By Robert Kondema Kargbo

The Deputy Minister of Sports, Kai Lawrence Mbayo aka KLM, has gone on social media with baseless allegations against the honourable Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, whose reputation has been without any blemish since he became the second gentle of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

Those who know Dr Juldeh Jalloh very well will testify that he is a man of high integrity and that he cannot stoop so low as to use his position to influence a legal case involving a disputed 20.28-carat diamond, which was allegedly stolen and sold in Koidu, Kono District.

First and foremost, by publicly accusing Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on an issue that was under police investigation, the Deputy Minister of Sports is not only undermining his boss, President Julius Maada Bio, but also disrespecting the President who appointed him. Instead of addressing these allegations through proper and legal channels, Mbayo’s decision to air them on social media shows that he lacks professionalism and respect for official government protocol.

To all intents and purposes, for the simple fact that Mbayo states in that video message that he has a vested interest in the diamond case indicates that he is on a mission to tarnish the reputation of the Vice President. But by trying to tarnish the reputation of Dr Juldeh Jalloh, Mbayo has shot himself in the leg. There are some ethical questions that needed to be asked here. When he faced the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments, did Mbayo tell the Members of Parliament that if approved he would still be involved in business activities while serving as a deputy minister? By his own admission, Mbayo is not the owner of the said diamond so why is he leaving his ministerial duties to get himself involved in police work and that of the judiciary?

As far as I know, Dr Juldeh Jalloh is a very decent man who has conducted himself well all these six years as Vice President and serving President Bio and the nation to the best of his abilities. He is neither a corrupt man nor a man who meddles in the work of his subordinates. It is only people like Kai Lawrence Mbayo who have made it their mission to tarnish his image with baseless allegations. Those who know the Vice President know that he is not a “bully” as claimed by Mbayo.

When Mbayo made those wild allegations on social media, many Sierra Leoneans criticized him for lack of evidence while others say he is mentally deranged. There are others who note that Mbayo should be very grateful that he is being appointed a Deputy Minister while those who fought for the SLPP are still not yet appointed.

In conclusion, I think Kai Lawrence Mbayo is not only on a mission to tarnish the reputation of the Vice President but to bring disunity within the SLPP Government so that members of the main opposition will be given enough ammunition to attack the government on corruption and other vices.