The mediated dialogue agreement that was signed recently by representatives of the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and that of the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) is currently in dilemma, following the postponement of the maiden scheduled meeting and also because the new United Nations Resident Chief cannot present her credentials to the President.

The latest unfolding development in the implementation of the dialogue agreement has left many people across the country with questions about the readiness and good intentions of both the ruling SLPP and the opposition APC to fully implement all the resolutions in the agreement as they are now asking questions about who is fooling who for the successful implementation of the dialogue agreement that was signed by the leaders of the two major political parties in the country in the presence of international and local representatives.

In one of latest messages on the social media platform X, one of the Co-Chairman of the tripartite elections re-view Committee representing the opposition APC Dr Kelfala Marah said that it was unfortunate that the Cross-Party Committee on Electoral Review didn’t b commence work on the 13th of December, 2023 as was scheduled.

“We urge the Government of Sierra Leone to al-b low the process to begin. Delaying tac-c tics is unhelpful to the much needed t review,” Dr Marah wrote on his X platform. He further stated that the recent implementation update on the dialogue agreement of National Unity provided by the Chief Minister, Dr David Sengeh is misleading under Resolution three of the agreement, adding that Chairs of the Committee which are the APC and the Government of Sierra Leone did not commit to provide any feedback on draft Terms of References, but to start work on the 13th of December, 2023, adding that, even at that, the representatives from the Government did not show up.”

In response to the APC Co-Chairman social media message, the Chief Minister who is also the lead representative for the ruling SLPP, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh also wrote on his X platform with the message,

“Sir, I’m happy that in the 4 page document, your challenge is with one word. The government continues to look forward to engaging with APC on the way forward to full implementation. It would be great if APC could help all listed fugitive prisoners return back to prison. Thank you sir.”

According to a recent press release from the government, during the attempted coup on 26th November, 2023, the Pademba Road Central Correctional Centre and other facilities were broken into, and all prisoners and detainees were released. In addition, detainees in police cells in some police stations were released by the assailants. The security forces are working on tracking the inmates who escaped on the November 26.

The release went further that the government is reviewing the list submitted by the APC on a case-by-case basis to determine the nature of offences, but this activity has been put on hold until all prisoners return or are recaptured. The government is asking the APC to support this process of return by all members, in particular all those on the list submitted to the Government of Sierra Leone