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Saturday and Sunday 23rd and 24th January saw the worst form of violence meted out on the docile Susu people of Kukuna in the Braimaia Chiefdom, Kambia District.
This, provoked by the man who stood as the ruling APC Parliamentarian for the area in the 2007 election and lost woefully.
Alie Kosay Kamara (nee Bangura), who was hungry for power, after his failure to become an MP, turned his attention to the coveted Paramount Chief position though he knew pretty well that he was never from a ruling house.
But despite President Ernest Koroma's vision for attitudinal change, some individuals in his government who are hard of hearing, decided that come hail or high water, they were going to get their way and impose the much hated, Alie Kosay on the people.
Taking from the Chieftaincy act 2009, but wrongly assuming that Braimaia Chiefdom is an amalgamated Chiefdom, the Minister of Local Government, Alan Dauda Kamara and his side-kick deputy, Raymond Kabia, prevented the people of Kukuna from fielding a candidate and allowing only individuals from a section of Braimaia called Kbonmaka which in the 40's rebelliously seceded but which our colonial masters brought back to the fold before Independence, to contest the election.
Bad blood was sowed from that moment and after the election which Alie Kosay fraudulently won, tension arose in the chiefdom.
According to Alie Kosay himself, on Saturday 23rd January, he was returning to his Chiefdom from Kambia when he had the feeling to visit the Court Barray at Kukuna which he said, in his capacity as PC, belongs to him.
Talking to Peep on Sunday 24th January, Alie Kosay showed his true colours. First he lied that he was hiding at a village called Seduya when in fact he was miles away in Kambia.
And he kept referring to people who are supposed to be his subjects as 'those people who attacked my supporters'.
According to the Paramount Chief, when he entered his Court Barray, he saw "thugs who were bent on destroying me. I was rescued by Lieutenant Bah".
Asked about the houses that were still smouldering, he said he had no inkling of that. And about the violence that was being meted out on his subjects, he said with some laughter: "one of my supporters had one of his ears cut off by the people of Kukuna".
By Sunday evening seven houses had been set alight and over fifty people injured and up to the time of going to press were still living in fear.
The LUC at Kambia was unhelpful to the press. He did not know how many houses were burnt and he had no: idea of any arrests made..
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