Emerging from 10 years of an absolutely brutal civil war things have been looking up in Sierra Leone since the official cessation of violence in 2002. Elections later that year saw Alhaji Tejan Kabbah stake claim to a Presidency he has held on and off since 1996. But with a new round of national elections set for 2007 things are certainly heating up. Charles Margai, a former member of the ruling SLPP, a party founded by his father Sir Milton Margai, recently split from the party to form the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC). He is widely seen as the biggest challenge to the ruling parties success in 2007. And interestingly he was placed under arrest yesterday morning. With over 18 months to go before the next elections things are definitely heating up here in Salone. What remains to be seen is in which direction these politics go - one can only hope that the country has learned from the violence that once engulfed it and choses dialogues as opposed to conflict. The situation will also be a large test for the local police forces who, with the impeding withdrawal of UNAMSIL, will take over security primacy for the country.
Nothing like politics to stir the pot!
