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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 FREETOWN 000325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2016 
TAGS: PGOV SL
SUBJECT: ON EVE OF TRIP TO UK AND US, ALL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS 
PARTY STRUGGLES TO UNIFY, MOVE FORWARD 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires James A. Stewart, reasons 1.4 b/d 
 
¶1. (U) The opposition All People's Congress (APC) Party 
Chairman and 2007 presidential nominee Ernest Bai Koroma 
departs for the UK and the U.S. about April 24 to meet with 
diaspora APC supporters and raise money for the 2007 
presidential and parliamentary elections.  In the U.S. 
beginning May 4, Koroma will launch new APC party offices in 
Philadelphia and Atlanta, as well as hold town meetings in 
Washington, DC and New Jersey (where there will also be a 
fundraising dinner).  Koroma will see the Congressional Black 
Caucus, chambers of commerce, the Sierra Leonean Ambassador 
to the U.S., and private sector contacts, among others. 
 
¶2. (U) Koroma's trip will be challenging, and not just 
because of the tight schedule.  Although he was nominated to 
be the party's presidential candidate at a national 
convention in August 2005, a vocal minority wing led by "old 
school" APC heavyweights headed by MP Eddie Turay has 
challenged Koroma's right to party leadership and has 
initated court cases, which include criminal charges stemming 
from disagreements about how the APC constitution was altered 
and party convention convened.  An August 19 article in "New 
Vision" newspaper ("Ernest In Hot Waters!!") discussed a 
diaspora APC conference in Berlin reportedly attended by over 
400 APC members from the UK, Ireland, Germany, and the 
Netherlands.  In a post-conference communique, the APC 
members resolved not to pledge support to Koroma until the 
intra-party wrangling is resolved.  The diaspora APC members 
complained that too many of the party's resources have been 
wasted on court matters and said that they expect Koroma and 
Turay to "work effectively in good spirit" and "speak with 
one voice" to be successful in the 2007 elections. 
 
¶3. (C) The sticking point depends, of course, on who you talk 
to.  Koroma's has a reputation as a bold, dynamic leader with 
an agenda to clean up the APC from its troubled, corrupt 
history.  In an April 19 meeting with CDA and PolOff, Koroma 
said that since the August APC convention confirmed his 
leadership, he has kept the door open to the Turay wing. 
But, Koroma said, they refuse to accept him as their leader 
because they see it as the end of their political career if 
they do.  Koroma's reply?  "I am not personally opposed to 
anyone having a position in the party, but they need to make 
some changes."  Like helping the APC become more transparent 
and accountable.  Like admitting mistakes that the APC made 
in the past (particularly during the repressive Siaka Stevens 
regime).  Like taking a stand against corruption.  (Note: 
Koroma recently declared publicly that Musa Mansaray, the 
Chairman of the Makeni Town Council, an APC member in an APC 
stronghold, must resign because of corrupt activities. 
Turay's wing criticized Koroma's forthright stance as too 
extreme, but the public and the APC-dominated council 
supported him and the Chairman has absconded in disgrace. 
End Note.) 
 
¶4. (C) Turay, on the other hand, sees Koroma as an overly 
aggressive upstart who reneged on a deal.  On April 19, Turay 
told CDA and PolOff that Koroma has too much power in the 
party.  Turay said, "He holds five positions!  One man cannot 
hold five positions!"  Turay also recounted a meeting that 
took place at Koroma's residence prior to the August 
convention.  During the meeting, Turay said, both factions 
agreed to postpone the national convention so as to hold a 
series of "mini conventions" throughout the country to select 
delegates for a postponed national convention.  Turay also 
wanted to appoint an interim committee to guide the process. 
In return for Koroma's agreeing to the mini conventions and 
new schedule, Turay said, his side would drop the court cases 
against Koroma and his allies.  The next day when they were 
to sign a joint communique announcing the truce, Turay said, 
Koroma reneged on the agreement and went forward with the 
(previously scheduled) convention.  As expected, Koroma won 
in a clean sweep.  And Turay is still mad about it. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment: As Koroma leaves for his trip, the standoff 
between Turay's "old school" wing and Koroma's "reform" wing 
continues.  Koroma needs diaspora support and funding to 
consolidate his leadership and pressure Turay to relent on 
the court cases.  "I still have some souls to convert," 
Koroma admitted about the upcoming trip.  Indeed.  Turay was 
silent about any upcoming APC travel, and the "New Vision" 
article said that many of the attendees at the Berlin 
conference resolved not to attend Koroma's meetings in UK and 
 
FREETOWN 00000325  002 OF 002 
 
 
the U.S. if Turay is not a part of the delegation.  Turay, 
however, cannot afford to carry out his side's threat of 
sending Koroma and his allies to jail and expect to win at 
the polls come 2007.  Whether they are able to reach a 
compromise and reunify the party in time to mobilize 
effectively for the elections is another matter.  End Comment. 
STEWART