THINKING ABOUT THE KILLING OF A POLICE COMMANDER IN MAKENI
We know that many police officers were killed during the civil war in this country. In January 1999 in particular, rebel forces that managed to enter Freetown systematically attacked and killed police officers at their barracks and Kissy and other places. As recent as last year, six police officers were killed by misguided rioters. Some of those officers were unarmed and doing their normal jobs of protecting lives and properties. Just when we thought we were beginning the healing process once again came the killing of a police commander in King Messi’s fortress city of Makeni.
The late man’s colleagues are investigating but we should state from the outset that we have never experienced this kind of thing in this country – a police officer of any rank being hunted down and killed on the streets of any of our cities by people we call unidentified. We have heard a lot about why this happened and in Makeni in particular but we are refusing to include those bits and pieces here for now because in journalism, stories must always be made to stand up especially in a court of law. So we are holding back for a few days more.
Be that as it may, we feel compelled to say the following:
1. The well of national cohesion was deliberately poisoned immediately after the 2018 elections. There are many ordinary people in that city that have been made to believe that they were in an existential struggle with the government in Freetown. Those who did that are wicked. All they want is to advance their political interests. Again, we are waiting for the investigations to conclude but the atmosphere of suspicion in that city is not good for national cohesion.
2. The police have no option but to find the killers of the OSD commander. If they need international help for that, let them ask for it because we are not the first country to do so. If we don’t expose and bang the killer and his sponsors up for a very long time, then we should all surrender to the start of urban terrorism in Sierra Leone. It’s as serious as that.
3. The next step should be to deal with those who are spending a lot of money and time to keep the vulnerable people of Makeni angry all the time. They have to be told that their strategy is wrong and there would be consequences when lives are lost as a direct result of their political manipulation of those ordinary people.
4. We need voices of balance and moderation in Makeni to STAND UP to this challenge. What happened in that city is very bad. Why are they so scared to speak up? Many Sierra Leoneans are now very scared to go down to that city. That’s not a good thing.
SELLING MACHETES IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
We call on the police to promptly arrest retailers and suppliers of what we rightly call a machete in the heart of our city, Freetown. We were in a kekeh the other day when we hit unusually heavy traffic along Siaka Steven Street near the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The next thing we saw was a petty trader who came up to us displaying what she called a kitchen knife and asking us to buy it. We asked if that was the only one she had and replied that she had about a dozen or so around and she was prepared to give us a good bargain.
Just at that point the traffic opened up and our kekeh moved on. That so-called kitchen knife being sold in the CBD occupied our conversation till we reached our final destination.
These days everything is sold on the streets by people who would do well to stay in their villages doing agriculture and getting good money from people in cities who are waiting to buy and consume everything.
It’s not as if the police have not seen this awful trade going on, they have simply ignored it believing it was normal business. We’re not praying for this but one mad guy would buy a machete or two and cause havoc around. At that point the police would go to the media to explain things. They have the opportunity now to prevent serious injury or death.
STOP DESTROYING CAMPAIGN POSTERS IN FREETOWN
We know it’s happening in Freetown. We have seen such posters along the major streets. We have heard that it’s happening in other parts of the country and we can’t really understand why dark forces are busy destroying expensive campaign posters. Driving between Youyi Building, Brookfields and Congo Cross the other day, we counted almost two dozen posters belonging to the ruling party candidates systematically destroyed. Next day we counted an almost equal number of posters belonging to the main opposition party candidates damaged between Jomo Kenyatta Road and Hill-Cot Junction on the road to Wilberforce. What is all this about?
Why are people so intolerant? These posters are only there to introduce the main candidates to people and so put the nation in the mood for the coming elections but they do not necessarily swing votes one way or the other in real terms. Besides, the posters are expensive. That explains why only the two main parties that have had a taste of government are able to pay for or get their friends to pay for and erect such posters. We see a few from independent candidates but in terms of prominence, they are no match to the big guys.
The police should arrest and speedily prosecute anyone caught in this disgraceful act and widely publicize their imprisonment to deter others. Sierra Leone has been through FIVE such elections since the civil war so we should have gone beyond this crude kind of campaign. Enough is enough!
PROVIDENCE SCHOOL PLEASE CLEAR THIS ROAD
We want to respectfully ask the SLRSA if their SAFETY CORPS are only on the streets to issue tickets for minor traffic offences and sometimes collect pennies from keke and okada boys. We ask because we cannot understand why they are not doing anything about the many vehicles abandoned on our streets. Some of these vehicles have been left on the street for months, even years.
Why can’t SLRSA clear them from our streets and force the owners to pay for that disposal service?
This is a picture of a bus owned by Providence School. One of our readers sent us this photo and complained that this vehicle has been abandoned in this position for months. We really cannot give an ultimatum to the SLRSA but we want to ask them to urge Providence school to move this wreck immediately. Hillside by-pass road is not a garage. There’s provision for brief parking but there is no provision for a scrapyard on that road. We will keep an eye on this from now on.
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