𝐃𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚’𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚 – Global Times

As the tripartite commission presents its final report to President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, many political observers are pondering the future of Dr. Samura Kamara’s political career, both within the national political system and in the emerging leadership race of the APC. Today, many believe that Dr. Samura Kamara himself is facing his own tripartite challenges in his numerous efforts to reshape his political future.
First, the leadership struggle within the party. This explains why he continues to cling to the fruits of his tripartite proposal, because it is a kind of oxygen for him. What does the end of the tripartite proposal mean for his future political endgame? What else can he cling to as a mobilization tool to continue to gain support among all levels of the APC, especially the hated factions?
Second, insisting on a three-way ruling also helps to obscure the grim reality of his New York justice case, from which most of his party members have distanced themselves given the overwhelming evidence presented. Does he want to use the three-way ruling as a bargaining tool with the government?
Thirdly, there appear to be generational and ethno-regional challenges within the APC, which is also a headache for Dr Samura Kamara. This is perhaps the most difficult issue to resolve. For some political observers, the Karen District was carved out to salvage deep-seated resentment over Bombali’s stranglehold on the APC party. Dr Samura Kamara, an indigene of the Karen District, was allowed to run for re-election in 2018 and 2023, albeit reluctantly. He still wants to lead the party for a third consecutive term. Other party bigwigs from across the North, East and most of the West now think it is their turn to lead the party. A slow revolution is taking place within the party to reverse the Limbanization/Lokoization of the leadership. Meanwhile, a widely circulated view is that the grey-haired old men in the APC need to give way to a young and vibrant leadership that is capable of challenging the SLPP in 2028.
The tripartite party has successfully masked this underlying trend and slowed down the wider APC’s internal demand for change. How long can Dr. Samura Kamara hold out in this slow revolution? Does he have what it takes to manage the fire of change from the bottom up?
Since most APC supporters believe that the 2028 elections are a foregone conclusion, depending on who will lead the SLPP campaign, it is clear that the APC is preparing, and how this plays out in the future will be crucial for the transitional elections in 2028. Regardless, in 2028, the Republic of Sierra Leone will have a new president.
The two major political parties (APC and SLPP) now believe that it is time to field Muslim candidates to contest the 2028 presidential election. Muslims make up 78% of Sierra Leone’s population.