NEWS > Commentaries Clearing The SLPP Mess In Sierra Leone J.J.Saffa And I.B.Kargbo Who is Right Part 1 Posted by on Sep 5, 2008, 16:33

Tejan Kabbah....slippery customer

The debate on the UN Radio for the past days over the payment of Mohammed Wanza was interesting, educative and very informative especially when the government spokesman, who happens to be the Minister of Information and Communication; Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo laid bare the naked truth for public consumption. It was on Wednesday 3^rd August, 2008 when the minister who was a closed friend of the then President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah brought to light how Mohammed Kamal Wanza was maltreated by his friend ex-president Kabbah. It was the kind of treatment that frustrated the former businessman that made him to abandon this country for another, first to protect and secure his life and second to recuperate himself from the shock of injustice.

Sadly, some sections of the media with less or no idea about how the injustice took place that ended up in the ECOWAS court seemed to have taken up a case, which they cannot pursue further because of lack of adequate knowledge and basis for argument. However, the Minister of Information and Communication made tremendous effort to give what could be seen as an unbiased explanation to the public.On the part of the funny-looking Secretary General of the SLPP, Mr. Jusu Jacob Saffa, alias J.J.Blood his position was very clear, as his focus was to defend his party against all odds, whatever it may cost him to do he was and still prepared to do for that was the oath he took to defend it at all times and be blind to the truth.

Now that the debate to pay or not to pay is intensifying, there is every need for the public to get the other side of the story after listening to both sides of the government and the opposition. The other side in this case is the independent or what others would call neutral. Mohammed Kamal Wanza and ex-president Kabbah met way back in 1996 during the two weeks intensive campaign for the Presidential re-run elections. Ex-president Kabbah in the company of the late S.B.Marah and Teacher Lagawo went to Mr. Wanza’s residence at Hill Station, where the latter was residing in one of the OAU Villas. The purpose of their visit was to request financial assistance for the Presidential re-run as Karefa Smart, Abass Bundu and the late Thaimu Bangura were giving tough time to the SLPP and seeing that victory was very close to the SLPP, Kabbah needed money to help him in his course and also to appease the military who had transformed themselves into sobels attacking vehicles and amputating innocent victims together with the RUF rebels. At the residence of Mohammed Wanza, another friend was present by the name of Kemoh Fadika, alias Waju Waju who also helped to smooth-talk Mr. Wanza to part with his money. While the group was there, they were served with drinks and Ahmad Tejan Kabbah requested for coco-cola. The sum of Twenty Five Million Leones (Le 25,000,000 was properly packed in cartoons by Kemoh Fadika and some of the maids working at Wanza’s residence. A complimentary card was left behind by Kabbah, and as I pen down this piece, evidence of this card is still available.

During the discussion, while the money was being packed Mr. Wanza explained about the contract he was awarded by the NPRC government which payment was still pending. Assurances were given that if the prediction about the re-run is right Mr. Wanza should rest assured that he has met a friend and a brother and that he was going to be paid in full.SLPP won the election and telephone calls were made congratulating each other. After the swearing in ceremony of ex-president Kabbah instruction was giving to the Ministry of Finance that payment should be made to Mr. Wanza and the sum Five Hundred Thousand Dollars was paid in addition to what the NPRC had already made. Their friendship at the initial stage was one that could be described as enviable, until when a business partner to Dr. Fadlu Deen came in by the name of J.S.Franklyn, a British Citizen who convinced the newly elected president that the cost of the boat was very expensive and could provide him one that is less costly  than the amount Mr. Wanza had requested for, which was Five Million Dollars as contained in the agreement signed between the NPRC and supplier of the boat to which Mr. Wanza was representing in Sierra Leone.

During the reign of ex-president Kabbah, Mr. J.S.Franklyn bagged lots of contracts because of his relationship with Dr. Fadlu Deen who was and is still a close friend and brother of the ex-president. It became an insurmountable task for Mohammed Wanza to get his money including other payments of other contracts he had performed, such as supplying drugs to the military and other government institutions. Ex-president Kabbah instead issued out a press release stating his government’s position on the matter of payments to Mohammed Wanza and further claimed that during the tenure of the NPRC, Mr. Wanza made over Le17 Billion and was not paying income tax to government. As a result of that, he was instituting an investigation into all contracts awarded to him and must fulfill his income tax obligations to the state. Little did he know that Mr. Wanza was not a fly-by-night businessman and had paid every penny due the state as tax. When he failed to trap him with the income tax ploy he issued out a press release against Mr. Wanza and the late J.S.Momoh at the time the late president put in a request for his end-of-service benefit. This article is not aimed at dressing or painting a nice picture about Mohammed Wanza but to show the extent of ex-president Kabbah’s inhumanity and hatred for people like Mohammed Wanza. One characteristic in ex-president Kabbah is that he hates to see others progress, and there are several examples to justify this assertion even within his Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP). Take the case of Alhaji Kanja Sesay, the late Chief Sam Hinga Norman and quite recently Solomon Berewa.

When the press picked up the story of injustice meted out on Mohammed Wanza, ex-president Kabbah became annoyed and claimed that Mr. Wanza had paid the local media to attack him. He called on the former vice President, Mr. Albert Joe Demby to investigate Mr. Wanza’s claim. After the investigation, the Joe Demby committee in its recommendation stated clearly that all Mr. Wanza’s contracts were legal and genuine including the Naval Patrol Boat, therefore he should be paid. Kabbah again became annoyed and claimed that former vice President Joe Demby had received money from Mr. Wanza.

When the late Mrs. Patricia Kabbah, wife of ex-President Kabbah learnt about it, she like other genuine and sincere wives advised her husband to pay. The husband became annoyed and said “So Wanza had finally entered my bedroom” From this stage Kabbah had been seeking ways to end Mr. Wanza’s livelihood on planet earth.

He requested Parliament under the Speakership of Justice Edmond Cowan to investigate the matter with Hon. Edward Turay as Chairman of the Defence Committee. The committee after thoroughly checking all documents including contracts and agreements found out that Mr. Wanza was right and subsequently recommended that he should be paid. Kabbah again said no! with the assumption that the committee had received bribe from Mr. Wanza.

Seeing all these developments, Mr Wanza was advised by a very senior member of the Kabbah administration to leave the country as he had suspected that ex-president Kabbah was about to humiliate him further. He adhered to the advice and left for Banjul. It was while in Banjul, The Gambia the AFRC overthrow the SLPP government in 1997, Mr. Wanza was scapgotized by Kabbah who claimed that the Johnny Paul Koroma’s coup was sponsored by the wicked Mohammed Wanza because he had refused to pay him money that does not belong to him. The influx of Sierra Leoneans to Banjul, The Gambia in 1997 and the perpetual visits of these people to the hotel Mr. Wanza was residing to ask for financial assistance forced him to leave for Lebanon-Beirut where he stayed until the AFRC was kicked out from State House.

Mr. Wanza, after the restoration of the Kabbah SLPP administration requested the World Bank/IMF to look into the matter. Before this time ex-President Kabbah had already withdrew Wanza’s citizenship and announced his deportation together with other foreign nationals, specifically Lebanese who were residing in the country on the allegation that they were collaborators of the AFRC junta regime. Mr. Wanza was already in Beirut-Lebanon when he learnt that he had been deported for what the government alleged to be his collaboration with Johnny Paul and others. Also Kabbah alleged that, Mr. Wanza had received payment for the boat from the illegal junta regime of Johnny Paul Koroma made to him through the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank.

Assuming that payment was made by the illegal government as the Kabbah administration claimed for a genuine contract, the question is from the legal point of view is such payment legal and does it form part of any evidence to be adduced in court?

On receipt of the complain from Mr. Wanza, the World Bank/IMF advised the government to pay stating that since the contract was genuine there is no way the government should not honour it. In response to the World Bank/IMF’s advice, ex-President Kabbah instructed Mr. Wellington, who was acting Financial Secretary to write the World Bank/IMF and informed them that his government was not going to pay as the matter was being investigated. (See Monday edition for more details)