Why President Bio Should Correct The Wrongs In Biriwa Chiefdom
By: Lansana Fofanah.
The current political hullabaloo in Biriwa Chiefdom should be a cause for concern for His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio.
Reason being, the long-standing political impasse between one of the prominent tribes in Sierra Leone, the Mandingos and the Limbas who continue to suppress, marginalize and victimize their neighbors in Biriwa Chiefdom, Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone must not be swept under the carpet.
The Limbas continue to describe Mandingos as settlers in Biriwa despite the well-known and historically established fact that every Sierra Leonean migrated from one West African country to settle here and the Limbas are no exception.
The Limbas in Biriwa have branded the once peaceful Chiefdom as Biriwa Limba Chiefdom contrary to the Biriwa Chiefdom that exists in our history books. There is nothing like Biriwa Limba Chiefdom in this country. There is only Biriwa Chiefdom.
They have not only distorted the existing facts, but also set a bad and vexatious precedent to deter any tribe from obtaining the chieftaincy title.
Since 1952, both the Madingos and the Limbas have been contesting the seat of Paramount Chieftaincy in Biriwa.
On fair grounds, the Mandingos have the numbers and affluence to win any electable position in Biriwa. They are the highest local tax payers in the chiefdom as well.
This was manifested in 2006 when PC Dr Madesiray Sheriff won the highly contested election that was conducted by the National Electoral Commission after the Limbas pulled out of the race at the eleventh hour.
PC Dr. Sheriff was later sworn in as the elected Paramount Chief of Biriwa Chiefdom and acted in that capacity until 2008 when eventually the APC took over governance from the SLPP.
Between February and March of 2011, the Sierra Leone Police in Makeni became the tool used by the APC to oppress and suppress the unconstitutionally removed PC Dr. Sheriff as he was detained on several occasions in Makeni on the orders of the then Provisional Secretary and Local Government Minister.
PC Dr Sheriff was to be later frog marched to Freetown where again, he was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for investigation.
After days at the CID, he was later arraigned before a Magistrate in Court 2 on trumped up charges.
It became clear that the APC led government degenerated the whole situation to tribalism as they referred to the PC as Mandingo Chief with no authority to rule the Limbas.
The act of the former president Ernest Bai Koroma to go against the advice of his own Attorney General & Minister of Justice Abdul Serry-Kamal, to dethrone Chief Dr. Sheriff, seize his staff and lock him up at Pademba Road and brought his cousin Salifu Conteh and made him a PC without any election, serves as a daylight robbery and blatant disregard for traditional principles enshrined in our 1991 constitution and the Local Government Act.
For some stakeholders, the plight of the Mandingos in Biriwa does not seem to attract government attention as nothing seems to be done to address the politicallly-charged environment.
This has left the Mandingos vulnerable in the Chiefdom.
It is beyond any iota of doubt that the Mandingos in Biriwa chiefdom are the largest supporting tribe of the SLPP in the whole of Biriwa Chiefdom and to a large extent Bombali district. It is expected that such vital statistics is enough for President Bio to pay attention to their woes and any failure on his part to correct this blatant injustice will be deemed a betrayal of their allegiance and trust in his leadership.
To show the illegitimacy of PC Salifu Conteh, in 2023, his colleague MPs in Bombali voted against his candidacy for PC MP for Bombali District since he is not thought to be the openly elected PC in Biriwa Chiefdom but an imposed one.
The clarion call for a Mandingo Chiefdom in Biriwa came at the right time as the Local Government Ministry is reviewing and considering the de-amalgation of some chiefdoms across the country.
The current political upheaval between the two tribes should serve as a strong case for the de-amalgamation of the Chiefdom where a separate Chiefdom for the Mandingos will be established.
This will not only ensure peaceful coexistence, but will bring an end to the long-standing discord in Biriwa Chiefdom and restore the dignity of the Mandingos.
We hope that, the National President of the Mandingo Union in Sierra Leone, Alhaji Dr Kanja Sesay (Mansa) and his national executive will pursue this matter to its logical conclusion.
Alhaji Dr Kanja Sesay cannot afford to lose sight of the fact that, his people in Biriwa Chiefdom, are being treated like second-class citizens in a country where we have had a Mandingo President in the person of Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. His legacy must be protected by Dr. Kanja Sesay and his team. Thank you very much!
