Following the aftermath of the August 10 protests in different parts of Sierra Leone, police have intensified their search for individuals whom they accuse of collaborating with one so-called Adebayor living in Holland that is doing his worst to make the country ungovernable.
Since the events of that day, news keeps filtering of instances of raids both by police and irate supporters of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party and the All People’s Congress whereby known opposition operatives and stakeholders have been targeted. This comes at a time when the forthcoming elections calendar has in early October witnessed the end of voter registration.
Aside from the already mislabeling of the protest to morph from terrorism, and insurgency to now charges of riotous conduct, we are witnessing a range of deepening exclusion even squeezing small and medium stallholders and hawkers from their informal but steady economy.
Each new day brings with it news of malicious persecutions from the arrest of opposition MPs, the killing of an opposition blogger in the northern city of Makeni, and the disappearance of some other persons perceived to be conduits of economic resentment of the failures of the ruling party.
While pro-government bloggers continue to instigate state security operatives into unlawful arrests and persecutions, the whereabouts of opposition blogger Tony Konomany, a brother of former minister Diana Konomany are still unknown.
Stories are also emerging that some staff in the public sector are also facing similar persecutions and sackings. We are told of the disappearance of BaiKamara since 15 October 2022. Kamara had been subjected to suspension, salary cuts and other forms of verbal and written reprimands on suspicion of being an opposition mule in the public security organization.
Bai Kamara’s case became more serious when his name was linked to that of the notorious Adebayor who is currently doing his worst to destabilize the government. Adebayor’s attempts to make Sierra Leone ungovernable are well chronicled.
As these outrages heighten, the government is yet to develop cushions to safeguard the economy from collapse. The foreign exchange rates keep soaring, piles of opposition matters are dragging in the courts and the body of an assassinated blogger Evangelist Samson and some 25 others have still not been released to their families for burial. An indigenous international journalist Umaru Fofana was in a recent Facebook post categorical in stating that some of the deceased were shot at their residence.
Optimisms are however in the horizon given the just-concluded UNGA summit where global good governance promoters spoke about bringing to book public duty bearers as well as sounding them a note of caution to keep within democratic standards.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone remains a beacon of democratic standards and strong national cohesion. The current wave of malicious persecutions targeting opposition stakeholders is deepening animosity, discredit for the judiciary and security system and further disrupting economic trust and demeaning the goals of national prosperity.
