By Foday Moriba Conteh
In the aftermath of the riot that took place in the fishing village of Tombo, Western Peninsular of Sierra Leone, on Wednesday 6th May 2020, where some 7 people were shot dead by a joint Police and Military team, Police sources say that they are looking for some alleged perpetrators of the riot, prominent among is one Alpha Kamara, Zonal Secretary of Zone 5 of the main opposition party (APC), who is also a fisherman living in that coastal village.
Tombo is a known opposition party stronghold. According to our source, the police say that the list of the alleged perpetrators given to them by the Sherbro Tribal Chief for Western Area , Michael K. Benka, puts Alpha Kamara as one of the ring leaders of the riot. According to the spokesperson of the SLP, Superintendent Brima Kamara, some of the alleged perpetrators are now in police custody, but that few others have escaped and are being sought after by the police, with the help of some youths and the tribal authority.
It could be recalled that on the 6th May 2020, fishermen fishing in the famous fishing village of Tombo staged a peaceful protest over the action of the Government to allow only 10 fishing boats, out of a total of 88 boats, to go out to sea to fish, as part of the COVID-19 containment measures. This infuriated the vast majority of fishermen, who, after several pleas with the authorities to increase the number proved futile, decided to stage a peaceful protest in the village, during which they matched to the district official’s residence and the police station to register their discontent.
Things got out of control as some irate and disgruntled youths joined in the protest. Superintendent Kamara confirmed that the incident happened in the morning and that “some guys came from the wharf and attacked the station. They were told only ten boats should head out to fish. This made some of them aggrieved and decided to go on a rampage. We cannot confirm the death toll, nor the number of those arrested at the moment. The investigation is ongoing to verify those claims.”
According to our investigation, the Police called for reinforcement, and a team of police and military officers, armed to the teeth, descended on the village from Freetown, turning the said peaceful protest to a riot, resulting in a barrage of tear gas canisters fired, as well as live bullets by the security forces. Road blocks were mounted by the fishermen.
According to eye witnesses, some youths, believed to be ruling party operatives, are said to have accompanied the police in the search for the suspected ring leaders of the protest. A curfew was hurriedly declared to avoid gathering and members of the Sierra Leone Police, (SLP) Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and the Operational Support Division (OSD), the armed wing of the SLP, were patrolling the streets of Tombo.
According to the Chairperson of the District Youth Council, Marie Bangura, whilst strongly condemning the act of violence that took place, she maintained that there were rumblings and a tense environment after news of the said restriction of boat was made public, indicating a riot might happen.
Things got sour when armed police officers stormed houses of residents and gunning down youths in the presence of their families. One youth, displaying a bullet wound on his back, alleged that an OSD and soldiers came to their house and shot them. It was further disclosed that this sparked more violence, as angry youths then descended on the police station and destroyed properties there, but did not take away any fire arms. A running battle then ensued between the security forces and the angry youths, as they resettled and launched attacks on the armed officers, who were firing indiscriminately on people.
It was revealed that Alpha Kamara’s house was stormed by irate ruling party operatives that had come from Freetown and was being tortured, when he was rescued by other youths in the community. It is also believed that the motivating force behind the actions of those youths from Freetown, who accompanied the security forces via a series of jeeps, was a post on social media by the First Lady that mob-justice will be taken against any perpetrator of violence in the country.
One eye witness, who spoke to this medium on basis of anonymity, said that the Sherbro Tribal Chief, Michael K. Benka, a known ruling party member, gave a list of those he claimed to be the ring leaders of the riot to the police. Acting on the list, with the advantage of the curfew in place, and residents being confined to their homes during the day and throughout the night, the security forces then embarked on arresting alleged perpetrators in accordance with the said list.
They are said to have raided homes identified by youths, who were also ruling party operatives in the village, and effected the arrest of so many youths, in some cases violently, including shooting down of doors, often injuring occupants of the said homes. Thus, homes of opposition party supporters were targeted, and youths in those homes were either shot or arrested on allegation of being behind the riot.
As news of this development spread, Alpha Kamara, the Zonal Secretary of the main opposition party and a fisherman, whose activities provided food for his siblings from his late father’s boat, had to flee the village, after being rescued by his friends in the community from his assailants during the attack on his residence.
Many youths, including female business people with gunshot wounds, were taken to the police station in Waterloo, and some of the injured taken to the hospitals after video footage of wounded victims were shown on social media. However, the police have mounted a man-hunt for Alpha Kamara and others and have declared them wanted. Meanwhile, a bounty has been put on the head of Alpha Kamara for any information that would lead to his arrest.
As we go to Press, family members of Alpha have confirmed to us that their home has seen regular visits from the police and ruling party operatives, including threats of physical attacks if they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of Alpha, but the family members interviewed say that the whereabouts of Alpha Kamara is still unknown and are fearful that he may have been shot dead by the police and dumped in the bush, and all the threats from the police are mere cover-ups to fool the public that they do not know about his whereabouts.
