Francis Munu, Police boss
Deputy head of discipline at the Complaint Discipline and Internal Investigations Department, CDIID of the Sierra Leone police has told Politico that all officers who commit criminal offences are disciplined, dismissed and charged to court.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Victor Manfred Williams, was speaking on the recent committal of an alleged police murder case to the high court of Sierra Leone. The accused, police Constable 11779 Abass Ibrahim Kabbay, was being preliminarily investigated on one count of murder contrary to law at the Magistrate Court No.2 presided over by Komba Kamanda.
The 25-year old, who was attached to the King Harman Road police post in Freetown, on Saturday 8 December 2012 allegedly shot and killed 19-year old Musa Fofanah, whom he claimed to have known for over two years.
In his statement to the police, the accused said he was intoxicated with alcohol, adding that he had no knowledge of actually shooting or killing anyone. He said he had about 24 bullets in his rifle, denying allegations that he killed the boy.
The police chief said they had a degree of offences in the force which included minor and severe offences. He went on to state that those who committed severe offences like murder were dismissed. For the minor ones, he said disciplinary actions like caution, suspension and correction training were used.
“That is why we make sure we check criminal records of our recruits by doing finger print tests and if anything adverse is found, we don’t recruit them,” he said.
He, however, dismissed claims by the former police officer who was standing trial that he was drunk. According to him “drunkenness is an offence under the rules and regulations of the force,” and added that there was no proof that he was really drunk. “There are rules of engagement for the use of all weapons and ammunition and since he decided to flippantly disregard those rules, he has been accordingly disciplined, dismissed and turned in to be tried in a court of law”.
ASP Williams also added that even the police officer who recently stabbed a member of the local masquerade secret society group called ‘ojeh’, was dismissed and turned in.
In his ruling Magistrate Kamanda dismissed claims by the accused that he was drunk at the time of the killing, adding that alcohol and drunkenness were no excuse to committing an offense.
“I need not waste my time in dealing with this matter as the accused just came home on the said date, asked who was in the house and when the deceased came forward, he shot and killed him in cold blood,” the Magistrate lamented.
He committed the accused to the high court for trial on the offense of murder and ordered for him to be remanded until his case was mentioned in the high court.
