By Edward Vamboi
Currently, there are some influential members of the All People’s Congress (APC) Party who are calling for Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah alias Chericoco to be stripped of his Executive position within the party simply because they are arguing that it is unconstitutional and unethical for him to throw support behind Dr. Samura Kamara, the 2018 defeated flag bearer of the party.
However, there is a school of thought which holds the strong conviction that Hon. Chericoco must have calculated the personal benefits in endorsing Dr. Samura Kamara.
They further argued that Hon. Chericoco did not throw his weight behind Samura because of mere love for him, but the shared interests they both have in common and the opportunities he presents for him.
According to them, Hon. Chericoco stands to benefit again if Dr. Samura emerges as the winner of the APC’s presidential candidacy because it is an open secret that Chericoco is undoubtedly going to be the running-mate candidate for Dr. Samurai for a second and perhaps the final time come the 2023 general elections.
In some quarters of the APC party it is said that it is the ‘Same Team,’ which means a ‘Samura Chernor’ candidature which has been stoutly opposed to by some former presidential aspirants and other opponents who say it is synonymous with the Selection Clause which led the NRM to take the party to Court although the matter is now on the verge of reaching an out of court settlement after a serious disruption of the party’s activities.
It has been argued further that Hon. Chericoco, also being a lawyer, understands fully well the uncertainty looming over the qualification of Samura’s candidature, if Section No.149 (Publication of report of Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and right of appeal), sub section No.4 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991 is to lead to Samura’s demise should his appeal on the CoI adverse findings against him are upheld. Indeed, Samura Kamara is not a clean man as things stands at the moment. He is a convict based on the current CoI indictments against him.
Sections No. 41 (Qualifications for Office of President), paragraph letter (d) that sets the qualification to be elected as Member of Parliament is almost the same benchmark set for eligibility for the President. This provision of the law hangs as an albatross on the necks of the APC and Dr. Samura Kamara for the simple fact that if it is read in tandem with, Section No.75 (Qualification for Members of Parliament) Dr. Samura may have been qualified despite his CoI predicament but however, contingent on the provisions of Section No.76 (Disqualification of Members of Parliament), Subsection No.1, paragraph (d) (No person shall be qualified for election as a Member of Parliament – ‘if he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence which involves fraud or dishonesty: or.’ It is against this background; Dr. Samura Kamara’s eligibility is arguably questionable if the spirit of the letter of Section 149.4 is to subsist.
This serves as the biggest risk about Samura Kamara’s candidature, he is a convict by the CoI until otherwise overturned by the Appeals court, thus, he is legally unqualified for the presidency.
According to the school of thought, this will undoubtedly be a wildcard for a soft landing of a SLPP party that is notorious for its use of court petitions.
They furthered that in fact, the worse will dawn should Samura had been awarded the party’s symbol and ended up victorious at the polls. The SLPP is of course not oblivious about the legal impediments looming over Dr. Samura Kamara, as things stands presently.
The school of thought continues that Chericoco knowing fully well that this might be in his interest as running-mate to automatically fit in as second choice for the flag bearer if Samura is unfortunately disqualified.
Hon. Bah knows that at best, he will be considered as the last minute flag bearer choice, and or at worst, he would retain his running-mate position even if the person of Sam Sumana is to come into play.
They say the Red party is carefully playing the card of blemished and unblemished personalities and no wonder why Sam Sumana was tactfully brought back into the fold after he was expelled by the party and sacked as Vice President for purported anti-party activity, a matter that he later won at the ECOWAS Court.
According to them, Sam is no dwarfed political figure, his beating of both the APC and SLPP in his native Kono District, echoes the message and places him at pole position or at least, as the most formidable force in the arsenals of the APC. No matter what says about Sam, he has got a political base, but what about the other APC presidential aspirants?
It is noted that Hon. Chericoco is cleverly and riskily gambling his political fate being fully confident that the APC status quo is already showing the ‘Same Team’, the green light by not heeding to calls of a barrage of APC flag bearers aspirants who detests the endorsement of Dr. Samura Kamara.
They say it is to this end, that it is hypothetically safe to believe that a successful Samura Kamara candidacy is a sustained Chericoco for running-mate and a reverse will unleash an opportunity for the course of Chericoco as second best choice for the presidency or better still remain as the running-mate if another candidate is to be considered for the presidency.
The school of thought concludes that pundits must deeply think what could have given Hon. Chericoco the gumption to throw his heart in the ring for Samura Kamara if he knows that he has something to lose at the end of the day, but, however, the awarding of the APC flag bearer and running-mate is not going to be a smooth ride and needs deep political, legal, social and other thinking if the APC is to oust the SLPP in the polls come 2023.
