THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE, BUT IS IT IN REALITY ALWAYS GREENER ?

YES, I DO WHAT REFORM OR CHANGE , BUT AGITATING WITHIN THE APC PARTY IS THE QUICKEST AND SUREST WAY TO BRING ABOUT REFORM, NOT ASSOCIATING WITH A NEW POLITICAL PARTY..... BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, THAN THE ANGEL YOU DON'T KNOW.

YES, I WILL STAY WITH THE APC, IF IT GOES DOWN IN THE 2018 ELECTIONS ( AND I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT ) I GO DOWN WITH IT, IF IT WINS IN 2018 ( AND I AM CONFIDENT OF APC WINNING ), I WILL CONTINUE TO AGITATE FOR REFORM OR CHANGE WITHIN THE APC PARTY .

THE REFEREE HAS BLOWN HIS WHISTLE, LET THE GAME BEGIN !!!

" Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. The conflict has been exciting, agitating, all-absorbing, and for the time being, putting all other tumults to silence. It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.

This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. In the light of these ideas, SIERRA LEONEANS AND SIERRA LEONE will be hunted so long as they submit to those devilish outrages and make no resistance, either moral or physical.

Men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get. If we ever get free from the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this by labor, by suffering, by sacrifice, and if needs be, by our lives and the lives of others ".

. THE MAN LACKS DISCRETION, IS THIS THE KIND OF PERSON, IN YOUR RIGHT MINDS, YOU THINK IS A LEADER OR A PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL ????

WISE IS THE PERSON WHO FORTIFIES HIS LIFE WITH THE RIGHT FRIENDSHIPS.

IF YOU RUN WITH WOLVES, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO HOWL, BUT IF YOU ASSOCIATE WITH EAGLES, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO SOAR TO GREAT HEIGHT,

A MIRROR REFLECTS A MAN'S FACE, BUT WHAT HE IS REALLY LIKE IS SHOWN BY THE KIND OF FRIENDS HE CHOOSES !!!

THE VERY SIMPLE BUT TRUE FACT OF LIFE IS THAT YOU BECOME LIKE THOSE WITH WHOM YOU CLOSELY ASSOCIATE, FOR GOOD AND THE BAD .

NO, KANDEH YUMKELLA IS NO MOSES, HE LACKS THE POWER OF DISCRETION, AND IS THUS NOT A PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL !!!

I OFFENDED YOU WITH THE FACTS ? WAIT, YOU WILL HEAR MORE, YOU BLIND AND BOOT-LICKING FOLLOWERS OF THE UNELECTABLE KANDEH YUMKELLA !!!

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIERRA LEONE POST INDEPENDENCE HISTORY, THE ISSUE OF WHETHER THE THREE ARMS OF GOVERNMENT IN SIERRA LEONE ARE SEPARATE OR FUSED WILL BE TESTED.

NOTE, I CARRY NO BRIEF FOR VICTOR FOH, I AM MERELY MAKING AN OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT BASED ON THE FOLLOWING..

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THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (TRC)

TRANSCRIPTS OF THEMATIC AND INSTITUTIONAL HEARINGS, GOVERNANCE

DATE: May 7, 2003.

BEFORE:
Commissioner William Schabas (Presiding)
Commissioner John Kamara
Commissioner Laura Marcus-Jones
Commissioner Satang Jow
Commissioner Sylvanus Torto

LEADER OF EVIDENCE: Ozonnia Ojielo

WITNESS NO: 1
WITNESS NAME: MR Victor Foh – representing All Peoples Congress (APC)

(The oath was administered).

SUBMISSION

I am the APC Regional Chairman for the Southern province. I am here to represent the party. I am here to talk about Governance. I am happy to say that my party takes this Commission seriously. Our party has already made submissions to the Commission.

In our submission we talked about Sierra Leone under the SLPP from 1961 to 1967, Siaka Stevens’ leadership from 1968 – 1985, and Sierra Leone under President Joseph Saidu Momoh. We ended the submission with a focus on how the SLPP is governing the state today. Yesterday, people spoke of human rights abuses. They attributed the war to the unpopularity of APC. The war however, continued even after the removal of APC.

I have come to talk about the things that brought the war. We are not only going to talk about our party APC, but also about the SLPP. I have taken an oath. I assure the Commission that I am going to say truth. As I look at the wall here I am delighted to read a poster that says: “Truth hurts but war hurts more”. People say we must forget about the past and forge ahead. The slogan that strikes me most is the one in Krio that says “Tru at for talk.”

We must do everything in our capacity to make sure that peace is sustained in our country. It is the people of Sierra Leone that achieved victory in the war. We do hope that we give them good governance. I believe that there are people in the SLPP who have come to listen. I thank the SLPP government for establishing the TRC in accordance with the Lome Peace Accord.

The APC came into being on 17 October, 1960 because of SLPP’s misrule. In 1967, we went to the polls with the SLPP and won. The SLPP refused to handover power. A soldier by the name of Hinga Norman arrested our leader Siaka Steven and the Governor. That soldier ignited the first military coup in Sierra Leone.

The Prime Minister at the time, Albert Margai, instigated the head of the army David Lansana to take power by force. APC will never forget what the SLPP did to them. The military became politicized. We would like the audience and the Commission to know that if the military became involved in politics it was because of the SLPP.

On the eve of independence the SLPP accused the leadership of the APC of attempts to stage a coup. Our leaders were arrested. They were only released long after the independence celebrations had past. It will be relevant to note that Paramount Chief did not belong to any party. But in all the elections the SLPP conducted before 1967 Paramount Chiefs were involved on its side. The APC believes that Paramount Chiefs should not be involved in elections.

People have accused the APC of corruption. I have to say that the first Commission of inquiry set up in this country found the SLPP to be corrupt. Up till now the papers are still writing about corruption.

Siaka Stevens was the founder of the APC. People always say that all the problems in this country started under the regime of Siaka Stevens. We in the APC said no to that. I come from the Mende Line, the strongest base of the SLPP. I knew all the leaders of the SLPP- from Sir Milton to Sir Albert. The politics of “unopposed” started in the SLPP. Dictatorship started in SLPP. Cannibalism started by the SLPP.

Siaka Stevens built the stadium. Siaka Stevens built Youyi Building. The Congo Cross Bridge was erected by the APC. We in the APC want to say that our leaders had vision. Under Steven security in this country was stable. One would go around without fear of being attacked. There were however, SLPP players inside the APC. The current Chairman of the SLPP Dr Banya, and S.B Marah are from the APC. If accusing finger is pointed at us today I will say it was Dr Banya and S.B. Marah. They are now in the SLPP. These were the people responsible for the dictatorship. Our testimony is not to engender tribalism and endanger people. But we have come to say the truth.

The introduction of a one-party system was a mistake by the APC. Albert Margai however, planned the one-party system. He took it to parliament but did not succeed. One of the key issues in the election in 1967 was the one-party system. When Siaka Stevens won the 1967 elections people forget about the one-party issue. It was with pressure from people like S.B Marah that Stevens was forced to introduce the one party. If the APC was blamed for that we should say that the APC by then was SLPP.

Siaka Stevens handed over power to Momoh in 1985. Momoh was a military man and a Member of Parliament by then. Because the military was always staging coups we thought it was a good idea to hand power to a military man to avoid bloodshed. Momoh had good intentions but he did not get the total support of the populace. Momoh came with the Green Revolution idea. When the project failed in its first year he openly said it. Strangely, people say that Momoh said that he had failed the country. Momoh was only referring to the Green Revolution.

As an honest man he was brave to say the truth. When Momoh saw that the economy was not growing, he accepted IMF conditionalities for aid. At the time he was overthrown rice and fuel were on the way to the country. IMF officials were also in town. The soldiers who left their duties at the war-front to come and overthrow the Government spoke about nepotism and tribalism in their speeches. By the time the soldiers were leaving office those junior officers had promoted themselves to Generals. Those that were living in zinc houses built mansions before handing over power. They later asked for amnesty. Whilst they were stealing properties from APC politicians, they were building houses and keeping money for themselves.

Let’s go back to Momoh. In 1991 J. S. Momoh signed a new constitution. The constitution was drawn by the APC. The constitution came into operation in 1992. Momoh like Gorbachev saw that one-party rule was no longer fashionable. Without anybody putting pressure on him Momoh bowed down to democracy. We as a party welcome the constitution made by Momoh. We appeal to our brothers in the SLPP to hold this constitution. Momoh urged for elections. Many political parties registered including the SLPP, PDP, and of course APC. If credit is to be given to anybody for democracy that credit should go to Momoh.

I want to say if we have two main bridges in the country for the flow of goods it is the work of the APC. The road from Kenema to Bo was constructed by the APC. We started the Bumbuna hydroelectric project.. We have a School of Hygiene. The APC brought development to the country.

Why did the rebel war start? Perhaps our brothers in the SLPP will answer that question. At the outbreak of the war most of the fighters were children of the SLPP. People say that the rebel war came about because of APC’s mismanagement. I want to ask a question- SLPP is in power with mismanagement and misrule. Can we say that the APC should go to the bush and start a rebel war? The constitution is been violated by the SLPP. I can cite so many examples of this.

As a party we describe the RUF war as a national tragedy. We hope and pray that it never happens again. How do we ensure that there will be no more war in the country? We need good governance. We should expose ourselves. We should guide the press. We should not interfere with the judiciary. We should ensure that parliament does it work without interference by the executive.

All the arms of government, we submit as a party, must enjoy independence. No particular arm of government should overrule the other. It was our view that tribalism is the root cause of the war. The NPRC staged a coup, which is treasonable. Unfortunately, so many of our brothers were the key players in the illegal and notorious junta. And more unfortunately, most of the NPRC functionaries are today in the SLPP government. Governance under the NPRC was a disaster. Civilians in very high places gave advice to the junta to seize properties from other citizens.

The SLPP Government pitched the Kamajor militia against the Sierra Leone Army. Through that unfortunate decision we lost our democracy. The AFRC staged a coup. Not surprisingly the AFRC was removed by foreign troops. We hold as a party that a military junta should be removed by peaceful means. The military intervention caused serious problems for the poor civilians. On the 2nd of June 1997 no less than 80 people lost their lives in the fight between foreign forces and the junta.

After the AFRC was overthrown the present President was reinstated. As a political party we are all under the Government although we were been strangled. The last elections were run in a very poor way. Democracy was not practiced. Local government has still not been put in place. This Government is trying to bring another rebel war by delaying democracy. Everything is bungled up. America even spoke about it.

In conclusion, because of time, I want to ask few questions. President Momoh was accused of loving his tribe. He promoted Ekutay his tribal group. Is it wrong then for Sir Abert to promote his mende group, I would say yes. In 1967 The head of the Civil Service was a Mende. The head of the army was a Mende. Is it not wrong? We want to give equal opportunity to all. I want to say that all the bad things were caused by the SLPP. I want to say politics in Sierra Leone is SLPP/ APC. May be we should ask: “the egg and chicken which is older”.

At the formal opening of this hearing a statement read by our honourable leader said that the APC was ready to forgive everybody who ganged to fight the party. Our brothers in the SLPP, we have a new aim under the leadership of Ernest Bai Kororma. We are against military intervention, and we beg our brothers to respect the constitution.

Commissioner Schabas – I thank you very much for coming to testify at this Commission. We appreciate your coming. I want to ask my colleagues to ask you questions. But before that I would like to ask you a question. Do you have anything to say about the laws that guided the TRC. Do you have any proposals to make to the TRC?

Victor Foh – I want to thank the Commission for asking me that question. (He presents the recommendation).

Commissioner Marcus-Jones – I thank you for coming and honoring our invitation. I just have one question for you. You know the TRC is mandated to consider the antecedents of the war, what happened before and what went wrong. Looking at the submission I am rightly to conclude that you want us women and men to be assured that your coat had been changed, and the current APC party is a new party. Am I wrong to conclude that APC could not have been all that democratic, that there were things done which could not have been all that good to Sierra Leone? That is my question.

Victor Foh – I thank Madam Commissioner for this fine question. You have rightly quoted from what our new leader Ernest Koroma said. He did say that the APC is here to forgive and forget. We do accept that within the APC Government so many things went wrong between 1968 to 1978 and 1978 – 1991. A whole lot of issues were mentioned that was wrong. This is why our leader has said that we are willing to forget and forgive.

Commissioner Marcus-Jones – I thank you

Commissioner Jow - Thank you for the submission. As Commissioner Marcus Jones said, the TRC, mandated to investigate the rebel war, will look back into the things of the past government, may be as far back as during independence. You spoke about the good things that the APC did i.e. building good houses- the National Stadium, Youyi Building, and the construction of Congo Cross Bridge. What was fundamental freedom like in Sierra Leone the under Siaka Stevens? For instance, it was alleged, that the APC mishandled students during the 1977 strikes. Can you say something about the expulsion of students and lecturers, and the ban on Students Union Government? Some people believe that all these things contributed to the formation of the RUF. I would like you to clarify this area.

Victor Foh – It is a fine question. Under the APC a lot of things went wrong. I have not only spoken about the good side but also about the bad side. Reflecting on the 1977 students strike, I would say that the party did wrong. Many people who came into the party acted over-zealously. When government is in the hands of the APC, and things go wrong they will say it was a party. We will not deny it. As I have said in our submission, we are sorry. We have now changed our attitude. On the question of expulsion of students, government established a Commission of inquiry. When government entrusts power into the hands of people and at the end of the day there is a problem the government will be blamed. Fourah Bay College has a government of its own. The institution is independent. A letter was sent to us to expel those students. We are sorry. We did not see the rationale why these students went to Libya and form a group to kill their own people. I know that the students who were expelled from college are the strong backbone of the RUF. We are sorry and ask the people of Sierra Leone to forgive us. We are asking the present government to learn a lesson from the APC. The thing that annoys me most is that those that were in the APC Government making decisions are now in the SLPP government.

Commissioner Jow - You spoke about the four arms of government, you described the media as the watchdog of the country. Can you tell us what the relationship was like between the media and the executive of the APC?

Victor Foh – This is another good question. I want to thank you in brief. The relationship was not cordial. I will tell you what happened. The SLPP did not allow the APC to enjoy the fruits of the elections. We won the election, but at the time the APC was underprivileged. They were uneducated. The press was against the APC. Most of the editors were strong SLPP supporters. We had the mandate of the people to rule for 5 years, but the SLPP did not want us to govern. Whilst the leader of the SLPP was a lawyer, the leader of the APC was a unionist. The APC’s relationship with the press was not cordial. We tried to mend relations with the press but I think it was a bit late.

Commissioner Kamara - Thank you for giving us a lot of information that will help us in our report. I will like to go to the statement you have made. You mentioned the 1967 election. Am I correct in the recording that the results were APC 32 SLPP 28 and the Independent 4?

Victor Foh - Yes

Commissioner Kamara – You said that the Paramount Chiefs should not be involved in politics?

Victor Foh - Yes

Commissioner Kamara – What did your party do in the 24 years that it ruled to address that issue. You said the Paramount Chiefs were not supposed to take party in politics.

Victor Foh – Our attempt to do that went through heavy storm. Sierra Leone shares boundary with Guinea and Liberia. In Guinea they have no Paramount Chiefs. In Liberia government appoints Paramount Chiefs not like Sierra Leone were the people elect their Paramount Chiefs. What we did was to form a group to address that issue, because we were trying to gain support from the populace. We feel that everybody in the country should have one vote.

The constitution in section 72: 1-5, makes the position of the Paramount Chief an entrenched law. This institution is a political landmine. 95% of the populace in the provinces is illiterate. Those people are answerable to the Paramount Chief. They take orders from him. Anything the Chief tells them is final. That was why we found it very difficult to delve into that issue.

Commissioner Kamara – So you are saying that it was because you wanted to gain favor from Paramount Chiefs that was why you left them to take powers into their own hands.

Victor Foh - We started sensing that the Paramount Chiefs being in politics was wrong. But we did not have the necessary support of the people to do anything.

Commissioner Kamara – Another issue is development. Why did the APC in the early years of its rule abandon all the plantations that were established in the country by the SLPP?

Victor Foh – I thank the commissioner for this question. While I was preparing to read my submission I saw the posters on the wall. The posters talk about truth. I will speak the truth and nothing but the truth. I will say it truthfully how the APC abandoned the plantation. My father was a Plantation Manager. Therefore, when the SLPMB was dissolved I suffered. The staff of the SLPMB was busy selling cocoa and putting the money was into SLPP coffers. The Beoku Betts Commission can answer most of these questions for you. The leader of the SLPP was involved. SLPMB was created for SLPP sympathizers. During those days APC workers were sacked. Supporters of the SLPP were given promotions even when they were not educated. The SLPP secured a large space of land from my maternal part. They did that because of politics. The Beoku Betts commission can give an answer to the question of SLPMB. If democracy should prevail, politics should not continue to infiltrate commissions like these. It will result to the same thing.

Commissioner Kamara – I will limit myself to only one question. You said that the APC had done a lot and you have apologized. If the leader the APC was accused of being a dictator, what options other than taking up arms do you think these organizations had?

Victor Foh – The mandate of the TRC is to seek the truth and grant forgiveness. We all have made mistakes. We have also made strides for the country. We have apologized for our mistakes. What will civil societies do to remove a dictatorship? Our understanding of civil society is that political parties form the bulk of it. Many of the politicians come onboard when election is on the verge. politics in Sierra Leone is APC, SLPP but during the time of the election we have 15 to 18 parties all fighting to be opposition. All these groups have politicians in them. All these social groups are not truthful they concentrate on power and politics.

Everybody in civil society in this country is a politicians. We have about 1,000 NGOs registered in a small country like this. All of them belong to the SLPP. The government funded most of their projects. When civil society stands for the truth it will be respected.

Commissioner Torto – Thank you for coming. In addition to the submission you made, you have defended some of these issues. My question is limited to the verbal presentation. You will forgive me if I ask you questions from your submissions. In your verbal presentation you mentioned some sensitive issues. You said for instance, that cannibalism started in the SLPP government. Do you know of any case where the SLPP was tried for cannibalism?

Victor Foh – I will give you a host of instances of cannibalism. I have said earlier that I am the Chairrman of the APC for the Southern Region. I was born in Jimmy Bargbo and I have worked in eight districts in the country. There were times in Kenema when people went to bed before 10: 00’ clock. They would otherwise be captured for human sacrifice. It is unfortunate that I don’t have a right to call people to come and testify. If you go to Congabay, ask for one human Baboon. There is evidence before this Commission that the Kamajors were involved in cannibalism. I will not say that they are not my people. The country means a lot to me. But I will say that they were eating people. I do not want to go further.

Commissioner Torto – But there is no particular case to show that anyone was held.

Victor Foh – If we are talking about court cases, in the interest of truth and reconciliation many people will not be here. I have made an honest statement and I stand by it.

Break

Commissioner Schabas – Welcome to the afternoon session. You are still under oath and we are going to continue. Let me ask my colleagues if they have any questions for you.

Commissioner Torto – The next question is about handing power from late Siaka Stevens to his successor, Momoh. You stated in your paper that the army should not be involved in politics. Why then was power handed to a military man Momoh, who was commander of the military force?

Victor Foh – What I am going to say is the truth because I am under oath. Some of the statements I made here are personal. The APC has answered that question in our submission. We were under constant threat by the soldiers. I have said that mistakes were made. And I must add that those mistakes were more pronounced during the one party reign. And I have also said that most of the dictators who were in the APC are today in the SLPP government. The mistakes were joint mistakes of the APC and the SLPP.

Let me now come to the question of why power was handed to Momoh. Since I cannot read the mind of the late Siaka Stevens I will give my personal views. I am making this submission on behalf of the APC. President Momoh was commanding officer of the armed forces and he was in parliament. After the first ten years when the multi-party started Siaka Stevens’ rule had problems with the military that had wanted to take power. Between the years 1968 – 1978 the soldiers were constantly trying to overthrow the Government. There was so much violence in the country at the time.

It was perhaps against this background that Siaka Stevens thought it fit that power should be handed over to Momoh. President Momoh was quiet and never took part in coup. He was a content man in my opinion. That was why power was handed over to him. It was a God sent power. I don’t really think that power was given to Momoh because of tribal reasons. It was because of the military threats.

Commissioner Torto – You talked about political prostitutes in your submission, Dr. Sama Banya, S.B. Marah etc. You said they are the root causes of some of the problems we have in this country. They were all members of the APC. I should say that they all contributed to destroy this country.

Victor Foh – there is a Krio adage that says: there is no bad bush to throw away a naughty child”. (bush nor dae for truway bad pikin). We brought one party and called people to come and develop the party. Salia Jusu Sheriff became the first Vice President. M.S. Mustapha, an SLPP man also came on board. SLPP brought in its people to spoil the country. If we had dismissed them, what would have happened? We thought that if they were with us we could change them.

Commissioner Torto – If those people come back to the APC will you accept them?

Victor Foh – if I were an autocrat not a democrat, and if as a leader of the APC, I am asked to clean this country and to let democracy prevail, the people listed in Page 30 who are chameleons will have nothing to do with politics in this country for the interest of development and peace.

Commissioner Humper – We thank you for spending this time with us. I have a lot of questions to ask but due to limited time, I will not say much. I need short answers please. It is part of the mandate of the TRC to uncover past human rights violations. Based on what you’ve said, there were serious violations of human rights during the reigns of APC. Would you affirm that to err is human?

Victor Foh – Time is not in our favour, I want to answer this question but not in two words- a Yes or No answer. When our brothers took over power from the British they were committed human violations. Our country’s first leader committed the worst violations. They banished Paramount Chiefs who were not in favour of them. Siaka Stevens was arrested. Mafantha prison was built for APC supporters. The Public Order Act of 1965 silenced the press. We did not know about human rights. The APC committed human rights violations when it came to power. This is my answer.

Commissioner Humper – I just want to ask you one question. Which year in the history of Sierra Leone would you describe as the darkest chapter?

Victor Foh – I believe it is the period from 21st of March 1991 when the rebels struck at Bomaru in Kailahun District to 1st January 2002, when the war was officially ended.

Commissioner Humper – I thank you very much

Leader of Evidence - I am not going to ask you any question. Would you like to send us some information on issues that are not covered in the written submission? One of them is the issue of violence, the issue of regionalization and how it needs to change, and suggestions on how to improve on democracy. There are also the issue of how to improve parliament, the abuse and misuse of the office of the ombudsman, and the Justice Cross Commission. There have also been allegations that the SLPP gave support to the rebels to remove the APC. It has also been alleged that the SLPP were behind the NPRC to remove the APC from power.

Victor Foh – We respect the Commission. We will do our best to give you answers to these issues.

Commissioner Schabas - Have you any questions to ask?

Victor Foh – I have circulated our recommendations. To conclude I want to repeat what our leader said in his statement at the opening ceremony of the hearings. The APC as a political party in the country was the first to suffer in the hands of the rebel. We are ready to forgive all those who took up arms against the APC. We pray that there is no reoccurrence of the past. We also pray for everlasting peace in the country. I thank you sirs.

Commissioner Schabas – I want to thank you too.