Thousands and thousands of All People’s Congress (APC)’s supporters yesterday daubed the streets of Kenema, Bo, Makeni, Kono and Freetown red as they rallied to show their party’s strength in their final campaign to capture the August 11 polls.
In Kenema, the supporters, clad in their party colours of red and white, sang songs as they processed from the Nasir Ahmadiyya Muslim Primary School campus along Blama Road through Hangha Road up to the supper market where they were diverted by the police through Humunya Avenue, by passing the SLPP office along Hangha Road, unto their regional office.
What surprised many political observers in Kenema was that, despite recent accusations by the ruling SLPP of violence allegedly committed by the APC, the musical sets mounted on top of some vehicles were denouncing violence.
In Bo, it was a mixture of both culture and tradition meeting with politics and passed on to a generation of a whole new breed.
Mustapha Toronka, regional deputy youth leader, told Awoko that the reason for choosing Peace Junction as the start of the rally was that “we want to show people that the APC is a peaceful party.”
The rally started with supporters from all walks of life gathering at the Peace Junction in their ‘trade mark’ red merging with the spring vegetation of green. At the junction, the supporters of the party spread about a mile into Kebbie Town.
The fanatics of the party spent their time dancing to traditional and modern songs in praises of their leader Ernest Bai Koroma, while others were busy paying tributes to “a dying SLPP.”
The mammoth supporters processed from the Bo Freetown Highway (Peace Junction) through Tikonko Road, Via Prince Williams Street and to their office at Mahei-Boima Road.
Along the way the supporters marched with a Mazda car which was toting speakers that were blasting music. The dominant music was “Injectment Notice,” a politico-hortatory song lambasting the ruling SLPP.
Also like Kenema, the APC supporters sang songs denouncing violence.
In Freetown, addressing the mammoth crowd at the National Stadium, the APC leader Hon Ernest Bai Koroma was optimistic that, “I now believe that the Western Area is being controlled by APC”.
He added that, “I believe that come Saturday the day of voting this population that is before me now will change their support into votes”.
Hon Ernest Bai Koroma assured his supporters that when he took over governance after the elections, the problem of education, electricity supply, no clean drinking water, road network, access to justice and discrimination would come to an end.
The APC leader stated that, “I know that you people are tired of the lies the SLPP has been giving you….. I will not promise any Sierra Leonean but when I become the next president in three years’ time you will start judging me and my party”.
The leader maintained that 2007 would be a repeat of what happened in 1967, and urged
polling agents to be vigilant on the day of polling.
He also told his party supporters to be violence free and maintain their peace.
Reports from Kono and Makeni also say there were large crowds of party supporters, clad in their party colours, holding portraits of their leader and dancing to songs as they processed along the main streets unto the convergent points.
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