By Titus Boye-Thompson, London
A week is a long time in politics. This dictum cannot be truer than now; given the time constraints and the need to get the campaign for the All People’s Congress together to ensure a massive win for Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara on 24th June 2023.
The man himself is an enigma. You only have to spend but a little time in his presence for you to capture the spirit of his charisma. The crowds that follow him are drawn to his simplicity and unpretentious nature. One may see him as a very docile man, respectful and full of cheer. He is always smiling, even when he is under pressure.
He is under pressure now so if you see him with a smile on his face, remember that his nature behoves his congenial attitude at all times. The pressure Dr. Samura Kamara faces now is the need to deliver for the people of Sierra Leone.
The pressure is burdensome because the people have overwhelmingly given him the mandate to bring them the keys to State House but the fear is whether Dr. Samura Kamara and the current leadership of the APC have the strategy in place to turn that popular appeal to election success. The focus now for the Samura Kamara campaign team is to make sure that they can turn those crowds into votes.
Popular appeal has been the game changer
The popular appeal of the APC Presidential candidate didn’t just happen overnight but has grown consistently over time. His appeal started from since the last televised Presidential debate and that fact is not lost on the current government that is why you now hear or talk of having one this time around. This government is in awe of the Samura Kamara popular appeal. The massive crowd that came down from Makeni with him after he was overwhelmingly elected as the APC Presidential candidate was the game changer.
The show of support was also not lost on the international community which prompted calls for the creation of a level playing field and an open and fair process leading to the general and Presidential elections.
Notwithstanding his popular mandate, the government has done all in their power to restrict the movement and activities of the APC in the Party’s efforts to reach out to the people to ask for their vote. The attempt to ban street rallies. Processions or any other mass gathering with a political connotation has now been outlawed by this government but the ban is activated only when APC party supporters make a move.
No such ban exists amongst the SLPP and in fact, the President has now been reduced into a song and dance act, reminiscent of the “monkey dance ar gee you banana” caricature of old Creole folklore. In his own right, the popular appeal of Samura Kamara does not need him to perform for the crowd, rather he has to be protected against the milling crowds as he is mobbed by people thronging to catch a glimpse of him wherever he goes.
This has been the hallmark of his recent visit to London where everywhere he goes, the crowds are there to welcome him, with people wanting to see the man in the flesh, some hoping to be lucky enough to have a selfie taken with him while others are just in awe of being in his presence.
At a Town Hall meeting in London this past Sunday, an onlooker reiterated that “this election is not being fought on policy but on a more pragmatic and practical appeal, the reason for this is because the government in power has turned its guns against the people and here is a leader who is still prepared to reach out to true Sierra Leoneans to maintain a peaceful society, recognizing that there are relationships through marriage and other means that bind us. “
Turning cutlasses into ploughshares
There is a concern that the narrative that has been making waves within the Sierra Leone political space has been one of tribal affiliation, tribal pride, religious intolerance and regionalism while many of these are laced with threats of killings and violence.
The potential for this to be a violent election is becoming ever more real. The prospect for violence and the breakdown in law and order raises concerns over the potential for state failure all over again. This time, the possibility that the conflagration will mirror that of Rwanda is a stark and dreadful concept.
For this reason, Dr Samura Kamara and his campaign team have started making moves to encourage the APC to spearhead attempt to beat its cutlasses into ploughshares. What this means is that the APC under the Samura Kamara leadership will disavow violence, commit itself to a peaceful and law abiding conduct and overall, speak directly to the people for their support and votes. In setting out his vision, Dr Samura Kamara has recognized the inter connectedness of all peoples of Sierra Leone and he has made it clear that there would be no retaliation on the side of his government when they assume power.
The objective of this commitment to peace coexistence and protection of the rights of all Sierra Leoneans to the respective freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution is to provide reasonable assurance of his good governance credentials and a recognition of his record as a fair and upright person.
Beating cutlasses into ploughshares also speaks of the denial of violence in deference to peaceful and productive conduct such as agriculture and nation building. In this commitment to justice for all, Dr Samura Kamara is beginning to secure the interest of those of our compatriots in the South East to dispel the false narratives and scaremongering against people from the North and West.
This approach can translate to votes when the campaign is seen to be extending a hand of friendship and collaboration to our constituencies in the South and East. Contrary to what the SLPP would want others to believe, there are no absolute strongholds.
The APC has won seats in Kailahun and Moyamba. This shows that there is always room for the party to do more and gain more votes in the South and East of the country. Dr Samura Kamara should now reach out emphatically to Kono and draw out our votes with the active involvement of the APC heavyweight, Alhaji Samuel Samsumana leading and managing that campaign in full force.
Attracting international recognition
The ongoing trip to London has been fruitful thus far. The gains made from running a campaign from Freetown that has now attracted international attention is a mark of the credibility of the message. The invitation from the Commonwealth Secretariat is a signal that the potential for this campaign to end in government is palpably eclectic.
Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara is after all not a stranger to diplomatic protocol. An invitation from the Commonwealth Secretariat is not one to be sniffed at. However, the insidious attempts by the Bio government to thwart the attendance in London by the APC Presidential candidate will be a blot on their record.
It is well documented that the tactics used to constrain Dr Samura Kamara from performing his tasks as a Party leader and Presidential candidate have been set in motion to reduce his influence over the electorates. This strategy has now backfired.
The one to one meeting with the Commonwealth Secretariat has turned out to be a better chance for Dr Samura Kamara to outline his concerns in real time. No one is suggesting that the Commonwealth Secretariat would be telling President Bio how to run the country but when it is clear that actions of Government officials have gone against the norms of international cooperation and peace sustaining protocols, then those who have always had the responsibility to rectify crises would do so with a view to holding the guilty parties to account. The Commonwealth would be sending a high powered team of elections observers to Sierra Leone.
Their report on the conduct of the elections and the behaviour of the parties would be instrumental in determining and advice on what happens immediately after the elections are over. By refusing to engage in a dialogue at Marlborough House last week, President Bio may have opted out of the route that guarantees peace sustaining into one that is sure to encourage violence and conflict.
Such is the foreboding of a very violent and bloody election process and if violence does erupt, then the international community would be well placed to identify the causes of such acts and those responsible would surely face the International Criminal Court.