By Alpha Abu
Former President Ernest Bai Koroma has been invited by the Sierra Leone Police for questioning concerning what State Authorities say was an attempted coup that was hatched by a group that comprises former and serving security personnel and some civilians.
A Public Notice dated 7th December 2023 from the Ministry of Information and Civic Education signed by Minister Chernor A. Bah confirmed the Police invitation to Koroma, asking him to report to the Criminal Investigations Department in Freetown within a twenty- four hour period.
According to the notice, the invitation to the former President was for him to assist the police in ongoing criminal investigations into events of 26th November 2023.
It could be recalled that in the immediate aftermath of the violence in parts of Freetown, Koroma issued a statement condemning the acts. But he also mentioned that one of his state-assigned security guards was killed in the compound of his Freetown residence, west of the capital, whilst another guard was taken away by forces thought to be loyal to the state.
In his latest response to the Police invitation extended to him, Koroma has in a Press Release also dated 7th December 2023, acknowledged receipt of the invite, and solicited public support for the police investigation and “for the due process of the law’’.
“I maintain an open mind and I stand ready to support the police investigations to the fullest’’, Koroma stated in the press release.
According to reports, a good number of key names linked to the alleged coup attempt were former bodyguards to Koroma when he was in power. One of them- Idrissa Kamara alias ‘Leather Boot’ was killed during an attack on a key military installation. Another of the suspected assailants Amadu Koita was early this week arrested at his Freetown hideout.
The main opposition All People’s Congress had earlier issued a statement condemning the attacks.
The US Embassy, Commonwealth, EU, ECOWAS, and AU have voiced their support for the Government, and the Security Forces in repelling what they say was an attack on constitutional rule.
Twenty people were killed in the violence, eighteen of them security personnel. The slain officers were on Wednesday 6th December laid to rest at the Military War Graves, Lumley after an Inter-Faith Funeral Service attended by President Julius Maada Bio, First Lady Fatima Bio, and hundreds of bereaved family members and the security top brass- at Cockerill Military Headquarters, west of Freetown.
A manhunt has since been launched to track down suspects linked to the alleged coup plot with a financial reward on offer for anyone providing information to the Police that would lead to the arrest of an initial twenty-nine individuals whose photos and names were put out to the public. One of them Amadu Koita has since been arrested, whilst another- Alfred Karrow Kamara a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police has reportedly been released on bail.
About sixty people have been detained by the Police most of whom are security personnel about the violence which saw the Wilberforce Barracks’ Armory breached and weapons seized before the attackers went on to free inmates at Freetown’s Pademba Road Male Correctional Centre and a nearby facility housing females serving time.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (08/12/23)
