By Aminata Phidelia Allie
Independence Day celebrations at New England Ville in Freetown, Sierra Leone were cut short after two drowned in a well of over 50-ft deep.
According to eye witnesses, the first victim, a certain Lansana Koroma who dug the well over 3 years ago, had been called upon to clean it up and increase the depth as it had run dry during last year's dry season.
The over-50-year-old man, they said, met a rock whiles digging, upon which he set fire to blast it. He had gone to check on it on Sunday, April 27, when he met his death. It is not clear how.
When he couldn’t come up after sometime, bystanders sent for a 14-year-old class 6 pupil of the Ansarul Islamic Primary School, who, they claimed had made previous trips into the well. He also died.
The National Fire Force, upon arrival at the scene, used four metal ladders of 14 feet each but could not reach the bottom of the well, which prompted them to leave the corpse in the hole until yesterday, Monday, when they were removed with help from the Office Of National Security.
The New England Ville is hosts a number of government ministries and departments including the Water Ministry, education ministry and the central medical stores. Ironically, its people struggle for almost everything, including water and good schools.
Residents have accused the Guma Valley Water Company of demanding the sum of Le 500,000 from those who wish to have piped water in their homes before connection from the dam.
Such is the catch 22 situation for them that troublingly, when it rains also, people die in the community of mudslide.
(C) Politico 29/04/14
