By Saidu Kaye Sesay, PV Special Correspondent, London, UK.
On the 3rd of January, last, we had a date with President Ernest Koroma at State House. It was a state dinner held in honour of “home comers”, as the President preferred to euphemise the spiteful tag of “jay cees”, a local parlance for holiday makers from abroad. At the dinner, His Excellency the President strenuously urged Sierra Leoneans to either return home or pay those regular visits. And as I work on this article, his motivated words, quoted from an author, anon, still echoes in my mind. The unnamed author, according to HE was residing abroad, but always visiting his home in Africa. The author’s friends, with a grim image of Africa, would ask him, why are you always going to that place? He would reply thus: “My mother is my mother, even if she is sick”.
Sierra Leone is our sick mum, going through the process of healing. Her children are of different shades and characters. There are the comedians who strut their stuff in semi nudity on the streets of the cities, the publicity convoys that vamp deafening music, the traders who hawk their commodities in the middle of the streets, the drivers who hoot their horns to irritating crescendos, etc. We go on holidays for reasons hinging on reflections, longing for moments of sobriety, but yet accommodate this “madness“. And in the midst of all this chaos, there are permanent residents who yearn for serenity. Should we begrudge them?
Okay, we are “Jay Cees”, and we will not apologise for our way of life, as Obama will say. The returnees are ready to accommodate their folks, but with respect for each and other’s values. This brings me to the stand off between Shekito and Elizabeth Lavallie. I do not hold a brief for Shekito’s actions, because I am not privy to the genesis of the palaver. But I would say that from what I have been reading, thanks to the information superhighway, I am impressed with the openness with which he has reacted to his critics. Whilst some want to use sentiments and raw power to settle the dispute, he has, through letters tried to reach out to government functionaries and the general public to explain his own side of the story. While the likes of Hon. Bernadette Lahai, want to use parliamentary privileges to stifle a young man, the latter has refused to use his executive connections.
Each part he has trodden leads to legality. His boss, His Excellency the President, I have noted, has maintained a dignified silence , in order to, I suspect, allow the rule of law to prevail. And it is noteworthy to point out that cowards, including that spent force of an Inspector General of police, Brima Acha Kamara, have decided to attack Shekito’s premises and people, each time the young man is away on state assignments (internal and external). What is their motive? Are they provoking executive reactions? Or is it merely to satisfy some political correctness, devoid of fair play? Elizabeth Lavallie is a big name, but that certainly does not guarantee her advantages that would only frustrate her weaker compatriots.
Shekito’s years of sojourn in the UK, have, if not anything, taught him about the virtues of law and order, as opposed to the thug life some people are accustomed to. And because his adopted lifestyle is incompatible with some of us, does not mean we should bring him down. Because he exercises his own set of values which foils ours, does not warrant him to be vilified.
Questions abound. When did the police have the added function of demolishing structures? When they went to demolish the dubbed “Berlin Walls”, were they in the company of land officials? Are they not meant to merely provide security for land officials in exercise of those duties?... And what happened to the suspects Shekito turned in to the Congo Cross police station? Is it true that they have been released, and if so on whose orders? Was Shekito and his wife consulted to ascertain whether they wanted to drop or press charges? What about the victims of GBH, not to mention damages to the young man‘s residence?...So much for this “force for good”, which continues to scupper vital investigations. The military were spot on in appologising to Elizabeth Lavallie, for the involvement of their personnel, so should the police to Shekito and his family.
Critics have commented variedly to this incident. One thing most have failed to mention is, how to resolve it so that such an ugly scenario will never rear its head again. It cannot be solved by merely pushing it under the carpet, as Acha would want us to believe. The Lands ministry, SALHOC officials and the feuding parties should be brought together to address it. The Lands Minister, Captain Benji Davies owes the people his promise of computerising and reclaiming state lands. This incident should serve as a test case. The people want to know if residents on the other side had the right to create an access road through Villa 33, or whether Shekito had the legitimacy to build a fence. When the late president built those villas, were there provisions for the level of squatters and land grabbers that is present day evident?. And, as it is has been pointed elsewhere, because people have illegally occupied and misused properties for donkey years, does not give them legitimacy nor the privilege to continue giving the country it’s sore sights.
SALHOC on the other hand have remained painfully mute over the incident. Is it that they told Shekito one thing, and Elizabeth Lavallie, a powerful parliamentary figure, something else. Typical!
Shekito needs justice, so does Elizabeth Lavallie. This can only be achieved by encouraging both parties to put their cards on the table. If that fails, then, we should turn to the courts, to determine who was wrong or right. These are test cases for the independence of the judiciary as well. The more the case takes a political settlement, the more it becomes ugly. Already Shekito is been painted as a monster by his immediate neighbours, a clear inconvenience for anyone that seeks solace. His life will never be the same again in those environs. Knowing the Sierra Leonean youths as we do, he will be taunted everyday. And I won’t say I blame them. Acha has set the stage for them. Shekito’s wife, Rose, an alien in our midst, who is not used to our “gbosegbose” is definitely traumatised by now. Is this the way to settle disputes.
I will enjoin Shekito not to allow himself to be dragged into the paths of hoodlums, but rather pursue his chosen part of legality. He should leave no stone unturned as he seeks justice. One of his target should be Acha, who by the way ought to be saying good bye to that post by now, because, he is simply put, hopeless. (And I do not say this lightly). Under his watchful eyes, a cocaine plane landed from “space”, a British citizen was brutally murdered recently, while another rich and powerful assembled thugs to cowardly attack a female journalist, Sylvia Blyden, and maybe, he is waiting for Shekito’s wife to be killed before he hands in his resignation, if he has that decency at all.
I wish Shekito well in pursuance of justice. And should he win, I will advise that next time he builds a fence, it should not be modelled on the Berlin Walls of bamboos, but an “Wusum Walls” made of rich concrete and steels. Because he knows too well, as our favourite poet, Robert Frost wrote, that “Good fences make good neighbours.”
Photo: Saidu Kaye Sesay, on a visit to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
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