By Abraham John

In my last piece, I underscored the point that the Late President Kabbah was diverse in the appointment of his cabinet ministers. On a number of occasions, he appointed non SLPP members into his cabinet. These included the Late Hafsatu Kabba (a well known APC member), Mr. Solomon Berewa, who later became Vice President and Mr. Abu Koroma (Father of the former First Lady, Mrs. Sia Koroma).

President Kabbah promoted Solomon in his government. He first appointed him as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He subsequently removed Dr. Albert Joe Demby (then Vice President) and replaced him with Solomon Berewa as his running mate and later became the Vice President of Sierra Leone.

President Kabbah reposed a deep trust and confidence in V.P Solomon Berewa. True to form, VP Berewa was a shrewd and willy lawyer. He led Sierra Leone’s delegation to Lome for deliberations and signing of the Lome Peace Accord. He demonstrated his tact in ensuring that Foday Sankoh and his RUF rebels and other factions did not have blanket amnesty for the atrocious human rights violations and war crimes. In this regard, the disclaimer on blanket amnesty was put under the veneer of International Law and International Humanitarian Law. This laid the basis for prosecution of those most responsible for war crimes and heinous human rights violations.

President Kabbah had very good cabinet ministers. However, many viewed themselves as technocrats and not mainstream politicians. This category of ministers had limited political base and grassroot connection. As a result, their engagements with party members was limited and they were regarded as “greedy” and insensitive to the plight of the suffering party members.

# To be continued#