By Mohamed Hassan Bangura
Amzar Kamara, Chairman of the Sani Abacha Street Traders Union in Freetown, has recounted his harrowing escape from a campaign of political intimidation and violent attacks that forced him to flee Sierra Leone.
Kamara, who had led the Union for over four years, revealed that escalating threats to his life and a brutal assault in his home compelled him to leave the country.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, Kamara sought to dispel rumours that he absconded with the union’s funds, labelling such claims as baseless. “I left Sierra Leone because my life was in danger. The allegations about fleeing with the union’s money are lies. The remaining executive members can confirm this,” he stated.
Kamara’s disclosed that the trouble began when the Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Edward Hinga Sandy visited the Union’s executive before the August 10th protest, demanding a change in leadership. The union declined, citing their constitution, which dictates the process for electing a new executive.
Dissatisfied with the refusal, the Minister later summoned Kamara and urged him to discourage traders from joining the upcoming protest, a request the Traders Union Head refused, explaining that people have the right to express their grievances, particularly in the face of harsh living conditions, suppression of freedom of speech, abuse of human rights, injustice and others .
Kamara said, following his meeting with the minister, he began receiving death threats and was physically assaulted multiple times by a government-linked group led by a notorious figure known as ‘Abrava’ and team. The final attack occurred in Kamara’s home, where thugs viciously beat him and his wife, leaving him in a coma.
“I regained consciousness in hospital two days later, only to learn that the same assailants had planned to return and finish me,” Kamara said.
Fearing for his life, the Traders Union Chairman fled the country during the period of the August 10th protest, after armed men targeted his home, killing his brother in what Kamara described as a deliberate attempt on his life and set his house on fire.
“Even after he fell into a coma they still beat him,” Kamara’s wife, Fatmata Kamara told this medium, recounting the terrifying night when her husband was attacked, fearing she would lose him as thugs relentlessly beat him.
She confirmed that Kamara was taken to the hospital but had to escape when rumours spread that his attackers were planning to kill him there.
Francis Koroma, Secretary General of the Sani Abacha Street Traders Union, corroborated Kamara’s account, dismissing the rumours of financial misconduct and emphasizing that Kamara’s departure was solely due to the life-threatening situation he faced.
“The intimidation is too much. What does a small union like ours have to do with the politics of this country? It’s too bad,” Koroma lamented.
