April 20, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
In the opposition All Peoples Congress lawmakers hatched and executed plan to hold parliament hostage in preventing the tabling of the mid-term census instrument as a presidential proclamation, one dramatic incident that created a near death situation was the discharge of pepper spray by one Police officer that almost asphyxiated the Speaker of Parliament Dr. Abass Bundu. When the Speaker rankled into convulsive coughing, as a result of the Police stealthily discharging of the pepper spray very close to the Speaker, it arouses curiosity as to who ordered the discharge and what was the motive. This sparked the conspiracy theory that there are APC Police supporters who are always predisposed to sabotage in situation that pits the opposition and ruling party. The said Police officer was reportedly manhandled by his colleagues for creating the stir and suspicious conduct.
Over the unprecedented violence coupled with physical assaults that erupted among Honorable members of Parliament in connection to the laying of papers entitled “Census Order 2021” and the “Census Act 2002 (Act No. 14 of 2001)”, the Honorable speaker of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone Hon. Dr. Chernor Abass Bundu yesterday the 19th of April, condemned such violence behavior by members of main Opposition All People’s Congress (APC) Party,. He described it is an act of hooliganism and an affront to the house of Parliament.
Expressing his dismay in a presser over what he described as an unfortunate and dishonorable violence that happened at the Bintumani Conference Center, Dr. Abass Bundu emphasized that such behavior exhibited by the Main Opposition Party is never compatible with the dignity, honor and integrity of being a Member of Parliament.
“The behavior of APC Members of Parliament today is not compatible with the dignity, honor and integrity of being a Member of Parliament. Their behavior can only be described as a thoroughly dishonorable. We are a house that makes laws and therefore it is our first duty as Member of Parliament to obey the law because out of the three arms of government, Parliament takes the largest responsibility to make the laws of the land. Therefore, members of parliament cannot be seen by the public to be behaving in a manner that is contrary to the law itself we are making”, he said.
Honorable Dr. Abass Bundu continued that, he regretted the unfortunate behaviors that happened in Parliament adding that, such behavior is indefensible.
He said it is unwarranted, totally unnecessary and a complete affront to the dignity and honor of parliament.
Delving into the crux of the matter, Hon. Dr. Bundu referenced that the last time Parliament sat, the sitting was adjourned sine die. He said to reconvene a parliament that was adjourned sine die, he said the procedure is clearly laid out in Standing Order four (SO4) which requires consultations between him, the clerk, the leader of Government Business, and the leader of the Opposition in order to reconvene parliament.
He disclosed that for a parliament that is adjourned sine die, gives members the opportunity to travel while some will have to travel in the provinces and some will even travel abroad to attend to private matters. In such adjourned circumstances, the Speaker added that for Parliament to come back and sit requires twenty-one days’ notice.
However, Dr. Bundu further stated that yesterday’s reconvening of parliament never came from him as the Speaker of Parliament but rather from the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone H.E Maada Bio as enshrined in section 86 subsection (1) of Act No. 6 of the 1991 constitution.
He said it is constitutional provision that invests power in the president to convene parliament at any time to summon the meeting of parliament which was what the president did. He reaffirmed that the presidential proclamation done by president Bio was done within his constitutional ambit.
Having received the order from the president as mandated by law, Dr. Bundu said he immediately authorized the clerk of Parliament to convene the sitting of parliament.
“Unlike SO4 which requires a twenty-one day notice, section 86 (1) of the constitution don’t require the same notice at all”, he said. Hon. Dr. Bundu observed that the leader of the main Opposition Hon. Chernor Maju Bah misled himself, his party and the house of parliament by pegging his premise on (SO4) of which yesterday’s reconvening of parliament has nothing to do with (SO4) but rather under section 86 subsection 1 of the constitution.
He added that, the section (2) of the census Act of 2002 equally gives the president the power to direct the conduct of population and housing census of Sierra Leone and once that proclamation is being made by the president, he said such proclamation shall be tabled in the house of parliament.
Despite the unfortunate fisticuffs that erupted among members of Parliament, Hon. Abass Bundu also intimated that they have laid that proclamation in the house of parliament yesterday which was what Members of the main Opposition were trying to resist so that it will not be tabled in parliament. He added that the proclamation will become a law within twenty-one days however, he said Members of the Opposition still have the opportunity to nullified the aforesaid instrument not to become within the same twenty-one days by having the support of at least two-third of members of parliament.
“They have all the right to disrupt any process but not in a violent way. This constitution excuse violence or the threat of violence. There is no law that permits someone to use violence. So the action of the opposition was uncalled for and unwarranted and a complete affront to even themselves. I expected a lot more from the leadership of the opposition but they disappointed me. Because they know that they do not have the two-third of parliament that is the more reason they went into violent act today”, he concluded.
On his part, the leaders of the National Ground Coalition (NGC) Party Hon. Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella advised that, the leadership of parliament should have stood down parliament and engage the respective leadership for an amicable resolution of the aforementioned situation rather than resulting to a physical fisticuff among members of parliament.
He also condemned that act by affirming that, every bad precedent will definitely be used by a bad leader. He emphasized that the country’s democracy is threatened and appealed for due process to be followed, and debate among members of parliament be heard. He added that he will never support violence but also appealed for a due process to be followed at all times.
“The whole process was wrong today. Force will not solve our problems but will only lay bad precedent. I assure you the young people that somebody will use this bad procedure one day”, he said.
Responding to the Speaker, the Main Opposition the Leader of the All People’s Congress Party Hon. Chernor Madu Bah intimated that consultations was never made and nobody called them to a meeting with regards to the proclamation made by the president in relation to the census issue. He added that the rules are very clear noting that, the Standing Orders of Parliament give effect to the constitution and the rules and procedure most be followed.
“Nobody is saying that the president does not have the authority to call sittings of parliament. We agree that the constitution is supreme and we agree that the president has the power but the standing orders of parliament give effect to the constitution. The rules and procedures most be followed. They have failed to follow the rules and procedures so that is why we have tell them that we cannot allow to continue with the process”, said Hon. Bah.
He continued that the only way the issue can be resolved is for the ruling Sierra Leone People’ Party (SLPP) party to follow the law and then, engage in consultation. He furthered that he was never part of any consultation of which he said he was supposed to be part OF. He stressed that standing order forty-three (SO 43) is not contradicting the 1991 constitution but rather, giving efficacy to the constitution which gives the president the power to call an emergency sitting of parliament. He concluded that he only saw the Order Paper for yesterday’s sitting on social media which prompted them to be in attendance so that they could make their point known.
