Against that Fake Audio: Police And Government Officials Must Come Out Clean
The primary duty of the Sierra Leone Police Force like any other police in the world is to protect people and properties. They maintain order, catch lawbreakers, and work to prevent crimes. In carrying out their law enforcement duties, police officers have contact with those in the communities they serve in order to get information and to gather evidence. When complaints are made by people the police is bound by law to act on them, conduct proper investigations and bring lawbreakers to face the law. Unfortunately, the Sierra Leone Police Force has to a large extent failed in carrying out their duties. Although we expect police officers to work hard to ensure people are following the rules, they need to follow the rules as well. One of the main functions of a police officer is to get information and gather evidence.
But in the case of Randa Skeiky is currently under investigation for an alleged $500, 000 theft and fraudulently converting a British Passport, the police continue to drag their feet and to a larger extent giving freedom to the suspect to be roaming the streets bluffing with luxuries accrued from the alleged stolen money.
Since the matter was reported to the Police last year it is now close a year the said investigation is not completed and some authorities whose quest is to continue milking financial gains in the form of bribery from the suspect, Randa Skeiky, has left the police wallowing in the wilderness.
Perhaps this has caused the police to be biased in carrying out the said high profile case, which must have been charged to court a long time ago. What the Sierra Leone Police must realize is the fact that biased policing undermines legitimate law enforcement efforts, alienates community members and fosters community distrust.
One of the ethical issues officers are faced with is the requirement to act impartially. This idealistic type of oath causes a host of problems in real-world situations. A real example of this would be an officer that knows that Randa Skeiky stole, but rely on some quarters from above to dictate the pace of the matter and to dictate whether to continue with the investigations or not.
The doctored and fake audio
The two case files sent by the Criminal Investigations Department to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has nothing to do with doctored and fake audio being used by the key suspect, Randa Skeiky as a calculated ploy to blackmail key government officials under President Bio’s administration. The delay to charge the two matters to court had been precipitated by the said fabricated audio which the suspect had been using to instill fear among some political protectors especially those whose names were mentioned in the said audio.
The said audio, which will soon be made public, has been the main reason for the growing number of political protectors for Randa Skeiky who should have by now been behind bars for allegedly stealing that whopping sum of money from her former employer.
What most people following the matter keenly are pondering over is as to what has the said audio, which is are mere instructions given to Randa Skeiky to perform a simple duty, got to do with stolen money? After listening to the doctored and fake audio, it tells you clearly that the suspect has some questions to answer.
The content of the audio never spoke of any $500, 000, rather it provided directives as to what to do with a lesser sum the complainant had instructed the suspect to collect and give to so, so and so. It did not say go and collect all the monies in the safe and give it to X, Y or Zee, or keep this or that. It is like the servant collecting some amount of cash from a hidden treasure as instructed by his boss to take to another location. While the said servant has done so he then snapped the said sum at the delivery point to prove that he has so far delivered the cash as instructed. Prior to the said delivery, he instructed through an audio at the delivery point that “since you have that amount in your possession, please use X and Y to be delivered to Mr. A, B and C”. the doctored audio, which is suspected to have been slash right from the middle of the instructions, did not start with the normal courtesies like ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’. The other areas containing some other relevant information where deleted thereby leaving the mare instructions as to where to carry the cash and the names of those officials that were to receive. Since the audio was presented to the police, these officials have become worried and fearing that the suspect might end up ridiculing them in public.
But after a thorough technical analysis of the said audio, this writer can categorically state with no iota of doubt that it is fabricated and totally fake audio which was carefully doctored by the suspect and some of her advisers to escape the cause of justice for the crimes she allegedly had committed.
Those trying to protect Randa Skeiky are expected to have first ascertained the authenticity of the audio before taken their current line of action, which is fighting hard to kill the matter before the DPP’s Office. This is so because whether they succeeded in their quest to sweep the matter under the carpet, for now, the same audio will be used to haunt them in the future. It is therefore advisable for those officials who are trying to protect Randa Skeiky to discard that fake audio and allow justice to take it full course.
The Police must come out clean
All persons, irrespective of race or other distinctions, are to be treated in the same basic manner under the same. Each police officer swears an oath to uphold the law and to defend an individual’s constitutional rights. One of the ethical issues that some Senior Police Officers have faced in the Randa Skeiky matter is the ability to uphold these oaths.
The police must come out clean, remain autonomous and free from the influence of government officials trying to kill the two matters before the DPP. Law enforcement officers should not be forced into decisions based upon the dictates of a minister, State House Official or even the media. The Police should remain autonomous and concern themselves with the effective and efficient operation of their force to achieve an ethical law enforcement agency with high standards and values. Likewise, officers on the line must remain impartial, and, in doing so, should avoid protecting criminals that have a clear case to answer before them and the court of law.
Police officers are expected and required to follow law enforcement ethics as defined by law. They must maintain a professional image at all times because they are under constant public scrutiny and rely on the public’s trust to maintain their power position.
While most jobs end when the individual like Randa Skeiky and her protectors clock out, a policeman is faced with the ethical issues of maintaining their level of social respect and adherence to the law every moment. This often puts them in direct conflict with society, especially those that have little respect for the law or the police crown.
Police officers must be required to act as if the account provided to them were true; It is a breach of the (apparent) victim’s rights for them to do otherwise, unless and until there is credible evidence that it is not true. For the fact that a Senior Police Officer was informed that a suspect that stole $500, 000 is at the airport making her way out of the country, the police must have acted promptly by arresting her and conduct their investigations. Whether she is guilty or not, for the fact that a complaint is made or a tipoff is been received, a thorough action from the force is needed at that point. The Police and DPP’s office must come out clean be speedily investigating the two matters before them and charge to court. We are watching!
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