{"id":15025,"date":"2023-06-12T14:13:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=15025"},"modified":"2023-06-12T14:13:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T13:13:34","slug":"sierra-leones-2023-elections-purported-ill-health-of-apc-leader-false","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/sierra-leones-2023-elections-purported-ill-health-of-apc-leader-false\/","title":{"rendered":"Sierra Leone\u2019s 2023 elections: Purported ill-health of APC Leader, false!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: A  pro-government Facebook user alleged on his page that Dr Samura Kamara \u2013 APC Presidential Candidate, has informed his party leadership that he\u2019ll discontinue his campaign because of ill health. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: <\/strong>The APC’s current National Publicity Secretary has told DUBAWA that their presidential candidate is neither sick nor has he, at any point in time, informed the party\u2019s leadership of his intention to discontinue his presidential campaigns ahead of the June 24, 2023, polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, 6 June 2023, a famous Facebook user by the name “Fatorma Sam Bolt”<\/a> authored a post on his Facebook page claiming that the main opposition party \u2013 the All People\u2019s Congress (APC) presidential candidate for June 24, 2023 polls has informed the party\u2019s leadership of his intention to discontinue his political campaigns as a result of his poor medical condition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claimant noted that the APC presidential candidate \u2014 Dr Samura Kamara <\/a>is down with a \u201cchronic cold\u201d due to his campaign in the rains ahead of the crucial June 24, 2023 polls.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claim made by the Facebook user reads in part: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSamura Kamara has finally made it clear to the leadership of the APC that he will not be able to end the campaign due to his health status.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The release adds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need to take a break to attend to medical treatment,\u201d adding that Dr Samura Kamara has disclosed his intention to take a break from the campaign for him to attend medical treatment. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c. . .the APC leadership, especially NAC members, have told Samura Kamara that if he mistakenly boycotts the campaign at this crucial time, they will burn down his houses all over the country,\u201d<\/em> he noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering the controversial nature of the comment and its level of engagement on social media, DUBAWA decided to verify the claims, particularly when the scheduled polls are barely a few days away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the bid to fact-check the claim by the Facebook user, the Fact-checking Team tried to contact people closer to Dr Samura Kamara to verify the claim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WhatsApp conversation between APC \u2013 NPS and DUBAWA <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, DUBAWA was able to get the newly elected National Publicity Secretary of the All People\u2019s Congress (APC) party \u2013 Sidi Yayah Tunis<\/a>, via his Whatsapp account on Wednesday, 7 June 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to DUBAWA\u2019s questions concerning the health status of the APC presidential candidate, and his supposed intention to end the campaign, Tunis told DUBAWA that the particular claim made by the Facebook user \u2014  \u2018is false<\/strong>\u2019, adding that even the highest decision-making body of the party, has not met for the past three weeks to make or discuss any issue within the party.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The national publicity secretary continued that their candidate is poised to end the campaign strongly. He said Dr Kamara is busy engaging with different members of the International Community (IC) ahead of the polls scheduled to hold later this month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Tunis stated that the said post is false, tagging it as \u201cSLPP machinations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A photo grid of the WhatsApp conversation between DUBAWA and the APC \u2013 national publicity secretary, Sidi Yayah Tunis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA equally reached out to the Facebook user to find out his source of information but did not respond to the questions he posed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot of the message DUBAWA sent to the Facebook user via his WhatsApp account.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The claim that the APC presidential candidate for the June 24 polls is down with \u2018chronic cold,\u2019 and will take a break from his campaign to attend to medical treatment is false. Checks by DUBAWA from APC persons closer to the APC leader show the claim is without basis. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: A  pro-government Facebook user alleged on his page that Dr Samura Kamara \u2013 APC Presidential Candidate, has informed his party leadership that he\u2019ll discontinue his campaign because of ill health.  Verdict: The APC’s current National Publicity Secretary has told DUBAWA that their presidential candidate is neither sick nor has he, at any point in time, informed the party\u2019s leadership of his intention to discontinue his presidential campaigns ahead of the June 24, 2023, polls. Full Text On Monday, 6 June 2023, a famous Facebook user by the name “Fatorma Sam Bolt” authored a post on his Facebook page claiming that the main opposition party \u2013 the All People\u2019s Congress (APC) presidential candidate for June 24, 2023 polls has informed the party\u2019s leadership of his intention to discontinue his political campaigns as a result of his poor medical condition. The claimant noted that the APC presidential candidate \u2014 Dr Samura Kamara is down with a \u201cchronic cold\u201d due to his campaign in the rains ahead of the crucial June 24, 2023 polls.   The claim made by the Facebook user reads in part:  \u201cSamura Kamara has finally made it clear to the leadership of the APC that he will not be able to end the campaign due to his health status.\u201d  The release adds: \u201cI need to take a break to attend to medical treatment,\u201d adding that Dr Samura Kamara has disclosed his intention to take a break from the campaign for him to attend medical treatment.  \u201c. . .the APC leadership, especially NAC members, have told Samura Kamara that if he mistakenly boycotts the campaign at this crucial time, they will burn down his houses all over the country,\u201d he noted.  Considering the controversial nature of the comment and its level of engagement on social media, DUBAWA decided to verify the claims, particularly when the scheduled polls are barely a few days away. Verification In the bid to fact-check the claim by the Facebook user, the Fact-checking Team tried to contact people closer to Dr Samura Kamara to verify the claim.  WhatsApp conversation between APC \u2013 NPS and DUBAWA  Fortunately, DUBAWA was able to get the newly elected National Publicity Secretary of the All People\u2019s Congress (APC) party \u2013 Sidi Yayah Tunis, via his Whatsapp account on Wednesday, 7 June 2023.  Responding to DUBAWA\u2019s questions concerning the health status of the APC presidential candidate, and his supposed intention to end the campaign, Tunis told DUBAWA that the particular claim made by the Facebook user \u2014  \u2018is false\u2019, adding that even the highest decision-making body of the party, has not met for the past three weeks to make or discuss any issue within the party.   The national publicity secretary continued that their candidate is poised to end the campaign strongly. He said Dr Kamara is busy engaging with different members of the International Community (IC) ahead of the polls scheduled to hold later this month.  Mr Tunis stated that the said post is false, tagging it as \u201cSLPP machinations.\u201d DUBAWA equally reached out to the Facebook user to find out his source of information but did not respond to the questions he posed. Conclusion The claim that the APC presidential candidate for the June 24 polls is down with \u2018chronic cold,\u2019 and will take a break from his campaign to attend to medical treatment is false. Checks by DUBAWA from APC persons closer to the APC leader show the claim is without basis. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[5,1268],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3442],"class_list":["post-15025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections","category-sierra-leone"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-3Ul","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3442,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"fayia-j-moseray","display_name":"Fayia J. Moseray","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Samura.jpg?fit=1080%2C1316&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15025"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15028,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15025\/revisions\/15028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15025"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=15025"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=15025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}