Paramount Chief Snubs Presidential Delegation

Paramount Chief Kaba Sedu 1 of Bramaia Chiefdom, Kambia District who been in the centre of controversy since his election in 2009, past Saturday boycotted a Presidential Delegation that was dispatched to Kukuna for a mediation meeting to resolve the conflict between himself and other sections in his chiefdom. (Photo: P.C. Kabba Sedu I )

The Special Adviser to President Koroma, Ambassador Dauda Kamara who was tasked of heading the delegation got the shock of his life when they waited for hours with seeing the P.C, after they had agreed with the Paramount Chief in Freetown for the meeting to be held in Kukuna.

The conflict arose as a consequence of paramount chief’s decision to slaughter three pregnant cows and the seizure of the other two that belongs to the late Kelfala Koroma of Kukuna and the subsequent burning down of two houses in Kukuna by youths from Kabbaya in Khonimakha section who were allegedly carrying out the orders of the paramount on the 11^th July 2015.

The incident led to the arrest and detention of the Paramount Chief and forty others by the Sierra Leone Police Kambia Division but were later released on bail. The matter which is yet to be charged to court, has since been under investigation on allegations of unlawful possession of arms and ammunition, inciting violence, public disorder and arsons.

In Kukuna last Saturday, the bewildered Presidential Adviser who led the delegation to Kukuna was astonished by the non-appearance of the paramount chief at the meeting that was scheduled for 10:00am in the chiefdom headquarter town of Kukuna.

The delegation was made up of the President’s Adviser, Ambassador Dauda Kamara, the Kambia District Council Chairman, Samuel S. Sankoh, the All People’s Congress Kambia District Chairman, Alimamy P. Koroma, the Paramount Chief of Tonko Limba, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Joseph Sam Sesay, the District Officer – Kambia including senior personnel of the Sierra Leone Police, the Military, the Office of National Security and the Office of the Diaspora.

After waiting for the arrival of the Kaba Sedu 1 for several hours in the jam-packed hall backed by several telephone calls with no response, the team then decided to travel to the residence of the paramount chief at Kabbaya, some few meters away from Kukuna town.

To their dismay, the delegation met the paramount chief at his Court Barray in a very relaxed mood sandwiched by a handful of his supporters who were chatting and laughing jokingly much to the amazement of the mediation team.

Questioned by the team why he failed to show up at the meeting, but Kaba Sedu 1 told the team that attending the meeting will put his life at risk as he does not have confidence in the security for his protection.

“This was not the arrangement we made in Freetown, why the sudden change?” the Presidential Adviser fumed while having a chat with the Paramount Chief.

All efforts by the delegation to assure the Paramount Chief of his personal security proved futile which warranted the team to return to Kukuna where every section from Lower Bramaia and Kukuna stakeholders were patiently waiting for the peace talks.

The Presidential Adviser suffered another embarrassment while addressing the meeting in Kukuna when he told the gathering that he was personally annoyed because the Paramount Chief had told him that a lady was returned to Kabbaya when she went to buy fish in a market in Kukuna.

Those first statements of the Presidential Adviser angered the gathering that led to an uproar in the hall while demands were made for him to retract his statements because he had already demonstrated partiality as a mediator but the meeting was however brought back to normalcy by Dr. Ba-Foday Suma, the Constituency 40 MP who appealed to his people for patience.

Hon. Sheku G. Dumbuya who spoke on behalf of the people of Kukuna and Lower Bramaia sections told the delegation that the absence of the Paramount Chief at the meeting was clear indication that he was not prepared for any mediation.

He said until the government conducts and investigation into the circumstances that brought Kaba Sedu 1 into power and other atrocities he has allegedly perpetuated against the Kukuna people such as the burning down of five houses on 24^th January 2010 and the recent incident that also occurred on the 11^th July this year, the people will never be comfortable with his leadership in Bramaia.

He advised that an Independent body be set up by the government to investigation the matter with the exclusion of the Presidential Adviser and the Kambia District Council Chairman since they have been accused of being partial in the conflict adding that the Police has also contributed to exacerbating the problem by failing to investigate the culprits of violence which should serve as a deterrent for others.

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