By Alfred Momoh
The hunt for one staunch member of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Tamba Suluku has intensified after he was accused of allegedly burning the residence of a senior member of the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC), Diana Konomanyi on Salimanday Street, Koidu Town, Gbense Chiefdom, Kono District, Eastern Province; an incident that took place on 30th May, 2023.
Mr Suluku’s house was reportedly burnt down in desperate attempts to get him as he is reportedly in hiding, following the said accusations.
Meanwhile, some APC members and supporters have reportedly accused his fiancé of knowing his whereabouts, and as such, threatened to kill her if she failed to produce him. She was therefore forced to flee for her dear life as she continued to receive a plethora of threats within the township of Koidu Town.
According to reports, members and supporters of the opposition have allegedly beaten to death and mutilated certain citizens after accusing the ruling government of failure to meet the expectations of Sierra Leoneans, and 10th August, 2023 protest was a testament to that. Mr Suluku’s fiancé is reportedly afraid of members and supporters of the opposition APC, especially when he has been tagged wanted by them.
She is reportedly traumatized after what she witnessed during the January 6, 1999 rebel incursion in Freetown when the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council/Revolutionary United Front (AFRC/RUF) invaded the capital in a bloody assault dubbed as “Operation No Living Thing,” when rebels entered neighborhoods, looted properties and raped women indiscriminately, leaving thousands killed, maimed with their bodies left to rot in the streets without proper burial. The war ravaged the nation and the rebels were bent on taking political power, an insurrection that led to the destruction of lives and properties. Failure of the then ruling government to adequately support the operations of the military could not be unconnected to the atrocities perpetrated by the rebels.
It could be recalled that Diana Konomanyi served as Minister of Local Government and later Minister of Lands and Country Planning under the erstwhile Ernest Koroma led APC government and she is also the current Eastern Region Chairlady of the party.
Mystery currently surrounds the circumstances that led to the burning down of the residence of the former minister. Though the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) claimed that they had launched full investigations into what is being perceived as an arson attack on the female politician, information about the actual perpetrator(s) is/are yet to come out.
The alleged arson remains a contentious issue as both the SLPP and APC have stormed the Kono District and have drawn huge crowds in their quest for votes in that swing state.
According to reports, members and supporters of the APC have intensified their search to capture Mr Suluku and because of the threats and fear of his life, he has disappeared into thin air and his whereabouts remains mystery.