In what bears the hallmarks of establishing a police state in Kenema, the Sierra Leone police have introduced a system whereby hotels and other guest houses are mandated to record the personal data of their guests into a register with police crest on it and supplied by the police in the town.
Hotel and guest house operators told Politico that a police officer known as Conteh goes round regularly to check the registers.
One hotel manager said that if a name suspected to be an opposition SLPP member was seen in the register, they (the hotel management) would be questioned a great deal about their movement.
Meanwhile, a police warning has also been issued to the management of the Youth Center in Kenema mandating them to seek police clearance for any function they host there.
An opposition member, who would not be named until his party makes an official reaction to the situation, says it is "worrisome".
Head of intelligence Assistant Inspector General of police, Desmond Buck, could not give details but said he was not aware of any such exercise by the police in Kenema.
Meanwhile, all efforts to get Conteh in Kenema, through Assistant Superintendent of Police Ibrahim Samura in Freetown, were fruitless. Similar attempts were earlier made to contact the AIG in Kenema and police spokesman AIG Al Skeik Kamara, but they could not be reached.
See page 2 for photos of the register and the Police warning.
