By Alpha Abu
Patricia Yvette Osuwo the younger sister of slain teacher Gillis Ola Edwin Johnson has called on the necessary authorities to ensure they get justice.
Speaking to Politico at her Central Freetown residence, Patricia Osuwo said the brutal killing of her brother at his Victoria Street, Freetown home by a pupil, Mohamed Arun Conteh of Providence International High School, if not dealt with the severity it demands, could serve as bad precedent, that might endanger the lives of other unsuspecting teachers in the future.
“This tells me that our teachers are no longer safe as our schools are getting bad by the day as kids are being enrolled without any background check. So I am appealing to the government of Sierra Leone and every well -meaning persons to support us in ensuring that justice be served so that my brother’s soul will rest in peace’’, she said.
She said they want answers as to why a boy so trusted by the victim would turn on him and end his life.
Ms Osuwo who’s the sixth of seven siblings with Mr. Johnson being the eldest, said they are still at a loss as to why their loved one was slaughtered in cold blood and would want to see the perpetrator pay for his crime. She said it’s only through that there could be a closure for them as a family.
She said ‘Uncle Ola’ as his brother was fondly called by relatives was an affable and true family figurehead who addressed her as ‘Baby Sis’( small sister) and would even share his meagre earnings as a teacher with her during Christmas.
Dressed in traditional black to mourn for her brother, Ms Osuwo who is Protocol Officer at NASSIT broke down at intervals, as she explained how the suspect Mohamed warmed his way into the heart of Mr.Johnson who went beyond teacher- student relationship with Mohamed, treating him like a son.
Mohamed had unfettered access to Mr. Johnson’s house and was well- known to neighbours. The teacher would often send Mohamed with his ATM Card to get him cash.
“There was an instance in which Mohamed after coming from the ATM casually told my brother that he had taken 200 Leones for himself. My brother would even give him money to buy bread for himself when he went to his house for extra lessons with other pupils; that’s how my brother treated him, Ms Osuwo explained.
The killing of the teacher in which his student Mohamed is a prime suspect has shocked the nation. Joseph Bangura who is Proprietor of Providence School where Mr Johnson taught until his killing, was contacted by Politico.
He didn’t answer his phone or respond to text messages. However early last week, he was heard on radio saying that Mohamed was a trouble- free student, a claim family members of Mr. Johnson dismissed.
They alleged that Mohamed was reportedly expelled from a prominent private school for assaulting classmates before going to Providence. They also said that he was a troublesome kid in the school, a claim some people with close ties to the school have privately confirmed.
On Saturday 11th March Mohamed was said to have gone to Mr. Johnson’s house and found him watching the Bournemouth/Liverpool English Premier League match on television in the sitting room of his house where he lived alone. What ensued later only Mohamed would be able to maybe explain.
But when a next door neighbour who had prepared food paid for by Mr. Johnson could not get him on the phone and found the door to his house locked, she became concerned. A young man hoisted himself by the back window only to see the gory scene of the teacher lying in a pool of blood.
According to reliable Police sources, a few hours later Mohamed appeared at the Aberdeen Police Station in the West of Freetown and reported a case of killing of his teacher by an Operational Support Division officer. The Police became suspicious at his mannerisms and he was then detained. Neighbours later confirmed they saw him leaving the house wearing the victim’s shirt after locking the door. His presence hardly raised any suspicion then, because neighbours knew he was a regular visitor to the house.
He had apparently changed his shirt that was later discovered in the room soaked in blood. The body of Mr. Johnson was found; a macabre scene that bore all the hallmarks that he faced a violent and bloody end. His throat was slit, with two pens thrust deep into the wound. A family source said the Pathologist Dr. Simeon Owizz Koroma during the autopsy also discovered a deep wound on an armpit of the victim.
Mr. Johnson was a teacher for 47 years ,spending a good period at Saint Edwards Secondary School, and other schools, with prominent people like the present Attorney- General and Minister of Justice Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley having passed through him. He was Director of Studies at Providence School and taught English, Literature and French.
Engineer Raymond Browne recalled how in 1984 after losing his father as a small boy it was his teacher Mr. Johnson who helped him with lunch and transport. He is survived by his two children Mrs. Patricia Beverly Kembey who works at the Bank of Sierra Leone and Shegu Johnson based in Nigeria.
Ms Osuwo said the funeral for her late brother will take place at the Portuguese Town Church, Campbell Street, Freetown on Thursday 30th March and burial at the Ascension Town Cemetery.
Meanwhile, a joint statement from the Sierra Leone Teachers Union and the Teaching Service Commission strongly condemned “the brutal killing of a serving teacher’’, saying “it is indeed worrying that Sierra Leone is witnessing an increase in violence involving school-going pupils’’.
The statement urged the police to be professional as they “initiate actions that will ensure the profession is protected’’. Condolences were extended to “the bereaved family, the school and the teaching profession for this sad loss’’.
Mohamed is presently in Police detention and Police Communication head Superintendent Brima Kamara when contacted about the matter was very circumspect, and could only say the investigations are on-going.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (20/03/23)
