By Kemo Cham
The Sierra Leone government’s handling of allegation of interference in Guinea’s political process poses a threat to relations between the two countries, a lawmaker has said, warning the Bio administration against downplaying the issue.
Opposition All People’s Congress (APC) MP, Mohamed Bangura, in an open letter addressed to President Julius Maada Bio, called on his administration to investigate the matter to avoid an escalation, which he said could have the potential to lead to unrest.
Bangura, who is the Member for Constituency 066 in Karene District, is the latest to add his voice to the issue which has dampened relations between the two sister countries.
Guinea is voting for president and other elected public officials this Sunday, October 18th. President Alpha Condeh is seeking a third term, and he faces a dozen candidates. His main challenger is veteran opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo.
Condeh, in a surprised move last week, reportedly said that Diallo’s party is training militant to wage violence on his country, and the president claimed that Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, was facilitating this alleged training on Sierra Leonean soil.
“The claim apportioned on Sierra Leone is grave and can be injurious looking at the sisterly ties between the two countries in terms of free movement of people, free trade, and a lot more,” Bangura wrote in his letter, a copy of which was sent to Politico. He called on President Bio to conduct an “urgent” investigation into the matter.
The lawmaker said the Bio administration must act beyond arm-chair diplomacy and send men on the ground to engage with his Guinean counterpart. He stressed that any unrest in Guinea could have a spillover effect on Sierra Leone, as had been demonstrated in the past with the country’s eleven years [1991-2002] civil war and the 2014-2016 West African Ebola epidemic, both of which spilled over from Liberia and Guinea, respectively.
Bangura also cited a recent incident in Freetown which was directly linked to the ongoing political situation in Guinea; when the country’s embassy in Freetown came under attack. One person died in that incident that was blamed on supporters of the Guinean opposition leader, Mr Diallo.
Bangura lamented that up to this point there had been no report on the findings of that incident.
Efforts by Politico to get word from both the Guinean government and Diallo’s UFDG [which in English translates to Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea] party proved unsuccessful.
The Office of the Presidential spokesman in Freetown did not return to Politico on a request for comment on the issue either.
But sources told Politico that moves were ongoing within the government to address the issue. We understand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since summoned the Guinean ambassador in Freetown to discuss the issue.
Sierra Leone’s ambassador to Guinea, Alimamy Hassan Bangura, declined to comment on the issue when contacted by Politico. He however dismissed suggestion that Sierra Leoneans were living in anxiety over the issue. He said he was not aware of any concerns within the Sierra Leonean community about threat of reprisal, contrary to some media reports in Freetown.
“We are here and we are very peaceful,” the ambassador said in a brief telephone interview from Conakry.
Politico also understands that the Mano River Union (MRU) Secretariat is planning a press conference to explain efforts in mediating between Guinea and Sierra Leone, ahead of the weekend’s poll.
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