Lawyer Iscandri – You cannot convict without probable or reasonable cause – Rejoinder
I read comrade, Lawyer Iscandri’s article of Saturday, September 19, on the Cocorioko online tabloid, titled – “Lawyer Iscandari says APC national authority has the right to ban APC -NA,” and I felt a responsibility to share my opinions on the said article. The responsibility I felt is borne out of the fact that 80% of the articles that went out in condemnation of the Ambassador’s actions came from me. I am sure Mr. Iscandri understands that you cannot hand down a conviction without Probable or Reasonable cause. Such probable or reasonable causes should be communicated very clearly to the defendant prior to any pronouncement of a final verdict. I was wondering if Mr. Iscandri already knows the probable or reasonable causes that prompted the Ambassador’s actions, because we, as a constituency, are still at a loss as to why the Ambassador dissolved the executive body of the North America branch. He did not act on the orders of the president of the republic nor any one of the president’s officials. (Photo: Brima M. Turay)
If Mr. Iscandri does not know the causes, would he then, with honesty, describe the Ambassador’s actions as a mere conviction without due process? This reminds me of a common saying with my High School teachers back in the days – “Obey and complain later”. This is modern day politics, Mr. Iscandri, and to suggest that we should keep quiet after what seems like a conspiracy to dismantle the North America branch is nothing short of the ugly old days of politics. The fact that such suggestion is coming from a legal mind makes it even more troubling.
As you already know, Mr. Iscandri, we are in the 21st century, where 21st century ideas must be applied to solve 21st century problems. Part of those ideas would be called “Open communication” and not those 19th century ideas of silencing the voices of the majority through some Machiavellian policies of political dominance. Just because Sherry Kamal and Eddie Turay opposed Earnest Koroma’s leadership in the initial stages does not mean we should take guns and knives and chase them out of town. The matter between them, as you mentioned in your article, was resolved out of court. In addition, do not forget that part of our efforts as a constituency in North America translates to the monthly salaries that the ambassador is receiving today. If you are therefore telling us that the Ambassador should not care about the people who pay his monthly salaries, then something is still wrong with our political mentality. It is like telling the constituents of California not to protest against a Governor’s arbitrary powers. How hypocritically convenient would it be to suggest that we should let sleeping dogs lie in Sierra Leone when we, in the first world where we happen to find ourselves, are receiving the best treatment from our political leaders? It is a little embarrassing for a legal mind like Mr. Iscandri to suggest that we should let the old system prevail; don’t you think?
As a legal mind, I hope Mr. Iscandri also understands that the relationship between the APC and the North America branch is a marriage of convenience from which, both parties have the right to bail out without seeking any form of jurisprudence. We, as a constituency, has the right to divert our loyalty to any political party in Sierra Leone in much the same way as Mr. Iscandri thinks the Ambassador or the APC secretariat has the right to kick us away at will. Is this what the Ambassador or Mr. Iscandri wants to see? I hope not, because that is not good politics; and remember Mr. Iscandri; president Koroma strongly believes that “Politics is a Game of Numbers”.
Every one of our constituents in the Diaspora has the ability to influence a hundred or more voters in Sierra Leone. Has this ever crossed your mind, Mr. Iscandri? What would happen if one thousand constituents in the Diaspora should each influence a hundred voters in Sierra Leone against the APC? Is that what you and the ambassador want to see? It took only a few thousand votes for the SLPP to kiss the presidency Goodbye! I hope as you continue to make your analysis next time, you will consider the ramifications of your ambassador’s selfish actions against the president who saved him from the embarrassment of the kind of job he was doing in London before he was appointed ambassador to the US; and covering three other countries in the region. I would suggest that the ambassador sits quietly and enjoy the fruits of our labor and blessings. We are used to doing the dirty job for the APC and the least the ambassador and his supporters can do is to let us wear our gloves and not take them off our hands.
As Chinua Achebe states in his novel, “Things Fall Apart”, “Those whose palm kernels have been cracked for them by a benevolent spirit must not forget to be humble”. I hope you and your ambassador understand that humility is also part of leadership. If you are asking for political tolerance from the North America branch, please ask the Ambassador to do the same. He has to be more tolerant of the North America branch than the branch members are, because he has no business meddling with the affairs of the branch if he is not a registered member. Even if we have not asked all of the questions that you said we should be asking the government, does that give the Ambassador the right to act arbitrarily? We expect much from you Mr. Iscandri and we hope you will search your soul next time before you come out with all the insinuations and assertions that you made in your article against the North America branch. Go back to your books Mr. Iscandri and try to tell us something that we do not already know.
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