By Kemo Cham
The former Local Unit Commander of Lunsar is fighting to save his nearly three decades of career in the Sierra Leone Police after his recall pending investigation for alleged misconduct.
Chief Superintendent Gibril Mohammad Turay aka GMT is being investigated for his handling of the April 30 riots in the northern Port Loko district, Politico has learnt.
Turay is said to be under investigation by the CDIID, the police department that looks into suspected misconduct of police officers.
The officer himself on Friday May 8 confirmed that he had been recalled when contacted by Politico, saying he was told to report to Police headquarters where he was to be officially informed of the exact nature of his offenses.
Lunsar is one of the largest towns in Port Loko District. The mining community was home to the Iron Ore miner, SL Mining. Documents obtained by Politico indicate that the April 30 riot was connected to the decision by the government to cancel the operation license of the US miner.
Some of the town’s youths blamed the Paramount Chief of Marampa Chiefdom, within which Lunsar falls, for allegedly conniving with the government to shut down the mine, thereby occasioning hardship in the local economy.
The riot was provoked by the arrest of a youth leader whom the Paramount Chief, Koblo Queen II, had accused of inciting the youths against him, according to the documents.
PC Koblo Queen lodged the complaint with the Lunsar police which subsequently detained the suspect, Ibrahim Kabia, aka Bulguor. Sources say angry youths took to the streets in response, demanding Kabia’s release.
According to our sources, they destroyed the police station and the residence of the Chief, among other public and private properties. A police document seen by Politico indicates that at least one person, a nephew of the Chief, was killed as a result of the incident.
The Sierra Leone Police spokesman did not respond to a request by Politico for comment or clarification on the issue.
But information from our sources indicate that Chief Superintendent Turay angered his bosses by his decision to release nine suspects who were in detention for involvement in the riot without authority.
Turay told Politico that he thought that the issue was highly political and that from the onset he’d warned his superior, AIG Thomas Lahai, Regional Head of the Police in the Northwest Region, to deal with the matter appropriately. He added that not only did AIG Lahia fail to heed his advice, he also failed to respond in time to his request for reinforcement when the riot broke out.
“We have a code and there are certain cases we cannot handle at divisional level. When cases have political ramifications, we refer them to the regional headquarters,” Turay explained to Politico in a telephone interview from his home in Freetown.
“This case had to do with a Paramount Chief and there was a political undertone. I warned him (AIG Lahai) six days before the incident. Even when the incident happened, I called him from morning up to night, he didn’t respond, until after five hours, when the youths had caused the destruction,” he added.
Documents in our possession corroborate part of Turay’s claim. The situation report on the incident, which we obtained from an anonymous source, was addressed to the Regional Police Headquarters in Port Loko, calling for reinforcement. It notes that reinforcement only came several hours later.
Port Loko is known to be an opposition dominated turf. The youths who were involved in the protest are thought to be affiliated to the main opposition All People’s Congress. One of the dozens of people who were detained in the aftermath of the riot is a former APC parliamentarian.
Chief Superintendent Turay also accused AIG Thomas of using the situation to plot his downfall. He alleged that the regional police boss would call him at some point during the riot to rain abusive words on him, including insulting his late mother, and threatening to deal with him for past misconduct to his superiors.
Turay also said that a day after the riot, on May 1, a delegation headed by the sacked Internal Affairs Minister, Edward Soloku, and comprising the Inspector General of Police and AIG Lahai himself, briefly visited Lunsar where a meeting was held. He said they didn’t give him chance to hear his side of the story, and that a decision to suspend him was taken at that point.
“The riot in Lunsar, he (Lahai) caused it. He lacks leadership qualities. He doesn’t listen and he doesn’t take advice. That’s what led to this situation,” Turay asserted.
AIG Thomas Lahai declined to comment when contacted by Politico, saying all media inquiries must be directed to the police media office. The police media would not respond to our calls or messages.
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