Awareness Times has captured live on video the unprovoked, violent attack with stones on the vehicle of Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) Flagbearer Aspirant Usman Boie-Kamara by well known supporters of rival candidate Maada Bio as Boie-Kamara drove away from the party’s National Executive Council Meeting called up yesterday April 19th 2011.

Supporters of Bio who had tried a repeat of their Monday April 18th 2011 violence and rudeness at the party offices were met yesterday morning with an overwhelming crowd of hundreds of SLPP card-carrying members who welcomed all aspirants and SLPP National Executive members as each distinguished party dignitary arrived for the NEC Meeting and ensured none of the Bio Gang members insulted decent people. Contrary to unsubstantiated reports, the crowd of decent supporters demonstrating their support for the SLPP Leadership, had members cutting across many aspirants and were not belonging to only one Camp.

In apparent exasperation that their tactics of rudeness and violence could not be repeated yesterday, the Maada Bio supporters, in their significant minority, moved away from the crowd of bonafide SLPP supporters of other aspirants who were by the party offices and relocated to the pro-APC Freetown City Council Metropolitan Offices where they started to sing anti-SLPP songs to startled passers-by.

Many people who heard the chants Bio’s supporters were singing against SLPP openly remarked as they walked passed, that the prediction of Awareness Times was coming to pass. It will be recalled that Awareness Times has severally written that Maada Bio was simply re-tracing all the steps of Charles Margai with an eventual destination being to align himself to the APC in one way or the other.

The violent attack itself occurred during a break in the SLPP Meeting when Usman Boie-Kamara stepped out of the building to a mammoth cheer from the crowd of card-carrying SLPP supporters. As Usman Boie-Kamara drove slowly from the party’s premises towards the Freetown City Council police, it was then that the handful of rude and lawless Maada Bio supporters stationed there, took up stones and started hurling them at Usman Boie-Kamara’s vehicle with some of the stones being sent with such velocity that they landed right inside the SLPP compound. They were singing anti-SLPP songs alongside chants of “No Maada Bio! No SLPP!!” as they threw the stones. It was the quick action of the driver of Usman Boie-Kamara that saved him from actual bodily damage although the hurled stones damaged his vehicle.

As Boie-Kamara’s driver speedily reversed the Jeep back towards the SLPP Offices, squads of armed OSD State Police Officers simultaneously commenced to fire tear-gas all over the SLPP precincts with pedestrians scattering in panic. What is very clear is that the pro-APC police officers encouraged the active presence of Maada Bio supporters at the City Council Metropolitan Police Offices and also encouraged the gathering of stones in front of there.

It was only after Usman Boie-Kamara’s Jeep had been attacked with stones that the Police moved in and started to fire tear-gas. Ironically, the teargas was fired not at the stoning Maada Bio supporters located at the Freetown Metropolitan Offices but towards the SLPP Headquarters scattering the peaceful SLPP supporters who had gathered there singing songs of solidarity as they drank soft drinks and ate food prepared for them by the SLPP’s Women Wing.

Meanwhile, an attempt by certain persons suspected to be remote-controlled by APC forces has been firmly rebuffed. The John Benjamin led National Executive of the SLPP will continue to man the affairs of the SLPP until the next Party Convention contrary to the wishes of a minority group who had called for a so-called ‘Interim Management’ to take over the affairs of the SLPP. It is also a fact that John Benjamin was warmly welcomed and carried sky-high into the party offices and he also left the offices with maximum support. He was never subjected to any booing or molestation.