COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE AUGUST 10 IS HERE
As promised, the government has constituted a committee to investigate the events of August 10, 2022, a day when within a few hours parts of Freetown, Kamakwie Makeni and a section of the airport town of Lungi were turned into killing fields. Many civilians were killed but crucially, SIX police officers were brutally killed by people the security forces are still looking out for. Many Sierra Leoneans should be forgiven for thinking that it was Foday Sankoh’s days all over again.
This committee, headed by a respected lawyer, now has the task to go to the bottom of all the issues and present a report to the government. As always we have some questions to ask because the statement gave us names of individuals and institutions that would be on the panel. We need a bit more. For example:
1. We need clear detail about the mandate of this committee and how long they have to get this job done. People wouldn’t want this matter to be kicked into the long grass by the promise of an investigative commission.
2. Where in this city will that committee be based? Will they have open sessions for ordinary people to witness their sessions?
3. A lot of people are concerned that the committee may not have the resources they need to work. Even established bodies are complaining about their quarterly allocations so how are we sure that the work of this committee will not be hampered by the non-availability of cash. Are they waiting for international money?
4. The committee needs to quickly demonstrate that it’s not like the others – for example the one that was allegedly set up in the wake of the sacking of AG Brewah over the storm that got LA Chocolate out of death row to a meet and greet session in Tiama and now self-imposed exile.
5. Understandably, there’s a lot of cynicism around this issue of a commission. Some people are already in detention. Are they going to be passed over to the committee or a separate criminal prosecution will run alongside the commission?
6. The last time we saw this kind of thing was when Principal, then in opposition, was attacked and wounded as he campaigned in his stronghold of Bo. That day at least one house was torched in the city. A committee chaired by a journalist went into Bo to investigate, they produced a report that was used to prosecute a sitting MP and a few other people. It was a totally one-sided prosecution. The facts are there. We are now reading what our diplomatic friends said at that time because we want to compare that with what they are saying now. Trust Politico!
GETTING SET FOR VOTER REGISTRATION AHEAD OF JUNE 2023
ECSL has now launched the voter registration exercise so that in the coming days Sierra Leoneans of voting age will find their way into registration centers to register their intention to vote in the coming elections. We join others to call on all Sierra Leoneans who are eligible to register to vote. It is only those who register that can vote and bring people to office that will take care of their interests. It’s no use not registering and voting but crying all over the place about the way the country is run in street corners or on social media.
We know that many people are consumed with the business of putting food on the table daily for the family but sacrificing a few hours for this important event is not a bad idea at all.
Politicians are now spreading their activities all over the country, some are returning to their constituencies for the first time since they were elected – well it may be an exaggeration but we just want to highlight how sparingly some of the MPs visit their people. Some know they have no chance of returning to the house so they have abandoned things and traveled abroad or are doing other things on the side. Anyway, we need everybody to step out and register.
1. There is no question of STRONGHOLDS anywhere in this business. All parties should be able to mobilize their supporters throughout the country without hindrance.
2. Community Based Organizations should also join the effort while staying clear of partisan politics. Some CBOs are doing clandestine politics that’s why we are warning against that kind of thing during the registration exercise.
3. All eligible people should try and register within the stipulated time. Sierra Leoneans like to call for and expect extension of all deadlines. This time may be different. ECSL may not have the money to extend the registration process so go and do it now.
4. ECSL should ensure that equipment and personnel are in place on the 3rd of September until the process ends. We will not accept delays because it’s raining or the machines are down. Lonta!
SIERRA LEONEANS SHOULD STOP CRYING ABOUT CONDITIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
These days a lot of pictures and audio messages appear on our phones, almost all of them completely unsolicited. People just have this habit of forwarding things without asking questions. Even when people complain by private conversation, they soon forget and push more.
In the last two weeks we have seen pictures of Sierra Leone allegedly kept in semi-detention centers in the UAE for God knows what. All the audios those detained are sending over have never clearly explained why they were rounded up. Their intention has always been to whip up sentiments on this side to bring some pressure to bear on authorities to do what we really don’t know considering the laws in those other countries.
We clearly want to know why those Sierra Leoneans are detained and our embassy in the UAE has some responsibility in this. Are they detained for overstaying their visas or for criminal activities? We know a lot of Sierra Leoneans who travel frequently to that part of the world for business and pleasure and have never had to deal with the police. So what’s happening to those now complaining on social media?
Among those people are our brothers and sisters who have spent a fortune to travel to those places in the belief that the streets are paved with GOLD. They could have used that money to set themselves up in business in this country but traveling abroad is their thing. Those are the same people who, even without being asked, are quick to run this country down. We hear their audios daily.
Our young people are now leaving in droves for Turkey and Cyprus to try their luck in entering Western Europe via Greece with all the dangers involved in that. We wish them well but they are making these journeys with their eyes wide open to all the uncertainties. So please don’t pack our phones with your messages. Send them to the government through our embassy.
NATIONAL DIALOGUE GOES ON BUT WHERE IS KING MESSI?
We were told by the president of Guinea Bissau who visited recently that King Messi assured him in a telephone conversation that he would go into a meeting with Principal as soon as he returned to Sierra Leone from his AU assignment to monitor the elections in Kenya. The outcome of that process is now hotly contested in court and we have not heard a word from King Messi. Is he back now?
Whenever King Messi is invited to some international engagement his people make a big play of it with the message that their man was still relevant on the world stage no matter his little troubles back home. We have been waiting to see pictures on the usual social media pages announcing his return but there’s no word yet. Or did we miss something?
Our real interest in all of this is that we want to see him walk into a room to have a conversation with Principal and then read a public statement about the outcome of that meeting and also take in the body language. The international community has pressed the government hard for such conversations and we have watched a few on TV. We now want the big one to happen as promised by President Embalo.
Can King Messi’s people start by telling us if the guy is back in Sierra Leone? Thanks.
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