry had to do with the publication of any chiefdom councilor list and who gave the instruction?

An official in the ministry of Local government Pius Bockarie HAD LENT OUT HIS OFFICIAL LAND ROVER TO VONJO with which the latter campaigned, informing the people that he had the backing of the government. Bockarie attended a Banya family meeting with the indefendable excuse that he had only lent the vehicle to Vonjo to enhance the latter’s Christmas activities and not for campaign purpose. I told him the familiar saying, which is, “To tell it to Marines and not to the Red Berets” Soon after the lower court decision the Director of Local government in the ministry of Local government rushed with almost indecent haste to the Law Officers department to ask for a copy of the judgment so as to enable them to set in motion modalities for the appointment of a Regent chief.

It is known that every year, not long after the Hajj, the government receives a consignment of lamb carcasses for distribution mainly to mosques and for the poor. At chiefdom level Paramount chiefs are involved. Now Lamin Vonjo is neither a Paramount chief, nor a Member of Parliament or local council. How come his name appears on an official distribution list? Had whoever done that had prior information that Mohamed Kailondo Banya would lose his appeal and that Vonjo would then automatically be appointed Paramount chief? I am satisfied that the honourable Minister of Local government was neither involved, nor aware; so who has been playing mischief?

It is gratifying that there has been no split in Luawa and that contrary to the arrogant boasts of Vonjo, the chiefdom has remained solidly with their Paramount chief. When the High court granted the Stay of Execution, the Standard Times in a commentary wondered what the effect would be in the chiefdom. I replied that it would be joy and celebration all the way; the editor never reported back to his readers.

Once again Richard Magao is in the news and once again for the wrong reason. Tikonko town and the chiefdom suffered a lot of destruction to life and property during the war; many of the scars remain to this day. At the height of the rebel attacks, in Magao’s dispatches to the BBC Focus on Africa programme no less than 700 houses were burnt down on each attack. At one stage many began to wonder how many houses were originally in Tikonko, a town that I had known quite well before the war. That’s a stringer for you alright!  

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