By Francess Wright
In the wake of the botched 11th September, 2023 planned protest that crippled activities in all facet of society, various arrests were effected by Police and Military personnel in different parts of Freetown. Though according to official reports two protesters were killed by security personnel, however, some have alleged that the death toll rose up to seven.
During a Press Briefing that was convened in the Conference Room of the Sierra Leone Police on the Tuesday 12th September, 2023, Spokesperson for the Police, ASP Brima Kamara, also known as Media 1, intimated newsmen that close to sixty persons were arrested in various locations of Freetown for what he deemed as staging an unlawful protest. He went further to reveal that all those arrested will be charged to court and at the same time they are frantically searching for one Solomon Sesay of 33 Jalloh Terrace, Sheriff Mansaray of 23 Cemetery Road, Rokel and Alice Turay of 20 Bai Bureh Road, who while in detention surreptitiously escaped.
He underscored that the Police will leave no options out as they have launched a thorough investigation into their escape affirming that if it is established that they were aided and abetted in their escape by some Police personnel then drastic actions will be meted against such “saboteurs”.
He hammered home that the aforementioned persons, according to their intelligence, were caught in defiant moods who were bent on going forward with the protest saying it was their right to protest in order to register their dissatisfaction against the high cost of living that many are going through in the country. “We will do all within our power, through overt and covert means, search all the nook and cranny of Freetown just to ensure that those accused persons are apprehended and pay for their actions,” he furiously pointed out further stressing that they consider it as a slap on their face for such suspects to just disappear in thin air.
In a related development, 43 accused persons on Thursday 14th, September 2023 appeared before Magistrate Hadiru Daboh at the Ross Road Magistrate’s Court No.3 in Freetown. They were arraigned before the Magistrate on charges of Unlawful Procession, Riotous Conduct and Disorderly Behavior, among other offenses.
All were presented before the court to respond to five counts, including Conspiracy to commit a crime contrary to law; Unlawful Possession, as per Section 17 (3) of the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1964; Riotous Conduct, as per Section 12(a) of the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1965; and Disorderly Behaviour, as per Section 12(a) of the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1965, as repealed and replaced by Act No. 15 of 1973.
According to the Prosecution, the 43 accused individuals conspired with others, who remain unidentified, to carry out an Unlawful Procession without the necessary legal authorization.
After reading the charges against them, defence lawyers asked for bail to be granted, a plea that was turned down by the Magistrate who ordered all accused persons to be remanded in prison and the matter was adjourned to a later date.
A reliable source within the corridors of the top echelon of the Police Force intimated this medium, on the condition of anonymity and out of disgust, that some of those who were arrested were taken to the notorious para-military detention centre known as Benghazi where they were severely tortured to reveal the identities of those faceless individuals said to be behind the protest.
The notoriety of Benghazi is one to send a cold chill one’s spine by the mere mentioning of the name as it is muted that any detainee taken there will definitely never recover properly from the torturing experiences. The source speculated that any of those for whom the Police are searching for is caught, he or she will definitely be taken to Benghazi before thinking of instituting any other action against him or her.
The September 11, 2023 botched political protest has once more opened the floodgate of debate as to the legitimate right of citizens to feely express themselves in relation to their perceptions on key issues bordering on economic challenges and State governance.
A school of thought strongly argues that though to a certain extent it is the inalienable right of every citizen to express his or her views on contentious State issues, however, he or she must judiciously do so within the ambit of the law. They furthered that seeking police clearance is paramount in addition to the fact that the actions of the protesters must not affect the freedoms of non-participants.
Others hold a contrary view that constitutionally citizens must be given the opportunity to exercise their grievances through peaceful protests. They maintained that even when the intentions of doing so are genuine, however, the Police will never granted clearance to enable citizens to do so. According to them, as long as the message that protesters may want to put across goes against certain political policies and actions of political actors the Police will never allow dissenting views.
As all these are going on, the Police manhunt for Solomon Sesay of 33 Jalloh Terrace, Sheriff Mansaray of 23 Cemetery Road, Rokel and Alice Turay of 20 Bai Bureh Road will continue to intensify. What has made the situation so scary is that there are political activists who are nocturnally leading police and military personnel to so-called anti-government personalities or radicals.
D law is no respecter of persons.