By Solomon George Brima, Augustine James and Agatha Konikay.
An ugly scene between supporters of Former Presidential Aspirant of Sierra Leone, Dr. Samura Kamara and the incumbent Vice President Dr. Juldeh Jalloh during Jumaat prayers at the Masjid Rahman Mosque has taken the country’s social media by storm.
It was a social media frenzy in the Sierra Leone online community following the unfortunate event that erupted between Supporters of Dr. Samura and the current Vice President, Dr. Jalloh when the two politicians observed the Jumaat prayers at the Masjid Rahman commonly known as Basharia Mosque, Bombay Street.
According to Mr. Issa Bundu, the manager in charge of the mosque, they had accepted Dr. Kamara’s request to perform the Jumaat prayers and speak to the congregation, prior to the unfortunate event that occurred on October 25 2019.
“Two weeks before the unsavoury incident, Dr. Kamara and some of his supporters came to the mosque and informed us that he would love to perform the Jumaat prayers and speak to the congregation.”
“We accepted the request made by the 2018 APC Presidential Aspirant and scheduled him for that fateful Friday, as we would normally do for any public figure requesting from the mosque such appeal” Bundu told Salone Fact-Checker.
Bundu confirmed to Salone Fact Checker that Dr. Kamara came early that day and joined them for the Friday Jumaat Prayer.
He said, “About 15 to 20 minutes into the Jumaat sermon, I received a message from an aide of the vice president indicating that the second gentleman of the Republic of Sierra Leone is in the vicinity and would love to pray with us”
Mr. Bundu continued, he gathered other senior members of the Jumaat and went out to receive and usher the VP into the mosque to join the rest of the worshippers for prayers.
Just after the Jumaat Prayers, the Imam’s assistant announced to the congregation the presence of the Vice President, informing them that His Excellency wished to make a statement before leaving the mosque.
“But as soon as the microphone was handed to the Vice President to make a statement, loud voices erupted from the crowd chanting “NO, NO, NO….NA…SAMURA WE WANT, NA DR. SAMURA WE WANT.” Mr. Bundu explained.
The Vice President left the mosque amidst jeers while Dr. Samura Kamara was later seen at the balcony of the mosque waving to his supporters.