The return of Sam Sumana: what political capital for the APC?

By: Ibrahim Jalloh – (Jallomy) It was suppressed jubilation when the National Advisory Committee (NAC) of the main opposition APC party congregated in the North East Regional Headquarters of Makeni city to preside over the official return of Sam Sumana to the APC where some five years ago he was hounded out like a common criminal. The official endorsement on the return of Sam Sumana was predictable as previous events and actions dictated. Sam Sumana's ascendancy to the Pinnacle of power in the APC and subsequent political graduation to the Vice presidency of the state of Sierra Leone was dramatic and incredible. The explanations were many and varied but what was common place was the profiling that he was the money man and therefore the key financier of the APC campaign leading to the political victory of 2007. Upon becoming vice president and early in the journey of state governance, the working relationship between Sam Sumana and his boss, former president of Sierra Leone Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, suffered a catastrophic crash. It was both a protracted and lethal conflict. Sadly, the key operatives of the party watched and seemingly enjoyed the drama of conflict with callous detachment. Matters came to a head when Sam Sumana was brutally expelled from the APC party as member and later sacked as Vice President of the republic of Sierra Leone by the then president Koroma. It was a landmark sacking and one that was unprecedented. The foundation of democracy was shaken and all from within and without stood in awe and total disbelief. The reasons advanced for the expulsion from party and dismissal from the vice presidency were that he, Sam Sumana, lied about his religious inclination, faked his academic credentials and abandoned his duties as Vice President. Sam Sumana did not settle well with the political outcomes and resorted to a protracted but seemingly unwinnable legal battle. True to history, he lost the legal battle home with the landmark Supreme Court ruling that the then president Koroma was within the provisions of law to sack his vice president Sam Sumana. It was indeed a landmark ruling that still hang a grim shadow over the legal system in Sierra Leone. At home Sam Sumana lost the legal battle but won the political battle. He, more than any other factor, caused the political defeat of the APC in the 2018 polls. It was a devastating blow and one the APC is still struggling to recover from. Sam Sumana can be judged to be an unpredictable political character but has proven that he can shatter the political dreams of the APC. But what else does Sumana want from the APC? Sam Sumana appealed to return to the APC and the latter accepted and recapitulated. Who really want who and for what? There is, however, a convergence of political expectations. Sam Sumana wants to be president and expects that he can realize that political dream through the APC. The APC wants to return to power in 2023 and expects that it takes a candidate like Sam Sumana to hand them that political victory. These are great political expectations by the APC and Sam Sumana. Within the APC party there are skeptics on the transformation of these expectations to concrete political realities but they are afraid to up their voices. Sam Sumana cannot forgive the grave and degrading political treatment he suffered from the leadership of the APC. There are indications that he will fight back when at the helm and in the fullness of time. The APC party is still on a stormy ocean. Already, there are simmering resentment against the expected candidacy of Sam Sumana. The Dr. Samura Kamara faction is real and strong! Dr. Samura Kamara has tested the political waters and has proven his popularity. He has a battle to fight and he is prepared for it with significant following. He cannot settle with the reality of Sam Sumana being Flagbearer for the APC. For Dr.Samura Kamara and all progressive members of the APC the battle lines are being drawn. The circumstances surrounding the political defeat of the APC drove a wedge in the solidarity spirit of the party. What is seen now as solidarity in the APC is not real. It is nothing but group solidarity to combat the possible harsh outcomes of the Commissions of Inquiry and the dictates of the White Paper. The political wound of the party is festering. The towering presence of former president Koroma in the APC is a suspect political case. The quietness of those political protagonists of the party is a political omen. Like it or not, the return or political resuscitation of Sam Sumana cannot add value to the APC party. Convincingly, it is setting the stage for another internal war in the party. The reversals of the political misfortunes of the APC are farfetched.