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Residents of Kholifa Mabang Chiefdom, Tonkolili District have described a petition case filed against the Chiefdom newly elected Paramount Chief as a joke and deliberate ploy by what they called some misguided individuals for selfish and personal gains.
“Everyone knows our elections in Kholifa Mabang Chiefdom were not only free and fair but also credible. The winner and Paramount Chief elect genuinely won the election, everybody knows that. It came as a surprise when we heard about a petition case again,” Abdul Kamara, a resident in the Chiefdom wrote on WhatsApp.
Imran Kamara of the Kuhrahray ruling house was declared winner and Paramount Chief elect of Kholifa Mabang on the 26th October 2024 after a tense but peaceful Paramount Chieftaincy elections in Mabang town, the Chiefdom headquarters.
Kamara who is the second Paramount Chief from their ruling house and lineage beat Mohamed Raka Kamara, a former lawmaker in a second round of voting after none of the eight candidates were unable to secure the 55% threshold required by law in the first round.
Though the elections were widely acclaimed to be credible, the Chiefdom was shocked after High Court papers of an interim injunction restraining Kamara from acting as Paramount Chief of Kholifa Mabang surfaced on social media.
Among many things, the petitioners who contested against the new Paramount Chief said the elections weren’t credible and that there were irregularities.
The petitioners – Abdul Balie Kamara, Mohamed Raka Kamara, Augustine Mohamed Kamara, Patrick Kamara and John Speedo Kamara are asking the Court to stop the officials from swearing-in Kamara as the Paramount Chief of Kholifa Mabang until the matter is looked into.
Funnily, though the High Court papers named five of the candidates that contested against the new Paramount Chief as the petitioners, some said they have no idea how their names were used in a petition case they knew nothing about.
In a WhatsApp audio clip, John Speedo Kamara denies he’s not part of any group of people to petition the Paramount Chief.
“I have congratulated him because I know the elections were genuine and conducted in a free and fair manner,” John Speedo Kamara said.
Report says Patrick and Augustine Mohamed Kamara have also said they have no idea about the said petition.
Kholifa Mabang is in preparation for the homecoming of the new Paramount Chief in the Chiefdom when the news about the petition went viral.
“I felt bad when I heard about the news because the Chiefdom is waiting to receive the Paramount Chief and this petition issue came up. For more than ten years, we have been waiting for this opportunity,” Mohamed Sankoh, a Youth Leader in the Chiefdom said.
According to many residents here, the petition is a distraction by people who still want to hold the future of the Chiefdom to ransom. The High Court of Sierra Leone will begin to sit on the matter on Thursday 21st November 2024.
