Mohamed Lainkuray Bangura has issued a strong warning to the flag bearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Ernest Bai Koroma, and his group that any peace settlement in the APC must be tied to the total implementation of the Supreme Court orders of 2004.
He made this disclosure yesterday at No 4 Lightfoot-Boston Street in Freetown at a press conference. He added that the Supreme Court declared in 2004 that the 2002 Constitution was illegal and all decisions taken under it were null and ordered that the party must go back to the December 3, 1995 constitution; its structures, offices and that officers must be reinstated.
But the flag bearer and his group refused to comply, he stated.
Mr Bangura echoed that recent events in the party indicated that these people had now joined ranks with opposite camp of Ernest Bai Koroma and others, who the Supreme Court found guilty in 2004 of having defrauded the APC constitution and who were still standing trial on conspiracy and perjury charges at the Magistrate Courts No 1 and 3 respectively.
Mohamed L Bangura said Ernest Koroma brought in the executive body that served under the illegal constitution of 2nd April to run the affairs of the party in place of the executive body sanctioned by the December 5, 1995 constitution.
He added that, “this illegal body took the party to the Port Loko convention of September 2005 instead of the 1995 executive body headed by Alhaji S.A.T Koroma and Eddie Turay as secretary general in violation of the Supreme Court’s order.
The Port Loko convention, he noted, was not inclusive.
He stated that, “[the] jumping of my comrades to Ernest Bai Koroma’s camp is being interpreted in the news that unlike my comrades who have abandoned ship, I am not fighting for self position in the APC party especially now that it is operating illegally.” He added further that, “we all want unity in our party, but the one demonstrated on Wednesday 4th April was not the type of unity that we want. It failed to legalize the operations of the party and does not end the court cases or prove that Supreme Court judgment has been implemented”.
Mohamed L Bangura noted that he had never asked anyone including Abdul Karim Koroma (AKK) to talk on his behalf at any APC party meeting or press conference, “nor did I tell him that I was sick, I was not aware of any meeting or press conference at the party headquarters”.
He pointed out that if ever the court matters affecting certain members of the party were to continue now was the time to do so vigorously for the following reasons: “To let the public know that the cases are not targeting any particular person but to establish strict constitutional adherence and to prepare the party on a strong footing to win the July 28 elections; to serve as deterrent to anybody who may want to attempt to tinker with the democracy the country is trying to build; to establish the fact that cases are not meant to further or enhance the political ambitions of anyone”.
He maintained that, “we will disappoint the electorate of this country if we do not return to the 1995 constitution as directed by the highest court of this land”.
Mr Bangura noted that, “I am not the problem of the APC party. The problem of the party is the failure and total refusal of Ernest Koroma and his group to implement the 2004 orders of the Supreme Court of this land. As a result of that the APC party might disappoint the electorate if a technical knock-out is dealt on us”.
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