President Maada Bio has provoked more bitterness across the nation and there are widespread condemnation, ire and all kinds of speculations as his government went on to defy, sadden and irritate families and citizens by refusing to hand over the dead bodies of victims of the August 10 protests and instead burying them by force, with the coffins sealed and families denied the opportunity to see their loved ones before interment.
Families cried bitterly and others openly and tearfully condemned the government as the SLPP Government left them in the lurch, even fueling speculations that the coffins may not have even contained bodies of the murdered family members. If the speculations are true, what did the SLPP government do to the bodies of the 23 victims ? “How can one man be so heartless and continue to inflict so much pain on the citizens of his country ?” , Sierra Leoneans have been asking with bitterness on social media .
On Monday October 17, relatives, friends and wellwishers of the slain protesters went to the Connaught Hospital morgue , thinking that the SLPP Government would have handed over the bodies to them to give them their last rites , bury them and bring some closure to the painful saga. But BBC reporter, Umaru Fofana, has published this story that day :
COCORIOKO
What emerged later was that relatives of the victims rejected the Le 20 million offered by the government and still insisted that the bodies be given to them for burial, but the Bio Government turned down the pleas from relatives and went on with their forced burials. A statement by the government spokesmen that the relatives had accepted the offer proved false.
FREETOWN JOURNALIST SAIDU BAH REPORTS ON THE CEREMONY :
Sierra Leone Buries Riot Dead Amid Outcry
Twenty-seven civilians killed in August riots in Sierra Leone were buried Monday in the capital Freetown following a state-led ceremony, as families disputed police accounts of their deaths.
Coffins were lowered into individual graves at the Bolima Cemetery in the Waterloo district of Freetown, following a ceremony at the Connaught Hospital Mortuary.
“We are sad and devasted for what happened to my brother,” said Alusine Koroma, who contests the official account of the death of Hassan Dumbuya, a social media influencer and prominent member of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party.
On August 10, a protest about the cost of living spiralled into deadly clashes between security forces and young men calling for President Julius Bio to resign.
Violence erupted in several parts of the West African nation, with the authorities imposing an internet blackout in response.
In the days following, police said they conducted raids on “hideouts for perpetrators”.
During one of those raids in the city of Makeni, Dumbuya — alias Evangelist Samson — was killed in crossfire, a police statement said. His family disputes that, and the APC has called for an independent probe.
“He was shot from the back in Makeni, according to the autopsy report we received from the coroner”, Koroma said through tears on Monday.
The family has refused the 20,000 Leones ($1,200) the government offered to each family to help with funeral rites.
Koroma said they had requested and were denied a family burial.
Mohamed Rahman Swaray, the Minister of Information and Communications, said the state had “struck a deal” with families in which it would lead the ceremony for national security reasons.
Security is “the only reason” the state was involved, he told AFP, attributing the long delay to the need to reach a consensus with the families.
He also cited the need for relatives to identify bodies and be present for “examinations”.
“Some of (the violence) happened in various parts of the country; we had to put out public announcements and family members — some of them were initially scared”, he said. “We had to extend one deadline after another.”
Civilians were killed in the cities of Makeni, in the Northern Province, and Kamakwie, in the North West Province, as well as in eastern Freetown.
Swaray said nine bodies had still not been identified.
He said families had initially feared the dead would be buried in mass graves.
“This is a sad day and a loss to our nation,” Internal Affairs Minister David Maurice Panda-Noah told mourners following Muslim and Christian prayers at the mortuary.
On August 24, six police officers killed in the riots were buried in a state funeral attended by Bio.
Sierra Leone, a country of about eight million people, has had a reputation for relative stability since the end of its 1991-2002 civil war, which left around 120,000 people dead.
But the economy, heavily dependent on minerals, has struggled to rebound.
_____________________________________________________THE BURIALS CAUSED PUBLIC OUTRAGE AS SEEN BELOW FROM COMMENTS BY POLITICAL ACTIVISTS AND LEGAL PRACTITIONERS :
- Sierra Leone News Updates
Breaking Home News 17/10/22
A STATE OF MISERY HITS THE PEOPLE OF SIERRA LEONE LED BY SLPP BIO KAMAJOR ADMINISTRATION
TODAY , THE 17TH OCTOBER 2022, bereaved Families Of the August 10th Massacre by the SLPP BIO Pro- Kamajor terrorists Converged at the FREETOWN Central Mortuary ahead of the propose Sham burial in mass grave about twenty miles off from the capital- Freetown.
The SLPP Bio led Kamajor government in a Press Release stated that the 25 innocent or more Sierra Leoneans massacred by the SLPP PRO Mende Kamajor forces during the August 10th protests will not be given to their families for a befitting funeral despite all speculation .
IN a rather somber mood , His Excellency President JULIUS MAADA BIO and his SLPP Mende Government offered each family the sum of Le 20 million which is equivalent to ($1,250) as compensation to the bereaved which was rejected by almost all the family members including that of the Apc party social media crusader COMRADE Hassan Dumbuya, commonly known as EVANGELIST SAMSON who was gun down four days after the Protests in the streets of Makeni City by the PRO SLPP Bio death squad on the rampage killing Northwesterners and opposition supporters across the country .
The undisclosed burial site of those killed by President JULIUS MAADA BIO and his PRO SLPP death squad still remain unknown by most family members.
But it was rumored that they will be buried in WATERLOO in the outskirts of Freetown.
The slpp Bio led government will be remembered across the world and in Sierra Leone history as the most ruthless. reckless , Unproductive, aimless and useless Government in the political history of our country Since independence from GREAT BRITAIN .
MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PERFECT PEACE, AMEN
