Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) National Publicity Secretary, Moses Sellu Mambu, has accused former Internal Affairs Minister Alhaji Musa Tarawally of leading a group of youths who allegedly pelted then-SLPP presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio with stones during a political incident in Bo.
Mambu made the allegation while speaking about the ongoing dispute between Tarawally and the SLPP leadership over Tarawally’s membership of the party.
According to Mambu, Tarawally was allegedly at the centre of the group that attacked Bio during the period leading to the 2012 presidential election.
The allegation relates to an incident in Bo on 9 September 2011, when Bio was on an SLPP flagbearer “Thank You” tour. Contemporary reporting by The Sierra Leone Telegraph records that the SLPP described the incident as an alleged assassination attempt involving stone-throwing youths. (Sierra Leone Telegraph)
However, the historical report does not independently establish that Tarawally personally led the youths responsible for the attack.
Mambu’s latest allegation comes amid an increasingly bitter public confrontation between Tarawally and the SLPP leadership.
The dispute escalated after the SLPP issued a public notice on September 19 stating that party executives, members, businesses and other stakeholders should not conduct official business with Tarawally in the name of, or on behalf of, the party.
Tarawally has rejected the SLPP’s position and, through his lawyers, challenged the notice and maintained that he remains a legitimate member of the party.
