For Exposing the Unbearable cost of Living at Presidential Townhall Meeting… Haja Mariama Kuyateh Faces Intimidation At Hands Of SLPP Supporters
By Kelvin Jay
The Presidential Townhall meeting held on Tuesday at the Bintumani Conference Centre began in a good footing, as the President narrated his government’s achievements, but was climaxed with hiccups, especially during question time, when a brave lady, Haja Mariama Kuyateh, who identified herself as SLPP sympathizer, spoke from the bottom of her heart about the country’s unbearable cost of living, despite several attempts to silence and intimidate her.
The vocal lady, whose intonation resonates her current frustration with the country’s food inflation, stated firmly that under President Bio’s five years of leadership the agriculture sector is not good to write home about, as prices of food stuffs like rice and pepper are increasing exponentially.
“Mr. President, under five years of your leadership, the Agricultural sector is not doing much to address the basic food necessities, particularly rice and pepper, whose prices keep rising up every day. Few days ago, Mr. President, I bought a cup of pepper for Le15 per cup, a product that is planted in Sierra Leone….What is happening with our agricultural sector?” the lady asked, and her questions were viewed with mixed feelings by members of the crowd, who accused her of being an APC operative. During that period, an SLPP social media vuvuzela, who is popularly known as “white boy”, confronted the lady with verbal remarks, which eventually put the lady’s freedom of expression and safety in jeopardy.
In the midst of that hullabaloo, President Bio shown some kind of magnanimity by giving opportunity to the lady to ask her questions, which in turn, the President answered using a logical paraphrase.
The Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, was quick to intercept the lady and described her mode of speaking as “rude”, a statement that has been widely criticized by many as disrespectful to womanhood.
However, Several schools of thought have condemned the statement made by the Minister against the lady and called on the minister to apologize publicly.
Speaking in a video that went viral on social media, the vocal lady, Haja Mariama Kuyateh, stated categorically that she had no regret for all that she said during the Townhall meeting, noting how that is for the country and advised everyone to put politics aside and think about Sierra Leone.
She described the Townhall meeting as a “scripted” meeting, which did not create any room for divergent views.
“I hold on to the view that the Presidential Townhall meeting was scripted”, said Haja Mariama Kuyateh, adding that inspite of all the intimidation she went through during that day, she is still safe and kicking.
