By SeptimusSenessie in Kono
About three weeks after the controversial by-elections in Nimiyama Chiefdom in the Kono district, a cloud of tension continues to hang on the chiefdom amidst allegations of persecution of opposition supporters.
The December 19 parliamentary by-election held in the Nimiyama andGorama Kono chiefdoms, which was occasioned by the death of the former holder of the seat, was contested by the governing All Peoples Congress (APC) party and the main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP). The APC candidate Francis Tom Tucker was eventually declared winner after a polling day preceded by bloody clashes.
Some SLPP supporters say traditional authorities have imposed a five-year economic sanction on them, allegedly for defying their command to vote for the APC candidate.
Senior Town Chief of Peya Town in Peyifeh Section, Chief Komba Mattia, confirmed the sanction, saying it included a ban on artisanal mining activities and restrictions of their children from attending the only Secondary School in Sewafeh Chiefdom, which is located in Sewafe Town.
Peya Town is the home town of the losing SLPP candidate, Sahr Francis Gbonda, and it is where the party pulled its highest votes, unsurprisingly.
Okada (commercial motor bikes) have been banned from going to Sewafeh Town, Chief Mattia told Politico. The town chief expressed fear over the implication of the situation on sick people, as well as pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five, who may want to seek medical attention at the referral community health centre in Sewafeh Town.
Chief Mattia, who spoke to Politico from hiding, almost three weeks after the polls, said the decision of declaring the sanction on them by the Chiefdom Authorities was reached at their end of year Chiefdom Council Meeting held on the 31st December, 2015, at the chiefdom headquarter town of Sewafeh.
“They accused us of defying the authority of the chiefdom to vote in the candidate of the ruling APC,” he said.
The clashes in the run up to the election day which resulted into several injuries, according to reports, forced many people to run into the bushes. Sources say most of those who went into hiding were opposition supporters, and they attributed the party’s defeat to this.
Chief Mattia said up to now the intimidation continues and had kept many of his people, especially women, children and the aged, still in hiding. He is worried that the next move by the chiefdom authorities would be to sack him as town chief.
The chief explained that immediately after the announcement of NEC’s provisional results, the chiefdom Speaker of Nimiyama Chiefdom, Chief Philip Musa Koroma, sent them “a very big, red cola nut as a [show of] appreciation for voting against their candidate.” Mattia said the Chiefdom speaker threatened that the Peyifeh Section would have their pay for their act of “insubordination” against the orders of the authority with an economic sanction. He said the chiefdom authorities also informed them that the punishment will last until the APC left the seat of power nationally.
Asked whether he and his people had any regret for voting the SLPP candidate, Chief Mattia responded: “We will continue voting for a candidate of our choice as long as the country continues to practice modern democracy.”
The defeated candidate, Sahr Francis Gbondo, condemned the “unwarranted subjection of his supporters to regular intimidations and violence.” He told Politico that the chiefdom speaker of Nimiyama Chiefdom, Chief Philip Musa Koroma, last week ordered his men to beat up his supporters in the Sewafeh Town where they also had their properties vandalized. He said two of the attackers were arrested and handed over to the police, but that they were soon bailed out on the same day by the chiefdom speaker.
MrGbondo described the sanction against his supporters as “abuse on their fundamental human rights,” and called on authorities concerned to intervene to avoid violence in the chiefdom.
Chiefdom Speaker Philip Musa Koroma denied that they sanctioned any such order against anyone.
“We have already defeated the SLPP in the bye-election and there is nothing more to intimidate them for,” he told Politico.
Chief Koroma said what they did as chiefdom authorities after the election was to stop motor bike taxies from leaving Sewafeh Town to Peya to prevent possible attacks.
“The Chiefdom Council is above the pettiness of SLPP,” he said, calling on the opposition to give chance to the APC to do what the former failed to do while in power.
Police Inspector Francis Nyandemo, officer in charge of the Sewafeh Police Post in the Nimiyama Chiefdom, accused the chiefdom authorities of being the mastermind behind most of the lawlessness in the chiefdom. He said police officers themselves were been subjected to perpetual intimidation by the chiefdom authorities while they investigated crimes relating to the by election.
Inspector Nyandemo also confirmed that there was still post-election violence in the chiefdom and lamented that the chiefdom authorities were not cooperating with them in their effort to put a stop to the situation. He recalled that last week, two people were arrested and transferred to the Motema Police Division on allegations of vandalism of properties and for beating up peaceful citizens. He said the same people were later seen moving freely.
(C) Politico 13/01/16
