Last week history was visited and sombre thoughts rekindled as several newspapers recalled the killing of Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, Sorie Forna and others in commemoration of the thirty-fourth anniversary of their death.

The greatest sin a scholar could commit against the domain of history is when the author in his or her analysis of events woefully fails to adhere to the facts surrounding a historical event.

This is the cardinal intellectual sin which has been committed by a flurry of authors or rather propagandists in the SLPP fold who in the past week wrote erroneously about the circumstances surrounding the killing of Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, Sorie Forna and others in 1975 after having been found guilty of treason by a court of law.

The circumstances leading to their arrest and conviction have been interpreted in different versions by people holding various opinions about the event and even the then leadership of the All Peoples Congress.

Albeit, because it all happened at a time when Africa was said to be governed by repressive governments which had no regard for the values of democracy and good governance vis-à-vis respect for human rights and the rule of law the then government of the late Comrade Dr Siaka Probyn Stevens is held accountable by posterity, though he stoutly defended his action.

Taking the situation for granted as proffered by these pro-SLPP propagandists, in our modern times, such would have been an act of gross human rights violation for which if the late Comrade Dr. Siaka Probyn Stevens was still alive he could have been harangued by the many human rights organizations operating now to face justice on account of such an act which one writer says ‘was not only a grief to the family and loved ones, but a terrible loss to the entire nation'.

Indeed, the political think thank of the APC reckons with the fact that this act of the late Comrade Dr. Siaka Probyn Stevens had dire consequences on the chances of continued survival of the party as it has been on several instances used not only to justify the more than ten years long carnage perpetuated by the RUF with alleged support from the Sierra Leone Peoples Party but to even discredit the current leadership of the party and the APC Government of Comrade President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma.

The Propagandists squarely laid the blame on the door steps of the rank and file of contemporary All Peoples Congress.

Indeed it is a painful episode in the political annals of Sierra Leone as the late Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, Sorie Forna and others were not only staunch members of the APC but among the early few intellectuals that emerged from Northern Sierra Leone.

Late Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, for example, was a fine journalist and brilliant orator - thus he was appointed as Information Minister in 1968 upon the reinstatement of late Dr. Siaka Probyn Stevens after the 1967 election debacle.

As for Late Sorie Forna, apart from being a medical Doctor, he was also a versatile individual. Hence, he was also appointed by Dr. Stevens as Minister of Finance.

This alone goes a long way to justify that the All Peoples Congress is a party of visionary and well-meaning individuals and with late Comrade Dr. Siaka Probyn Stevens at the helm; he was really determined to utilize their potentials and expertise in the administration of Sierra Leone.

Be that as it may, that does not make them indispensable and above the law. For as the adage says: the law is no respecter of persons.

And in politics unbridled ambition should be checked or else the actor may go overboard and have a big fall.

The story of Julius Caesar is a classic example of what can befall overzealous power-hungry individuals in States.

Regardless of what untruths certain Pro-SLPP tabloids may have published during the course of last week, the trial of late Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, Sorie Forna and others was done in an open court presided by a Judge of repute -late Justice Marcus Cole.

There is no way SLPP propagandists could convince us that the incident which took place in the residence of the former Vice President Late C.A Kamara Taylor was stage-managed by Siaka Stevens to get rid of Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, Sorie Forna and others.

The late politicians were implicated by witnesses who made voluntary confessional statements to the police which culminated in adducing sufficient evidence to justify the charges of treasonable offence.

From time immemorial the Sierra Leone Police and Judiciary inspite of minor failings, has a crop of well trained personnel in the tradition of the British who are very professional in dispensing their duties.

And knowing the late justice Marcus Cole as a personality with a high degree of integrity, it is very unbelievable that he was influenced by the Presidency to pass a verdict of guilty.

In fact the guilty verdict was arrived at by a panel of jurors. Moreover, the accused persons in the 1974-1975 trial were provided with lawyers who stoutly defended them rather individually against the high treason offence.

The fact that the jurors arrived at a guilty verdict is a clear indication that there was overwhelming evidence against them.

What these SLPP propagandists should realize is that no human being is infallible. In short no man is a Saint. It is therefore possible that these late politicians may have erred in their judgment and got themselves involved in an act which was done out of desperation for political power.

The thing is that their act boomerang on their faces and the law was enforced to the letter. It is also believed that late President Siaka P. Stevens shed tears after signing the death warrants of the 1974 coupists as a demonstration of the close bond and spiritual ties he has with those late comrades in the fold of the APC. It is recorded that late President Stevens uttered that he did what he did because it is provided in the laws of Sierra Leone and so mandatory for him not to have ignored.

My ‘friends' in the SLPP fold should realize that individual interests are subjected to the overall interest of the State. In short no man is above the law!

Consequently, attempts by pro-SLPP newspapers to castigate the present APC for such wrongs of the past is another failed attempt by the SLPP to re-open bitter wounds, present the current leadership in a bad light, undermine its current gains and stir public disgust and social tension.

Comrade President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma was not even an active member of the APC at the time of the killing, neither was National Secretary General Victor Foh nor any member of the current National Advisory Committee (NAC) of the party which is the highest decision making body.

Even the oldest APC Member of Parliament Dr. Bliss Osho Williams or the youngest APC Member of Parliament Mabinty Fornah was not a member of the APC at that time. The same could be said of the current leadership of the National Youth League, the National Women's Congress and all auxiliary apparatus of the party.

The current rank and file of the party can under no law be said to be responsible for the perceived wrongs committed several years before they became members of the party.

What these writers should be mindful of is contemporary issues which happened right before our eyes for which many have been left off the hook with impunity.

These propagandists should also not forget that 24 soldiers who were tried extra-judicially for alleged collaboration in the overthrow of the SLPP regime in 1997 were publicly executed by firing in 1998 even though pleas for mercy and clemency were coming from all angles both nationally and internationally.

Worst of all, it was the first time in our political history a female soldier in the person of Major Kula Samba was executed!

Why shelve this from their analysis?

And to assuage feelings of ill-will because of the hanging of late Ibrahim Bash-Taqi, Sorie Forna and others, President Comrade DR. Ernest Bai Koroma publicly atoned for the unfortunate episode in the course of 2007 election campaigns.

Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma also stated at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) the APC remains apologetic for the wrongs of those of our leaders who have left time for eternity and cannot be brought to justice to account for such wrong doings.

These coordinated and syndicated publications of ‘History of Violence' against APC by SLPP pen pushers have not been able to yield any dividends.

To start with, the incident is considered very remote in the history of Sierra Leone as other events that occasioned the rebel war era are of greater proportion in magnitude of barbarity and mayhem.

Also, most of our youths are not privy to that 1975 episode and have long accepted the reality of the circumstances surrounding that incident.

In addition, as we collectively strive for a climate of reconciliation in our midst, Sierra Leoneans more than any other nationals are so magnanimous in reconciling with our tragic past More so, the issue of ‘bread and butter' is of overriding importance to their survival that in spite of everything, they are very appreciative of the strides being made by President Koroma's APC Government in creating the right condition for mutual co-existence and socio-economic prosperity.

Reminding readers of our tragic past, though good for the sake of history and as a preventive measure to their recurrence, this agenda should be done not to create feelings of rancour but with a sense of national cohesion, restitution and reconciliation.

Let these opposition detractors know that the world over treason is a felonious offence with a maximum penalty of death by hanging, electrocution or lethal injection. It is only in few countries a light sentence of life imprisonment is prescribed.

In this vein, SLPP propagandists can never be able to make a mountain out of a mole hill; government just have to act decisively for peace and stability. What should however be their consideration in this age of democratic governance is to garner efforts for the abolition of the death penalty.

Like Comrade President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma stated at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) the APC remains apologetic for the wrongs of those of our leaders who have left time for eternity and cannot be brought to justice to account for such wrong doings.

What is however inconceivable is the fact many newspaper publications were all aimed at castigating the current rank and file of the leadership and the general membership of the APC for wrongs committed by deceased persons who have long exited the political stage and whose wrong doings should be relegated to history to judge them and should not for any reason be used to indict the present APC.

This move by certain pro-SLPP newspapers is quite untenable and unacceptable considering the fact that nobody in the current leadership of the APC was a party to that dismal decision.