By: Saikujohn Barrie
Watching Protesters in Makeni running with corpses and wounded colleagues during the protest when EDSA people went there to remove the Generator from Makeni to port Loko is heartbreaking.
The shrieks of despair and anger from protesters and the blithely reactions by government officials and supporters on social media including the two government Press Releases, that failed to acknowledge the deaths of Sierra Leoneans just because they embarked on their democratic right to protest even though unauthorised, invoked deep thought that Sierra Leoneans are still deeply divided along political party lines.
This is repugnant and it should not be the norm. Human lives are not cheap therefore should not be taken away just like that no matter what.
Arguably, the police are allowed to use reasonable force to quell riotous conduct. The question are, does the killing of four people and wounding of countless others including critically wounding four who are now admitted at the emergency hospital reasonable?
Were the protesters armed and fierce that the police hard no options but to use lethal bullets to disperse the irate youth?
The incident yesterday reminded me of the incident in my home district, Koinadugu,Kabala when police brutally killed youths who were protesting over the transfer of the proposed youth village in the district. Many lost their lives but no police officer or politician was held to account.
Where is the professionalism of the Sierra Leone Police Force? What is wrong with using robber bullets and teargas to disperse protesters instead of lethal weapons to do the same?
Having listened to the reaction of the Minister of Energy on the issue, my questions are:
Why didn’t the Minister get back to the Mayor of Makeni with the stakeholders after she failed to get back to the ministry officials as promised?
Considering the current animosity and mistrust between the Bio government and the APC main opposition, why didn’t the government explain to the people of makeni that they are just taking the Machine for short period of time? You should have done this using the local radio stations through your countless communications officers.
I agree that government has right to move Government properties from one place to another but did the Minister think of the already political tensions swelling especially after the ABU ABU recent outburst threatening that the security will shoot anyone who dares challenge government decision?
I think lack of proper communication and the thirst by the government to demonstrate to the opposition that the SLPP Paopa is in charge of the country are that which led to the sad end of the lives of our compatriots. On the other hand, if it is true that the Energy Ministry officials had engaged the Mayor with some stakeholders in Makeni yet she failed to communicate to the general populace of Makeni and to get back to the Minister then she too like the Sierra Leone Police with the government has blood on her hands.
Officials of the government with most of their supporters are accusing some APC officials of instigating the violence in Makeni yet they have failed to name the instigators.
However we will like to see instigators being prosecuted providing there is sufficient evidence but not to use false allegations to unleash suffering on opposition members.
I think the Maada Bio government should focus on maintaining the rule of law in the country and good governance across the country not to weaponise the Police to use unreasonable force to enforce law and order in some parts of the country while turning blind eyes to other violent incidents such as the recent attack on the Former Vice President where some of the former VP’s Samsumana’s body guards were seriously injured during his late uncle’s funeral.
To date, no one is arrested or even reprimanded for that violence. This is the type of politics the current Paopa people were condemning when they were in opposition, so why embark on what you were condemning?
I have the intuition that whenever the APC comes to power they will do the same.
I don’t need to explain how the APC government used AIG Karrow Kamara and other ruthless police officers in the opposition strong holds in Kenema and its surroundings.
President Bio must take full control of running the state and he should forget about allowing Paopa zealots within the government who are bent on paying backlog of violence meted against them when they were in opposition to embark on revenge spree.
I detest the fiendish use of the police against our compatriots.
No government is too big to engage in a peaceful dialogue with its opposition members.
Remember you too will soon become opposition either in 2023 or after ten years.
This vicious circle must stop. I rest my case.
