By Mabinty M. Kamara
The main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) has rejected the findings of the just concluded Commissions of Inquiry (COI), describing it as unacceptable due to its lack of legal premises.
The APC singled out the lead Commissioner, Justice Biobele Georgewill, for criticism, accusing him of fanning hate.
The COI was established by President Julius Maada Bio shortly after assuming office to look into the affairs of former President Ernest Bai Koroma’s APC-led administration. In over a year of investigation, the three Commissions headed by judges from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria indicted 84 out of 127 persons of interest. Among the indictees is the former president himself and 20 other people who served in his cabinet.
In response to the revelation, the APC in a press statement on Thursday said the language of Georgewill’s executive summary bred “hate”.
“We further particularly note with dismay and deep concern, the prejudicial and condescending narrative of the summary presented by Justice Biobele Georgewill. The language of venom breeds hate, vengeance and sensationalism,” the statement signed by the party’s National Secretary General, Osman Foday Yansaneh, reads in part.
Justice Georgewill, a Nigerian, worked alongside Justice William Attuguba of Ghana and Justice Bankole Thompson of Sierra Leone. The three submitted copies of their reports to President Bio at a ceremony held at the Peace Museum in the premises of the defunct UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.
They looked into the over ten years of APC rule.
Among many things, Georgewill’s executive summary concluded that the Ernest Bai Koroma administration stole billions of Leones and couldn’t account for many more.
The Ministry of Education was named as the “most corrupt” ministry in the report with over Le 44 billion unaccounted for.
Details of the full report hasn’t been made public yet.
The APC had always challenged the legality of the Commission, and in its statement it expressed frustration at how the judiciary has treated its case challenging its establishment.
“These objections were filled before the supreme court of Sierra Leone, but regrettably the chief justice has failed to empanel quorum Supreme Court Judges to sit on the matter. Strangely enough, it is now 15 months without the case being assigned for hearing by the Chief Justice. As a party, we continue to hold that until the Supreme Court makes a determination on the case against the establishment and powers of the COI, the proceedings remain objectionable and the outcome unacceptable,” the party said.
Among many other recommendations, Justice Georgewill said those who owe the state must pay immediately or lose their assets and other benefits owed them by the state. He also called for the banning of all those found wanting from participating in politics for five years.
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