WHY IS BO CITY ATTRACTING ARMED ROBBERS IN SUCH BIG NUMBERS?
People are complaining all over Bo city about a wave of armed robberies taking place in our so-called second city. People are being hurt and it appears as if the robbers are well ahead of the police. People are calling on the SLP to step up to the plate and do what they are paid to do.
When we arrived in the town to investigate the issue we immediately came face to face with the reality of life in Bo city today in broad daylight. On Tikonko road, about 150 meters from the clock tower we saw a crowd chasing a young man into the marshland nearby. They quickly overpowered him. When we inquired, we were told he was a THIEF. By this time he had blood running down his face and the blows kept landing all over his body. It was 3pm on a Friday.
We have done extensive work on the armed robbery menace and we are now trying to understand why Bo has suddenly become the target. In the meantime, we can suggest the following:
1. Maybe they are getting a bloody nose in Freetown during their traditional RAINY SEASON jamboree and they have been forced to look elsewhere.
2. In terms of the Bo life, Bo has always been a lively place and things are really looking up more and more particularly over the last five years.
3. Blackout is common in Bo. Parts of the city can be dark for hours, creating good cover for the criminals.
4. Police strength is weak and patrols touch only a small area of the city.
5. We tried to find out if police officers were colluding with the criminals and got interesting answers. Our substantive report on the issue will deal with that.
SLP SCORE OWN GOAL IN FAKE POLICE OFFICER SAGA
As it is nowadays, there’s a lot happening on social media. We woke up one morning to the picture of a young man in OSD uniform looking very badly shaken. He was in front of a police facility being questioned by at least three officers who were off camera. We could tell it was a police facility because we could see part of the building with some officers being told to hand in their weapons.
The fake policeman cooperated fully by answering all questions and in fact providing more information than was required. The guy was just the kind of suspect every police officer wants to have behind the counter – well, assuming he was telling the truth. Maybe he was merely saying things to get the officers off his back.
Now, here comes the unnecessary own goal. We could clearly hear two police officers arguing about the tribe of the fake police officer – one suggesting he was a MENDE man and the other shouting in the background that the guy was actually a THEMNE man. What was all that about? We need to make the following point:
1. In general, the interrogation process was chaotic. It was conducted out in the open with noise all over the place. Or was that just a crude interrogation to the formal process? The SLP can really do better.
2. We have witnessed police interrogation before and NEVER have we heard a question regarding TRIBE. A fake police officer is somebody trying to use the police uniform to commit crime. We have to keep tribes out of the process of bringing such people to justice.
3. The Inspector General of police MUST immediately put those officers responsible for such nonsense before the police disciplinary committee while keeping them on administrative leave.
NPSE RESULTS ARE OUT: THE SCREAMING STARTS
Parents have been eagerly waiting for the NPSE results but they know that these are normally not the best of times for them. While their children are celebrating going to secondary school, they have to deal with a number of issues to make that possible. That’s why the joy of a child making the necessary grade gets quickly replaced by crying in silence and eventually screaming.
Here’s why parents have to scream instead of celebrate until the day they take their children to secondary school for the first time:
1. Naturally, not all children are going to make the necessary grades set by the schools of their choice so their disappointment definitely goes down to their parents.
2. Some of those schools set really high targets over and above that of the ministry of basic education and the ministry does nothing about that. They then organize a rogue system by which they collect cash in the corner to admit children who under normal circumstances would qualify for admission.
3. In some schools teachers are given three or 4 spaces to admit children and make money out of it. The whole game is played in the open. Again, the ministry has never bothered to investigate. The ACC acted when some brave children went on social media and called some prominent schools out.
4. Business people and some schools are making a real kill selling school uniforms and other materials. Everybody is taking advantage of the other in this wicked game. Anyway we congratulate those children who will make the grade.
QUESTIONS AROUND THE MINERAL WEALTH FUND NEEDS ANSWERS
The government is facing a storm of criticism from Civil Society Organizations over the way they have approached the creation of the so-called Mineral Wealth Fun. This is the fund that should help us realize a bit more from the riches God Almighty put in this land. Many Sierra Leoneans always talk openly about how rich we are and the fact that we are not benefitting as much as we should. So this is not a bad effort on the part of the government.
CSOs that we have spoken to say they have no objection to the creation of the fund but they think the government ought to have discussed matters with them in particular, especially those working in the extractive sector and indeed the wider community of Sierra Leoneans. They disagree with many of the provisions in the agreement with the company that is looking to run the fund, the man that is likely to be in charge and a few more things.
At this stage we are kindly asking the government to go into talks with the CSOs. It’s very important to keep the people on side in such matters. There is no point trying to serve the people when they believe the approach is wrong. The whole idea will descend into a farce. We are reading around a few documents and in the coming days, depending on what the government does with the issue, we should be able to educate our people on the issues.
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