Samura Kamary May Face Bio In 2023
By Sall Tee Jay
Supporters of the main opposition party (APC) have expressed praise for the Leader of their party in Parliament, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, commonly called Chericoco, for his exemplary service to the party, both in and out of Parliament. They maintained that had Chericoco not been in Parliament, the ruling party would have swept most of its bills through the house.
According to the supporters, the presence of Chericoco had served as a motivating factor for his colleagues in the House, and they have been able to tap into his wealth of experience, as he has been one of the longest serving MPs in the House, and is au fait with the goings-on in Parliament. They maintained that certain important bills that the ruling party had wanted to pass, were objected to by the APC MPs, and the necessary action taken in consonant with the relative standing orders of the House, courtesy of the Leadership advice of Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah.
Since the end of the 2018 elections, Chericoco had held the fort for the party, and this had given hope to many supporters. As if in agreement with the flagbearer of the 2018 Presidential candidate, Dr Samura Kamara, Chericoco has been effectively giving hope to party supporters through visits and engagements with people. Despite intimidation from the ruling government, Chericoco has been very instrumental in calling attention to the various excesses of the government, including violations of the rights of former government members. He has been a regular objector to most of the actions taken against party members.
As a legal man, he had provided legal service to many on a free basis. The introduction of the mid-Term Census was stoutly opposed by Chericoco and team, including various written concerns over the illegality of the said action. This was again replicated with the stealthy introduction of the PR in the recent Elections Act, which saw many APC MPs gracing talk-shows on radio and televisions on the said objections, and this later led to the debate and passing of the bill without the inclusion of the PR, with certain amendments made.
During the ACC’s interrogation of Dr. Samura Kamara at their Headquarters in Freetown that saw crowd of supporters around the office, Chericoco was again instrumental in bringing calm, albeit at the expense of his own safety, as he was shot at with a tear gas canister that narrowly missed him and damaged his windscreen. This matter was reported to Parliament. He has had many threats to his life from opposition party supporters, but was not perturbed by any.
Having made various complaints to the government and international community about the high-handedness of the government operatives against his party, including blatant disregard of the sanctity of Parliament, Chericoco included in his report the challenges and blatant abuse of power by the ruling party against his party and MPs in Parliament, which included police storming Parliament for some three times and ferrying APC MPs out of the chambers, forwarding same to the ECOWAS Parliament for their attention and possible action. This has resulted in the ECOWAS Parliament making a decision to send a team to the country to investigate the allegations made.
Whilst some elements in the APC are insinuating that Chericoco should be replaced, there are many who see his presence as Running-mate to the flagbearer as a plus, as he will capture the Fullah votes in the country, seeing that this third largest ethnic group in the country are disgruntled over the failure of their kinsman, Vice President Juldeh Jalloh, whom they supported because of seniority to Chericoco in age, to address their concerns, especially with the detention of one of their sons, the popular musician, LAJ, who is languishing at Pademba Road, after his rights have been violated by the police whilst in police custody. No action was taken by VP Jalloh to ensure that the culprits are brought to book, even though he is the head of the Police Council.
In the Western area, the name Chericoco is a household name, and his popularity has continued to soar. His wife hails from Kenema, a clear indication of the oneness of Sierra Leone that he embraces. Chericoco’s popularity cannot be mortgaged for any other candidate, the ardent supporters say, furthering that he is the people’s man and a strong grassroot supporter and mixer. His financial contribution to the party and its activities are well noted, not to talk of his philanthropic gestures to the less privileged and youths. Many see him as the fitted man to be the running-mate of the party, and are hopeful that the Presidential team of 2018 will not be altered, as it is seen as the winning team. Many are of the view that it is this winning team that has troubled the government, causing them to go to all lengths to scatter, with the on-going trial of Dr. Samura Kamara being identified as one in that direction.
