By Mabinty Kamara
Claim: A video posted on social media claimed that a child was beaten because she was wearing a red t-shirt.
Verdict: the claim is misleading; the child was not beaten because of wearing a red t-shirt.
Methodology
To verify these claims, SLAJ/NDI SuperNewsRoom fact-checkers contacted the Sierra Leone Police and colleague journalists in Mile 19 in Tonkolili district, northern Sierra Leone.
This post was also published by a blog on Wednesday, Awareness Network falsely claiming that the girl was beaten for wearing an SLPP t-shirt.
The description of the video stated that: “Sad moment for this boy living at Mile 91 APC severely dealt with him to wear SLPP t-shirt. This is human rights violation? We are calling on the government, the police, the human rights organizations and the civil societies to take immediate action and put a stop to this nonsense.”
Haven spoken to Police on the ground, they told SuperNewsRoom that their investigation has not shown any evidence that the girl was beaten for political purposes.
Chief Inspector Alhassan Kamara, Line Manager attached to the Family Support Unit (FSU) at Mile 91 confirmed that they are investigating a case of the said girl versus her maternal grandfather, Mustapha. He said that the girl went out on the 3rd of June this year, which was the campaign date for the APC party in the town, and did not return home until the next day, the 4th of June 2023.
He said their investigations so far haven’t shown that the action of the grandfather was political but that the grandfather said it was just a disciplined measure which has gone out of proportion.
The Inspector noted that the clothing that the girl had on was just a red blouse with no inscription.
“She was wearing white and red blouse. She is an underage girl so we cannot attribute the incident to politics because she knows nothing about politics so we are investigating child cruelty and domestic violence,” he said.
Conclusion:
There is no evidence to show that the abuse was politically motivated
The child was not wearing an SLPP T-Shirt but a plain red blouse
That child was beaten by her grandfather and not uncle as claimed in the video.
Note: This fact-checked story is a product of the SLAJ/NDI SuperNewsRoom on Combating Disinformation in Sierra Leone’s 2023 electoral cycle. The project is supported by Global Affairs Canada to enable citizens to have access to credible and accurate information during the elections.
The SuperNewsRoom is powered by Africell SL.
U Don Chek Am? Na 4 Chek Am!
Copyright © 2023 Politico (19/06/23)
