By Albert George Sheriff
The Sierra Leone Police has said that clearance must be obtained before anyone organized a street carnival. It is common at this time of year for groups to block streets in holding carnivals.
The National Traffic Coordinator of the Sierra Leone Police, Superintendent Ambrose Sovula said that illegal street carnivals were a breach of the Public Order Act of 1965 and that anyone found wanting would face the full penalty of the law.
Superintendent Sovula said such behaviour carried the minimum of six months in prison. He said “people should apply to either the Inspector General of Police or the Regional Commander, Freetown, East, at Ross Road and the Regional Commander at Brookfields for the west of Freetown”.
He said when applications were made to the IG they would be passed onto the head of traffic and then the Regional Commander of the particular area of the carnival. “That is why there is always police presence at such carnivals that are legal in nature to report traffic irregularities and other crimes”, Superintendent Sovula pointed out.
Sovula said verification should be done by the police to maintain public order before police clearance would be issued to organize a street carnival. The head of traffic said illegal street carnivals were contributing to traffic congestion and other violations of the Public Order Act of 1965.
Meanwhile, some Freetown residents have also expressed concern over the spate of street carnivals within the municipality. One resident told Politico: “we are tired of the noisy environment whenever the festive season is here, we don’t have good rest at night and our kids can’t study”.
