APC Leader accuses SLPP Of Damaging The Nation’s Reputation

By Saran Kabba (Parliamentary Reporter)

Leader of the All People’s Congress (APC) Party in Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, lashed out at the current regime.

Addressing the monthly Parliamentary Presser held at the APC headquarters in Freetown, Hon. Kargbo said, the Cocaine saga is the worst reputational damage that has happened to Sierra Leone since independence.

The 29th January 2025 press conference was themed “The Prevailing issues on Drugs and the Bill entitled “The Counter Terrorism Act”.

He noted that this drug saga is an embarrassment to the country, and recalled being mad at a Gambian MP, while they were debating at the ECOWAS Parliament, who claimed that Sierra Leone is the trafficking point for distributing Kush in the sub region.

Always glued on defending the image of the country, he said: “I told him no and that he should not involve Sierra Leone with anything drugs, as Sierra Leone is known for its fine religious practices, which debar illicit use of drug.”

He maintained: “It is an embarrassment to us the citizens, the Members of Parliament, the Presidency, and the entire nation. We need to clean up our reputation or else more Sierra Leoneans will have problems wherever they are going.”

“The worse of the matter is a vehicle belonging to the Sierra Leone Embassy in Guinea was caught with a drug, meaning no vehicle belonging to any Embassy will be exempted from suspicion. No diplomatic vehicle can travel without documentation signed and stamped from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,” said the APC Leader in the House.

He further maintained that as an opposition, they are demanding that the government do the needful and ensure that they fight hard to clean the already damaged reputation of the country.

On the Counter Terrorism Act, he maintained that he shared the same concern as Hon. Osman Timbo, adding that the definition of the Anti-Terrorism Act forms an integral part of the Bill, but noted the clause that excludes Sierra Leoneans who gather to advocate, protest, get a dissenting voice do not form a terrorist act as it was not included in the Bill that was taken to Parliament.

He said “we had to ensure the bill is clearly defined in a bid to prevent abuse of power”.

“If the Government is to take the African model, they should ensure that they include the exemption, which does not constitute a terrorist act,’’ said Hon. Kargbo.

He affirmed that as an opposition, they are going to make sure they sanitize the Bill.

“We wanted to demonstrate to them that we are not against the fight against terrorism, but we do not want anyone to use the fight against terrorism to the fight against a political party. We have seen where the APC has been referred to as a terrorist group; therefore, we do not want them to misuse any clause to fight a political party.’’