When is the next Ferengbeia Commission of Inquiry? When?
The Ernest Bai Koroma led government is popular these days of staging commission of inquiries into untold situations unfolding around the country. For these reasons, many with curious lips have begun asking when is the recent happenings in the Northern town of Frengbeia going to attract yet another commission of inquiry?
As a way of unearthing truths of what usually happens in the encounter between the police and the masses, holistic and sincere commissions of inquiries are often the way out. But it seems that the Sierra Leonean society is becoming accustomed to it and even when facts are unveiled in those commissions of inquiries details of them are only reserved in the shelves of history.
It is obvious that on many occasions the Operational Security Division wing of the Sierra Leone Police Force are becoming notorious of violating the rules of engagements whenever they are faced with riotous situations. They have often been accused of highhandedness and excessiveness which has resulted in human suffering and nothing comes out when it is really established that they are guilty of such cruelties.
The rules of engagement are rules meant to govern police officers (OSDs) during operations and they are given specifications they must obey and honour. This is not the case anymore with the Sierra Leonean police, they have much liberty to gun down harmless people at their free will.
A similar strike action to that which recently took place in Bumbuna occured sometime ago in Koidu where police exhibited the behest of their highhandedness. The workers were protesting against their deplorable working conditions of service. Here is the police who themselves are Sierra Leoneans standing tall gunning down their fellow Sierra Leoneans over mining companies. Between these mining companies and the masses of this country what does the future hold? Mining companies can never improve the development stamina of a country they often come to exploit and earn themselves our state resources.
Now it is worth noting that the Jenkins Johnson Commission of Inquiry did holistic findings into the saga but the recommendations he submitted were never applied.
A similar situation with the Moses Showers report on political violence which names a few rascals is given a nod of excellence, but up till this moment, those who the commission’s reported are still holding public offices and nothing else.
In the industrial strike action staged by Africa Minerals Workers it has been reported that dozens of anti riot police carried a spree of arms firing on defenceless individuals who were only protesting to have improved conditions of service, and here is the police gunning them down.
A police officer told me that the OSDs stationed in the Ferengbeia impasse did fire live rounds of bullets on defenceless civilians which the police spokesperson is double speaking about. In whatever moral or sense the idea of killing innocent citizens is not a good one, we condemn it and it is not acceptable.
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