I LOVE MY THEMNES

[William Bangura]

Momo O ahn Themnes (Sincerest thanks to my Themnes). This is in regards to the fact that some of them voted for Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) rather than Samura Kamara of the All People's Congress (APC) in the last presidential runoff in Sierra Leone. I had always stated that the APC will only disintegrate when Themnes abandon them. 

In the districts of Port Loko, Kambia and Tonkollili mostly populated by Themnes over 92,000 voted against the APC. In my Tonkolili district over 22,000 voted for Bio and his (SLPP). 

During the 1967 General Elections between 90 percent to 95 percent of Themnes voted for the APC which led to the defeat of the incumbent SLPP party, a first in sub-Saharan Africa.

The deceased Uncle Hamid Taqi--the younger brother of M.O. Taqi and Ibrahim Taqi--will be very happy because of this decision of the Themnes. In the past when he used to be dispirited on the political stupidity of our Themne people in continuously voting for the APC, I would tease him by saying "Ahn fem mami" (these are my people). He will then retort, "Ahn fem mami thar" (they are not my people).

The Themnes vote was a message to both former president Ernest Koroma and his APC that they will never again be taken for granted. And also, to the current president Bio that their (Themnes) vote for his SLPP and he was a protest vote against the thievery and murderous APC and neither for him nor his party.

William Bangura

Konekay - Rochain Kamanda O, Yonibanan Chiefdom

Tonkolili District