Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Abdul Rashid Thomas
Published on 2024-04-17 10:37:53
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 17 April 2024:
The controversial Speaker of Sierra Leone’s parliament, Dr Abass Bundu, has tendered his resignation to President Bio, citing “illness” as the reason.
Tension has been mounting between Dr. Bundu and President Julius Maada Bio after Bio’s nomination of opposition MP Mohamed Bangura to become a member of the ECOWAS Parliament was rescinded by Speaker Abass Bundu last week.
According to critics, Dr. Bundu is one of the most corrupt and undemocratic Speakers of parliament the country has ever had.
In 2018, Bundu was controversially appointed by President Bio to serve as Speaker after the High Court had nullified the election results of dozens of ruling APC party seats won during the elections.
Speaker Bundu presided over the historical fist fight that took place in parliament when opposition APC MPs were ordered to vacate the wells of parliament after being described by Speaker Bundu as ‘intruders’.
The opposition APC MPs were violently manhandled and thrown out of parliament by heavily armed police, creating a swath of vacant seats for the ruling SLPP to occupy, giving the SLPP a huge majority in the House.
When the Afro Barometer Report published in March 2020 stated that 81% of Sierra Leoneans believe that the country’s parliamentarians are corrupt, Speaker Bundu threatened local media reporters with police action for reporting the story.
Speaker Bundu, who was caught in a compromising relationship with a young girl recorded on video by himself, raised serious questions about his integrity and fitness for the office of Speaker of Parliament of Sierra Leone.
Despite calls for his resignation or termination, Speaker Bundu remained in office.
Critics say he was retained in office by President Bio to strengthen Bio’s northern political support for the ruling SLPP.
Bundu, who is believed to be almost 90 years old, if not older, is a northerner and has played a significant role in keeping President Bio in office, including helping to bend parliamentary rules in favor of Bio’s government.
President Bio, accepting Bundu’s resignation letter yesterday, commented on it.
Read the original article on Sierra Leone Telegraph
