FIRE IN THE HOUSE AND WE’VE FINALLY HEARD FROM THE SLMDA
When we saw the SLMDA’s so-called Position Statement on the administrative shake up at the MoHS we felt vindicated. Let’s just make this point before we proceed: we agree to a large extent with what the SLMDA put in that statement. Indeed, we were quick out of the blocks to tell General Demby that he was reaching beyond his powers in behaving the way he did and he should pull back. We still believe he should reverse those decisions over the postings of medical doctors and bring the CMO back. Obviously, he is bent on keeping things as they are. Good luck to him.
Now back to our issue with SLMDA. This organization has refused to say a word about Lady Zainab Kamara. For seven years this woman had a pair of scissors lodged on her abdomen. It was left there by a member of the SLMDA after a surgery at Portloko district hospital. During these years, she lost her marriage and became a laughing stock in her community. We mounted a campaign in this paper, working closely with the family and a really dedicated guy in an NGO to bring the woman’s plight to world attention and get help for her. The SLMDA pretended as if they didn't read the newspapers. The long and short of it all is that they are always more defensive of their members than the ordinary Sierra Leoneans who are sometimes victims of the excesses of SLMDA members.
So the SLMDA was moved to shut down the whole healthcare system just because some guy tried to forcefully get a mobile phone from an SLMDA member who, instead of staying in her ward to work, was running around as a Paparazzo. Now the SLMDA has issued a statement defending their member in MoHS who has been sent on leave. We are not amused guys.
Another storm is developing around another hospital facility. We are waiting for a statement from the SLMDA.
ROGUE POLICE IN ZIMMI SUSPENDED BUT IS THAT ALL?
It looks certain that the police commander who slapped that community volunteer at the Zimmi customs post will not be returning to any part of Pujehun district as a police officer any time soon, not even as an ordinary visitor. We know he has been suspended from duty and the police are playing that up to tell the public they are taking action against their rogue members.
On behalf of the good people of Sierra Leone we want to know what else Sovula would do to make such outrageous behavior by his people a thing of the past in this country. There is a lot of evidence of rogue police officers caught in the headlamps of national publicity for bad conduct being quietly transferred to other locations. We serve notice that as far this issue is concerned we will not allow them to quietly throw it into the trash bin. We welcome what they are doing now in Zimmi to pacify the community but Sovula must do something extra to convince the wider Sierra Leone community that they have turned the corner against indiscipline in their ranks.
1. We want to see the full report detailing their conclusions after the investigation is complete. And of course, the actions they would take against that rogue officer. Frankly, we could have had our own Derek Chauvin in the Zimmi custom post that day. The slap was heavy and unexpected.
2. We are asking that Michael who was slapped and molested in his area of work be handsomely compensated. Yes, he is not an employee of the government of Sierra Leone but he has been working alongside the customs officers as a community volunteer in that place for more than a decade with the approval of the community because of the special circumstances that prevailed in that place all those years ago. Let’s just think about what Zimmi looked like before the road to Liberia was done.
3. Our police officers need constant refresher training particularly in human rights issues. There are dozens of organizations at home and abroad that are willing to help. Besides, we appreciate the extra measures now put in place to make sure people recruited into the police are of good character but if a man like this rogue officer can slip through their fingers, surely there’s a lot more to be done to make sure only the good guys can wear our police uniforms.
BOGUS KIDNAP ALLEGATIONS SHOULD BE PROSECUTED
It turned out that the alleged kidnapping at Adonkia in the outskirts of Freetown was a big lie. We are told that properties were damaged and people assaulted. Today every case of somebody not turning up at a place he was expected is classified as a kidnap case. The worrying trend is that within a few minutes people resort to mindless violence and from the look of things the police are always reacting after the fact. There appears to be no clear strategy on how to deal with such matters.
In fact, the police have told us they have followed up many leads to some reported kidnap cases and found nothing of interest.
Many years ago, Freetown in particular was in this same mood talking about kidnapping and the fear of kidnapping. And so it was that a politician known as Pa Morlai Sidom was attacked at Wellington Street in broad daylight. Apparently somebody who knew him as a politician, saw him talking to a primary school kid. We can’t recollect the details right now but Pa Morlai Sidom was given a sound beating and was rescued by the police. So far a big politician like Pa Morlai has not fallen into the hands of the mob but it may not be long from now with the way things are going.
We know that Radio stations have MISSING PERSONS files sent over by the police regularly. Even those disappearances are not called KIDNAPS for ritual purposes. And there are people who actually go on social media to make those claims which then get picked up by some journalists for publication. We are not able to say that kidnaps cannot take place here but let’s wait till they happen.
Police should start prosecuting people who make bogus kidnap claims on social media like the man in Bo who caused so much sensation with a lie. Why are people so wicked – diverting the attention and small resources of the police from other duties to this wild goose chase called kidnapping in Sierra Leone.
OUR DIPLOMATS ATTACKED IN GERMANY AND OLD CHIEF MINISTER IS MUTE
When will Old Chief Minister tell us something about that widely publicized attack on our diplomats in Germany? The guy is pretending as if nothing happened in that country when we have pictures of at least one diplomat in hospital being treated and another under police guard for about half an hour. Surely, the good people of Sierra Leone deserve to know what happened to those they sent to Germany to represent them.
The silence of the normally media-loving Old Chief Minister suggests to us that he has lost control of the narrative. This is the first time he’s been challenged in this new role. This is quite different from him attending set-piece events and taking pictures for his newsletter. That newsletter is generally well written but why has Old Chief Minister refused to speak about the attack on our diplomats?
Copyright © Politico Online 01/11/21
