The SLPP National Delegates Conference has come and gone. Few party members still remain uncomfortable with the outcome. It will be a political disaster to ignore the few who feel uncomfortable with the outcome of the SLPP National Delegates Conference held in Bo City in December last year.

The long and short of it all is that, the party unanimously endorsed their flag bearer for the June 2023 Presidential election. So far, the SLPP remains the only party that have elected/endorsed their flag bearer for the June 2023 Presidential election. The die is cast!

All along, some of us have been openly calling for party unity. Some of us even went as far as calling on all those who either left the party or were suspended or expelled from the party to return and play an active role in the reelection of President Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio in June 2023 without a runoff (One Tem Kratch).

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Unfortunately, some hardliners in the party are opposed to such proposition. They have argued that, those who left the party and wish to return have no value addition to make to the party. This unyielding position is not and cannot be in the best interest of the party. There has to be a softening of position.

In the run-up to the 2007 general elections, a senior and influential member of the SLPP, Charles Margai, left the SLPP after failing to win the flag bearer election in Makeni in 2005. He formed the PMDC (People’s Movement for Democratic Change) party in January 2006 and contested the 2007 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

PMDC is a breakaway faction of the SLPP. Margai came third in that year’s Presidential election, forcing a run-off election between Solomon Ekuma Berewa of the SLPP and Ernest Bai Koroma of the APC. Margai’s party won ten Parliamentary seats in 2007 becoming the third largest party in Parliament that year. All the seats PMDC won were in the Southern Region, the stronghold of the SLPP.

In the run-off Presidential election in 2007, Margai decided to back the APC Presidential candidate, Ernest Bai Koroma against the SLPP’s Solomon Ekuma Berewa. Koroma was declared winner of the 2007 run-off Presidential election by the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Christiana Thorpe.

Margai later fell out with the APC party but refused to dissolve his party. After the 2018 elections, Margai miraculously returned to frontline politics when he was appointed by President Brig. (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. After less than two months in the job, Margai was sacked by President Bio. His sacking left tongues wagging. Margai is not likely to play any significant role in the country’s politics again. His golden days in politics are over. He has become completely irrelevant in party politics in Sierra Leone. He has lost his mojo!

𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐡 𝐘𝐮𝐦𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

For a start, I have met KKY only once in my life. We met at a public gathering at Juba. He had just arrived in Freetown on holiday. I was introduced to him by a common friend. That friend passed away in 2013. KKY came across as a decent man.

Last week, in a Short Comment published in the Global Times Newspaper, I asked the frequently asked question: “When Is KKY Returning To SLPP?” That question generated a lot of social media comments. Some people believe that it is just a matter of time for KKY to return to his family party (the SLPP). Others believe that KKY is afraid of returning to the SLPP for fear of being marginalized. As smart as KKY is, he must have negotiated a gold-plated package for his return to the SLPP. It was Dr. James Jonah who once noted that every politician has a price. Is the SLPP prepared to pay any price just to get KKY back to the party? That question can only be answered by one man and one man alone.

The question is still being asked: What role would KKY play in SLPP between now and June 2023? Does KKY command the support and popularity he enjoyed in Kambia district in 2018? KKY is undoubtedly a well-known personality, both locally and internationally. But many of his supporters see him as a very thrifty man (E Krabit). It was a former Cabinet Minister in Tejan Kabbah’s government who once noted that, “Kandeh Krabit Pas Pa Kabbah”. It would be difficult to replace President Bio in 2028. He is loved for his generosity, empathy, temperament, charisma and above all, his love for the country.

Addressing party members and supporters at the Freetown International Conference Centre at Aberdeen in Freetown on Friday last week, President Bio called on party members “to be law-abiding, steadfast in their support and unite behind the party’s leadership to deliver victory (One Term Kratch) in June 2023”. SLPP, always remember that, election is a game of numbers! The SLPP is a broad church!

May common sense prevail!