By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
In reaction to growing mob justice particularly in the Western Area, the Sierra Leone Police have strongly condemned the practice in a public notice issued on the 16th of August, 2023.
According to the notice, the violent acts ‘in the guise of exercising justice’ culminate in what the Police say are extra-judicial killings of suspected thieves or miscreants in some local communities which they view as homicidal and a serious miscarriage of justice.
The notice says mob or ‘jungle’ justice has no place in any decent society, considering that it has serious and far-reaching implications for the peace, safety, and security of the State.
“Mob justice in Sierra Leone is out rightly intolerable, given the fact that the position of the law is clear: no person has the right to unreasonably and unjustifiably take the life of another person-either suspected to have committed a crime or being about to do so,” part of the notice reads.
The SLP quoted a section of the Constitution of Sierra Leone in the notice which presumes everyone to be innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law. It reiterated that the only statutory body authorized to investigate suspected criminals is the police.
It advised individuals who are engaged or have been engaged in acts viewed as mob justice in various communities across the country to refrain from doing so immediately.
The notice urged people to realize that mob justice acts are not only hostile but barbaric as well, saying it is either people desist now from such offensive acts or be ready to face the full force of the law.
The police encouraged everyone to report any incident of suspected or arrested criminals to the nearest police station for investigations and subsequent prosecutions, as prescribed by law
It could be recalled that on the 17th of July 2023, police in Waterloo found the partially decomposed corpse of a “notorious three-card gambler” popularly called PM. They also discovered the mutilated corpse of 24-year-old Ibrahim Jagitay, a shop owner at Allen Town, East-end of Freetown at Kellie Farm, Malambay Village in Waterloo on the 29th July 2023.
Just over a week ago, there was a video circulating on social media, whereby a large crowd of people chased ‘Kush’ victims with canes at the number 9 community, amidst the growing concerns about the mental health status of youths taking the substance in the country
Cassell Farm community in Kissy had also manifested a similar victimization campaign, with much of the ‘kush’ users searched and paraded in the community.
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