User:Alhaji Chief A.MucktarruKallay/sandbox

Comrades

Please take a look at the extracts from the manuscript of my soon to be published book, Alhaji Chief Alimamy Mucktarru-Kallay and the A.P.C Alhaji Chief Alimamy Mucktarru-Kallay, Commissioner for Oath, Justice of the Peace, and the first leader and Chairman of the All Peoples Congress (APC), lived out his life with courage, determination, joy and purpose. He was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, with a Mandingo ethnic background, on September 24, 1913, to parents Isata Tarawally, a Bambara from Bamako in Mali, and a renowned and formidable woman in her community, and Alpha Tejani Kallay, a Mandingo from Kanka in Guinea. He was the youngest of nine children, the others being Sunkaru, Feremusu, Mariama, Fatmata and Kabba; the younger brother of the former President of Sierra Leone's father; his Excellency Tejan Kabba, on the one side, and Aminata Kallay and Seray Kallay on the other side. He survived them all, and died January 17, 2003. All of his brothers and sisters are S.L.P.P members. He was the only family member belonging to the APC. Pa Mucktarru-Kallay as he was fondly called, attended the Islamia Primary School, and the St. Edwards Secondary School, both in Freetown. Soon after his schooling, he was employed as a clerk in the Ministry of Agriculture for a short while, and worked both in Freetown and N'jala. He then moved on to the then United African Company (U.A.C), a British owned company. He then went to study management in England and the United States of America, returned and rose to the rank of Divisional Manager, a 'Factor' as they were called then. This took him to various parts of the Southern and Northern Provinces where he made lots of lifelong friends. It was while at the U.A.C as a Division Manager he met the late Honourable C.A. Kamara-Taylor and the late Honourable Kawusua Konteh, both of which became his clerks and friends, which is when they started talking about forming a political party. This is also when he met and married the love of his life, the late Haja Memuna Mucktarru-Kallay, nee Koroma (deceased); "Alias O'Mammy" a union that lasted for fifty-one years until she passed away on the 25th April 1996.In 1963, through the influence of one of his best friends, the late Sir Albert Margai, with whom he had been friends since his days at school, and the late Sir Banja Tejan-Sie, the governor of Sierra Leone, and his in-law, he was a partner in the company, and appointed Personnel and Administrative Manager of the Mesurado fishing Company, a mostly foreign owned, newly registered company in Sierra Leone. Its name was later changed to Sierra Fishing Industry Ltd. That was the highest position a local employee could hold at the time. He was the first Sierra Leonean to be appointed General Manager of the company. That was back in the day when one did not have to belong to a political party to secure a particular job. During his tenure at Fisheries, he expanded the history to such a height that he was able to create employment opportunities for hundreds of people, especially the youth and women. Visiting his son in the U.S.A Alhaji Chief A.Mucktarru Kallay visited his son in the United States of America, and one Saturday evening while having dinner along with the family, went to his bedroom, took out a package, and returned with important APC documents. He specifically asked his son to look after the documents, as they would one day be a vital part of the Sierra Leonean history, documenting how the All Peoples Congress Party came to be. The All Peoples Congress (A.P.C) was formed at number 5 Elba Corner, Freetown by the late Chief Alhaji Chief Alimamy Mucktarru-Kallay, the late Allieu Badara Koroma, the late Alhaji Gibril Sesay, the late Hon. C.A. Kamara Taylor, the late Honourable Kawusua Konteh and the late Mr. Abu Bangura, a Permanent Secretary who served government departments and the late Hon SAT Koroma. These distinguished sons of the soil used to meet one Sunday every month, meetings that were rotated from house to house of each of them. On that particular Sunday, it was the turn of the late Allieu Badarr Koroma to host the meeting. Up until then the A.P.C was merely referred to as a 'Movement'. At that particular meeting, the late Chief Alhaji Muctarr Kallay was accompanied by his wife the late Haja Memuna Kallay "Alias O'Mamie." Chief Alimamy Muctarr Kallay was at the time suffering from a severe headache. He called on the late Allieu Badarr Koroma to give him some medication in order to quell down the pain. The late Allieu Badarr Koroma turned towards his daughter the late Haja Memuna Kallay and asked her to get some Phensic tablets for her husband. She came outside and told her father that there was no Phensic except " 2 APC tablets." She brought the tablets out with a cup of water and gave the medicine to the old man. It was in the evening, (sunset) when the sun normally displays "Red." As soon as he took the APC tablets he felt instantly recovered from the headache and he jumped up and went inside the meeting screaming 'gentlemen...gentlemen I have found the name and symbol of our positive 'Movement. It is the A.P.C and the symbol is going to be the Red Sun. All the members present at the meeting jumped up and screamed: "We accept!" with a standing ovation... "God bless you Pa Muctarr-Kallay."Hon SAT Koroma was at that meeting just by a stroke of coincidence. He was there just on a visit to his uncle Allieu Badarr Koroma at Circular Road on the day of the meeting. His uncle told him about the movement and urged him to become a member. He agreed. In the case of Abu Bakarr Bangura, he too went to visit his Uncle, Alhaji Sheik Gibril Sesay at 'Krojimi' that particular Sunday. His uncle asked him to accompany him somewhere and when they got to the meeting, he informed him about their movement and he too urged Mr. Abu Bakarr Bangura to become a member. Bangura agreed. This was how what was just a 'Positive Movement,' became a political party now with a national flavour. Late Dr. Siaka Probyn Stevens Joined the APC Today in 1960 Hon. Siaka Stevens, Son of the late Alimamy James Stevens and Miatta Massaquoi (deceased), Hon Siaka Stevens and Sir Albert Margai, Gershon Collior, Mr S.T. Navo and Mr Berthan Macaulay were members of the Peoples National Party (P.N.P) then. It was a short-lived rebellion which would later collapse on the eve of independence talks at Lancaster House in London in April 1960 Hon. Siaka Stevens represented the P.N.P at a rally in Bo in September. A motion for the expulsion of Hon Siaka Stevens by Sir Albert Margai who was the leader for the Peoples National Party (P.N.P) was tabled and passed. September 24, 1960 late Alhaji Chief Mucktarru-Kallay took Pa Siaka Stevens to a meeting in which he introduced Pa Siaka to the members of the New A.P.C. as a friend of his and trade union movement leader dealing with protectorate communities and who have a lot of people behind him. And that he was also a former policeman. Siaka Stevens was nominated by the late Pa C.A Kamara-Taylor to become member of the All Peoples Congress (A.P.C) and was seconded by the late Pa Kawusu Konteh. At the time, the late Pa Alhaji Mucktarru-Kallay was the first Chairman and leader of the A.PC. A motion was raised by the late Hon S.A.T Koroma who disagreed with the nomination describing Pa Siaka Stevens as a man who should not be accepted to become a member of the party. But the chairman Pa Mucktarru-Kallay as he was fondly called over-ruled the motion of Pa S.A.T Koroma and Pa Siaka Stevens became a member of the All People Congress on that day, September 24, 1960 which was also the birthday of the Chairman and leader and Pa Mucktarru-Kallay. In October 1960, Chief Mucktarru-Kallay announced that he was stepping down for personal reasons and nominated Pa Siaka Stevens to become the new chairman and leader. This nomination was seconded by Pa C.A Kamara Taylor. Chief Allieu Mucktarru-Kallay is the son of the late Alhaji Chief Mucktarru-Kallay, a Sierra Leonean who has resided in the United States of America for 29 years. He has served the U.S.A in key positions including Election Chief Judge of the State of Maryland, former Board-Member of the Maryland State Senate Scholarships, and the first Sierra Leonean roots, African to run for the Maryland State Senate ticket in the United States of America. He was also advisor to two distinguished United States presidents H.E. President George Bush Sr. and H.E. President Bill Clinton. He received the Presidential Trust Award (P.T.A) at the White-House By H.E. President George H.W Bush Sr.