THE SHOOT TO KILL APPROACH OF THE SALONE POLICE
Even as we write we still can’t tell how many people were killed or wounded when the police tried to put down demonstrations by worker at the African Minerals mining site at Ferengbeya and the general area of Bumbuna. That in itself is a very serious matter.
We know that strikes and demonstrations are almost part of life in mines. From South Africa to Chile and From Peru to Columbia, that is normally the case. We also know that like the rest of society, we should never delude ourselves that corporate employers and indeed the government will ever pay “fair wages.”
We however cannot expect two things to happen:
- That wage differentials between expats and locals will be so glaring and unexplained that locals, will find it necessary to take direct action after crying for many years.
- That the Sierra Leone Police will be so insensitive to their own people that even when abundant evidence is available that their officers had killed and wounded unarmed people, Spokesman Samura would go on radio to initially deny and when challenged with the evidence, go on to blame the people who, according to him attempted to “disarm” the officers of their AK 47 assault rifles, causing accidental discharge of live bullets to wound and kill.
We don’t want it to appear as if we are taking advantage of this situation to get at the police. But how can Samura continue to be spokesman for a police force that calls itself “force for good?” For Samura to have this warped feeling that every time the police find themselves in difficulties he should tell a blatant lie with the aim of deceiving the people, is as wrong as it is disrespectful and we don’ think the people can stand this anymore. Were the police lying to the people when they announced the other day that AIG Al-Sheik was now the new spokesman?
We can’t understand why IG MUNU’s men were carrying live ammunition on them as they tried to put down the demonstrations. Do you now understand why we believe that MUNU’s men should never the armed with live ammunition in such situations?
We can’t even begin to imagine what would have happened if MUNU were the Metropolitan Police Commissioner during the London riots.
Those police officers who killed people in Bo are still free today despite the fact that they were named in the same report that was used to indict and jail MP, Rado Yokie and others. Now other people have been shot in Bumbuna – no action has been taken against those responsible. We can’t believe MUNU is still in his job.
PRESIDENTIAL CASH TEARS BELGIUM APART
Once again a gift from De Pa’s has caused a serious breach of the peace in central Freetown. People commuting into Freetown were embarrassed when their vehicles were blocked, diverted and hit several times by so- called Belgium sellers – a group of jobless young men who make a living buying and selling second hand goods. And let’s not hide it, there’s a dark side to the Belgium place too in that they receive stolen goods.
This was a real case of Hastings drink, Waterloo drunk. Ordinary people who knew nothing about SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS given to the Belgium sellers by De Pa were made to suffer because some of the Belgium Sellers decided to steal from their colleagues.
We don’t know if this cash was coming from the public purse or from De Pa’s very deep pockets. We know however that a lot of people are now fed up with De Pa going around Freetown, close to the election, spraying cash and causing trouble. If De Pa wanted to give such money to the Belgium Sellers, he could have put it in their bank account. We witnessed the same chaos at Lumley Beach Car Wash and White Water car wash. De Pa should know that apart from the immediate “enjoyment” people get from having cash, it makes no difference to the lives of those people, their families and their communities. This is the sort of thing people do at election time for young people to vote for them and then cry about their decision few weeks after.
De Pa must do us a favour and do the following things:
- Start giving those monies to well-thought out community projects that would benefit thousands, if not millions – like stopping raw sewerage from flowing across the street at the same Belgium area to save the Belgium Sellers from diseases.
- Despite that fact we don’t know where these freebies are coming from, we urge De Pa to properly organize the distribution so that the whole thing doesn’t descend into chaos like it happened on Belgium’s day of rage.
- Finally, if De Pa must do it in his own style; remember to please change the money into LEONES which is our national currency. WE ARE VERY SURE EVEN BARAK OBAMA HAS NEVER SEEN SIXTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS PACKED IN ONE PLACE.
SO LAJ IS A PEACE AMBASSADOR? DE PA BLUNDERS AGAIN.
We saw pictures of a smiling LAJ and Kao Denero and De Pa at State House the other day. What the hell was going on here, we asked. Then we saw the text accompanying the picture. De Pa had just crowned the two musicians, PEACE AMBASSADORS for Salone.
We couldn’t believe De Pa had done this to us again. Just to remind De Pa, LAJ is before the courts for serious public order offences we cannot exactly state here. But we know that a poor guy was killed as a result of LAJ firing several rounds from a pistol and another musician chasing him in Formula One style along Lumley Beach. Hasn’t De Pa already influenced the courts by this accolade? Which Magistrate is going to send De Pa’s peace ambassador to jail? To be honest, we don’t think De Pa should be ‘meek and gentle’ with this man of violence.
May be LAJ’s handful of supporters will repay De Pa by formalising their membership of the RED FLAG movement but is that what this country is all about now?
PREMIER LEAGUE WITH TEARS – FREETOWN CITY COUNCIL FC
The acting Mayor of the Freetown City Council has waited a lot of time since coming to office, to try and dispose of the Albatross called Freetown City Football Club. The buying over of Freetown United Football Club and the setting up the council’s own football club was one of the many policy blunders committed by the indicted Herbert George-Williams. This is what people get when they elect a one party council in a place like Freetown. The idea to buy a football team, we are told, was never properly debate at council. Freetown people can’t understand why they needed a football team at the time it was bought. Remember that the City Council had just done the most expensive demolition job ever – bringing down city hall – one billion leones.
Perhaps we would have forgiven the council if the team was winning the league. Halfway through the Premier League, Freetown’s team is a sure candidate for relegation. Some of the players are looking to bolt during the transfer window. Please Mr. Acting Mayor, sell this team and stop the unnecessary spending. We know you are busy trying to get the APC ticket again, that’s important but take down this Albatross for quickly. That might even help with the APC symbol.
VICTORIA PARK - A SQUATTER CAMP IN THE HEART OF TOWN
...And while we are with the Freetown City Council, what is happening to the VICTORIA PARK project? Herbert will forever remain in our minds because of some of the unnecessary, costly and politically divisive stunts he embarked on in office. Look at that concrete jungle he calls Victoria Park. The project died more than three years ago and now squatters have moved in. All kinds of things are taking place in the park. Let’s not pretend we don’t know; the place is an eyesore. We shall raise all these issues again at the right time.
DAKPANAH Dr. Charles Ghangay Taylor – WELCOME TO SOUTH LONDON
Former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor once returned from an African Union summit looking a little confused just at time the late Col. Ghadaffi launched his United States of Africa idea. Because the Col. had splashed a lot of cash around, even sit-tight guys like Yoweri Museveni expressed a willingness to look at the proposals. Others were even ready to give up some of their rights as a sovereign nation to satisfy Ghadaffi. Charles Taylor called in his Vice President, minister and security chiefs to talk about this African Union project. Then he made this statement: “Ghadaffi is a good leader and United States of Africa is a great project, but who will be the leader”? His men look at each other in surprise, then one of them shouted; “you will be the leader.”
Tomorrow Charles Taylor will fly into London to begin a fifty year jail term in a South London prison. His dream to lead Africa, like Ghadaffi’s abiding belief that money was everything now lay in ruins. Charles Taylor will never walk free from that courtroom. In the unlikely event he does, four other countries are waited to try him, Noriega style. He gained the whole world but will now lose his soul.
FORMULA ONE – BAHRAIN-STYLE
The sport of Formula One has been badly tainted by its decision to go ahead with motor racing in Bahrain where the main opposition leader is dying in jail, despite Amnesty International’s damning report on the state of human rights in that country. In Bahrain, the police behave like the ones we have in Salone – they fire live bullets at their own people and kill some.
The Monarchs in this tiny outpost of tyranny, arrest doctors who treat people wounded in demonstrations. They invited troops from Saudi Arabia of all countries to put down peaceful demonstrations and the so-called INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY closes its eyes to all that. They shift attention to Syria. The Formula One thing is all about money. To us motor racing in Bahrain is just like Col. Ghadaffi trying to host the African Cup of Nations in Sirte with rebels sitting in Tajura.
The world will continue to be an unequal place as long as some countries don’t have oil.
