By Wiseman Dee
The Peace Committee of the Lower Bambara Descendants Association (LoBDA) Kenema District recently held a peace and reconciliation meeting at the Tower Hill office of Ambassador Soulay B. Daramy in Freetown.
In attendance were the Member of Parliament, Constituency 015, Hon. Rugiatu Tarawally Mussafa; SLPP Chairman 015 Mohamed Mustapha; Lower Bambara Development Association (LoBDA) Peace Committee Chairman Ambassador Soulay B. Daramy; former SLPP 015 Constituency Chairman Sheku Farma; Dr Sattu Issa, Peace Committee Member; Dr Yusf Sheku Tejan, Committee Member; Peace Committee Coordinator Ben Lamin; and Gladys Adama Quee-Francis.
In his opening statement, the chairman, Ambassador Soulay B. Daramy, extended special thanks and appreciation to the parties involved in the past SLPP lower-level elections dispute for their positive turnout, underscoring that this was a family meeting focused on peace and reconciliation and therefore did not require individual explanations.
He reiterated that no public project in Lower Bambara Chiefdom would succeed if peace and reconciliation are not addressed now and further noted that peace would bring significant benefits to the entire chiefdom, especially to Hon. Rugiatu Tarawally Mussafa in pursuing her development agenda.
Ambassador Daramy also urged the three political actors to let go of all grievances and work together as a firmly united team for the sake of development and for posterity not to judge them harshly, cautioning that unresolved divisions in Panguma would undermine both development in the chiefdom and the effective administration of Panguma District in due course.
Dr Sattu Issa and Dr Yusuf Tejan also made meaningful contributions during the deliberations, especially to the Member of Parliament and issues relating to the health sector.
The good news is that all three political actors expressed their willingness to embrace peace and reconciliation among themselves and within the chiefdom for the peace and development of the people.
Furthermore, all parties unanimously resolved to conduct peace and reconciliation meetings for Lower Bambara descendants, with the first meeting scheduled to be held in Freetown and hosted by Hon. Rugiatu Tarawally Mussafa on Sunday, 3rd May 2026, at 1:00 p.m.
It was also unanimously agreed that the second meeting will be held in Panguma for chiefdom-wide peace and reconciliation, followed by a traditional dance at a date and time to be announced after the Freetown meeting in May in addition to discussing other development projects.
It was consistently reiterated that the meeting was a remarkable day for the people of Lower Bambara Chiefdom.
It should be recalled that the arrest of many innocent people during the recent SLPP Lower-Level elections in Constituency 015 created animosity among the people. However, an amicable peace and reconciliation meeting has been brokered by members of the Peace Committee headed by Ambassador Soulay B. Daramy, including the recently formed Peace Committee Coordinator, Ben Lamin; Dr Sattu Issa; and Dr Yusuf Sheku Tejan.
Hon. Rugiatu Tarawally Mussafa was present together with the two other controversial political contestants, Sheku Farma and Mohammed Mustapha, who contested the elections that were cancelled over three times.
In an exclusive interview with the former chairman, Sheku Farma, and the current SLPP chairman, Mohamed Mustapha, both commended the initiative of the Peace Committee and pledged to take the message to the people in Constituency 015 and beyond, organise a Peace Dance in Tongo, and appealed to the Committee to reach out to families and all those affected by the recent political skirmishes, like Matilda Tarawalie and family, in one way or another in the constituency and the entire chiefdom to forget about the past and turn a new page for the development of the chiefdom.
They further asserted that they are delighted that stakeholders also discussed the development of the chiefdom, especially in the areas of healthcare, good roads, electricity and water supply and education, all geared towards the improvement of the lives of the people.
