O my God!!

Two sudden happenings came to my knowledge  last Thursday, whilst in Bo, heading for Kenema, Makeni and Kono on an official function(doing a public education on the NRA); the death of Tamba P. Gbeki, Assistant Inspector General of Police and the resignation of Abdul Tejan Cole, Anti Corruption Commission.  (Photo: Pa John Baimba Sesay)

Shocked at Gbeki’s death

Death, as we all know, is inevitable. But if it were for mankind, man would have stayed on planet earth till the heavens come down. But oh no, God destined it for all, irrespective of age, sex, color or religion. Gbeki was such a friendly character; this is no secret, especially amongst journalists. I had to call the Inspector-General of Police, Brima Acha Kamara, to confirm Gbeki’s death. Acha Kamara, in a sad mood answered in the affirmative; ‘yes, he is death …’  ‘Oh my God, I screeched over the phone in disbelief.

Yes, I was taken aback when I learnt of both news back in Freetown, a day I had left for a public education drive on the NRA in the provinces. But what came as shocking most was the death of Tamba P. Gbeki of the Sierra Leone police. He was a man that contributed greatly to taking the police force to where it is at the moment. No need to challenge this, death is the most inevitable aspect of human life and we must be ready to face it someday.

Mr. Gbeki, I came to know some years back when I entered mainstream journalism, and those were the trying moment for the media landscape, especially following the incarceration of Paul Kamara by the Tejan Kabba(h) led government and the subsequent ‘murder’ of Harry Yansaneh, of blessed but painful memories.

A fine Officer!

The ‘murder’ of Harry and the unprecedented role  played by the police(Kalia Sesay) during  an inquest on his death, held by government through Magistrate Adrian Fischer, did not help in bringing about a good working relationship between the police and the media. Those were the days when even a journalist, related to a police officer was ready to let got that relationship, because, in my view, the police played a role that was far beyond the expectations of media practitioners.

The media and the police became bitter enemies, but Tamba P. Gbeki, did his best in bridging that gap that almost erupted between the police and the media. At one point he is AIG, Western Area and to the best of my knowledge, he was a fine police officer that successfully managed the affairs of the Western Area.

Gbeki was a disciplined officer and I recall, conducting an interview with him prior to the 2007 general elections; he always tried to be soft spoken even where one would expect him to get angry; he was slow to anger and was always ready to accommodate people. He is missed not just by his family and colleague police officers, but by most, if not all media practitioners in Sierra Leone.

Tamba P. Gbeki, you were/are loved by all but I know, that God loves you most and He has called on you and may your soul rest in peace. To the family, be strong and of good courage, for the Lord God will always be with you, even after the departure of your loved one.

Tejan Cole resigns?

Abdul Tejan Cole has resigned his position as Commissioner, Anti Corruption Commission. Minister of Information and Communication was very diplomatic when I called him up to confirm the news. And that was on Friday morning.  On Thursday last week, I ran an article I once wrote on Tejan Cole some months back.  I once had an interview with him, and I remember, asking Tejan is at all he was enjoying his job at the ACC. It practically took him time to respond but when he did, he informed me, that it was difficult for him to enjoy his joy as his was ‘in a lonely … isolated job…’

I can’t, for now comprehend the rational as to why Tejan Cole  could resign his job at a time that his efforts are most  appreciated by the average Sierra Leonean; he has helped in promoting the governance performance of President Ernest Bai Koroma and that was more the reason he should have stayed.

Miles to cover

I have, in recent times, continued to follow the activities of the ACC with regard its mandate of prosecuting corruption-related matters. I can’t go beyond saying, that we still have hundreds of thousands of miles to cover if we are to actually meet the challenges of fighting corruption in Sierra Leone.  But how I wished Tejan Cole to have stayed… anyway, there is more to it than the ordinary eye is now seeing.

But why did he resign? Is it that his ‘lonely …isolated job…’ has witnessed the dilemma of a shadow state from the viewpoint of governance in Africa? I doubt it anyway, but whatever the reasons are, the fact is, within 30 months as ACC Commissioner, Tejan Cole came, he saw and in my view, he conquered… God luck but we need to know why you resigned sir… pressure from somewhere, new job, family reasons etc?

This development is obviously not a good one, especially when one takes the seriousness that President Koroma has given to the fight against corruption. As stated by I B Kargbo during that BBC interview, the President had so much confidence on Tejan and I wonder what may have gone wrong anyway. Sounding the views of people in Bo, Kenema and presently in Kono, it came out that A T Cole’s action was, the least not expected at this time

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!

© 2010, https:. All rights reserved.