Some leaders and members of the All People’s Congress’ (APC) Strategic Communications Unit have described their former flagbearer and presidential candidate, Dr. Samura Kamara to be divisive.

This recent debacle surfaced after Samura Kamara refused to hand over his office keys to the leadership of the party.

In a letter addressed to Samura Kamara about a fortnight ago, the party’s secretary general, Lansana Dumbuya requested for the keys of leadership office of their headquarters in Brookfields, Freetown. Dumbuya affirmed that it is illegal for Kamara to hold on to office six months after he lost the 2023 elections to the incumbent Julius Maada Bio. The secretary general cited commitments mad by their former presidential candidate of releasing the keys after the Tripartite Committee’s report.

He added that while they respect his role and service to the party, returning the keys to the leadership office is the ideal thing for Samura Kamara to do.

Meanwhile, Samura Kamara, in a reply informed the party of his intention to keep his office until the issue of electoral justice is addressed. He also detests the party’s trajectory in focusing on what he termed as “logistical issues” rather than unity. In other words, he is accusing the current executive of the party to be focusing on trivial issues that will continue to divide the main opposition party.

The leadership of the party disagreed with Samura Kamara through a long essay shared widely on social media last week. The essay accused the former party leader of having ill intentions for the APC.

“His actions cast doubt on his intentions, especially when considering the possibility that his ongoing actions may inadvertently play into the hands of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), potentially undermining the APC’s efforts to fortify its strategy for future elections,” the APC’s Strategic Communications Unit said.

They added that the former leader is “prioritizing personal grievances” over the party.

While some party stalwarts believe that the former presidential candidate still carry huge grassroot support, the party’s leadership, however, believes that his recent actions have “eroded the trust of those who once believed in his leadership”.

Some supporters of the party have expressed their dismay over this recent occurrence with some already giving up hope of winning the 2028 elections. One die-hearted supporter of the party relayed to us that this issue if not dealt with within the leadership of the party could lead to a crisis that could see them lose in the coming elections.