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The Mayor of Makeni, Abubakarr Kamara, has raised concerns over the conduct of the 2026 Presidential Townhall held in Makeni, arguing that residents were not given a genuine opportunity to directly engage the President.
Speaking in an interview with Liberty Online TV, the Mayor of Makeni, Abubakarr Kamara, said the format of the engagement did not allow for meaningful one-on-one interaction between citizens and the Head of State.
He alleged that out of the entire gathering in Makeni, he was the only person given the opportunity to ask a question, after repeatedly raising his hand during the session.
Mayor Kamara further stated that most of the questions during the townhall were instead collected and asked by the Minister of Information on behalf of the people. While acknowledging that questions were eventually presented, he maintained that residents had expected a more direct engagement format, where individuals would personally address the President rather than routing their concerns through a minister.
He stressed that the people of Makeni had anticipated a direct question-and-answer session with the President, allowing citizens to raise their concerns firsthand and receive responses without mediation.
According to him, even when he was eventually allowed to speak, his intervention was repeatedly interrupted by the Minister of Information, which he said further limited his ability to fully represent the concerns of the city’s residents.
The Mayor’s remarks have sparked renewed discussion around the structure of presidential townhall engagements and the extent to which they facilitate direct citizen participation.
