Political attack: too bad though

Following the President’s pronouncement that his government has never held captive any political detainee, recent arrests of politicians of the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) seem to contradict the avowed declaration.

In recent times, a pro-APC party organization name tagged “DI PA EN YAI” designed and spearheaded the Bo town unrest which later saw supporters of the APC and SLPP attacking the other, hence the burning of offices owned and belonging to opponent political parties.

The unrest also saw members of both political parties blaming the other for perpetrating maim against vulnerable residents of Bo town.

The unrest eventually gave birth to the arresting and prosecution of bigwigs of respective political parties thus the confinement of a member of parliament at the country’s central maximum prison.

Persons charged were prosecuted under laws as provided for by the public order act, refused based bail on number of appearances and later committed to the Sierra Leone high court; proceeding is currently actively.

Of course, persons charged cut across party loyalists of both the governing APC and opposition SLPP.

The police, in a rather strange way, whether or not received order from the powers that be, put up a brave face in arresting and incarcerating a sitting Member of Parliament, Honorable Foday Rado Yokie for what was attributed as violation of the public Order Acts; though quite appalling to society.

Disclosures are that the Central maximum prison, of late, has been transformed to a place where political opponents are kept to quiet them.

To the general view and perception of people, it is but a complete opposite to the ideologies, principles and best practices of democracy.

To some, it was a deliberate infringement of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human and People’s Rights, and section 3 of the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone.

Reflection must be drawn to the recently held local council bye-elections in constituency 104 ward 369 in the east part of Freetown.

That because the governing APC and opposition SLPP were desperate for winning, there was a breakdown of law and order at arrears in word 369, which allegedly resulted to the wounding of one of APC’s new converts Lansana Fadika, fracturing of the left hand of the SLPP aspirant Mohamed Kanu Mansaray and few others.

And because of this, major players of the SLPP including its councilor elect Mohamed Kanu Mansaray, chairman Constituency 104, Abdul Aziz Carew, and few others found themselves docked in police cells, charged and refused bail, and finally to the Central maximum prison.

This singular event poses threat to the lives of the people of Sierra Leone as their elected representative, who is not a member of the ruling APC government has refused the right to act as the elected councilor of ward 369.

In the most peculiar circumstance, the Attorney General and Minister Justice mutually with his Director of Public Prosecution and entourage have time representing the complainant (Lansana Fadika of APC) in the well of the act as they prosecute a matter of wounding against hosts of SLPP accuses.

The surprise however is the fact that armed riot police officers of the operational security division (OSD) are observed barricading the periphery of the Sierra Leone law court each time the SLPP culprits were in court to answer to charges against them.

No surprise they were lately granted bail. Reciting words of the Director of Public Prosecution, he said nevertheless that he was not averse to bail because he has closed his case.

It is but necessary for society to follow the good tenets of democracy and respectfully observe the call for change.

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