Demonstrations and a stay-home strike cripple life across Sierra Leone today in Black Monday protests against abusive governance by President Bio

By Kabs Kanu

Sierra Leone has been crippled today by pockets of demonstrations by women and a successful stay-home strike by businnesses, street traders, hawkers and public transport drivers in protest against the abusive, repressive and unproductive rule of President Maada Bio and the Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP).

Usually busy and traffic-choked streets were virtually empty and many communities in the capital, Freetown , and cities across the country looked like ghost towns, with  only some private vehicles and few people on the streets. Sierra Leoneans are also protesting against the worsening economic crisis, marked by spurrious exorbitant increases in the prices of fuel products, food and basic commodities, police brutality and repression, which has three opposition leaders languishing in jail right now. Two of them, Mrs. Femi Claudius Cole and Dr. Dennis Bright –leaders of the Consortium of Progressive Political Parties ( COPPP)  were arrested yesterday, after Ms. Thomas demanded a permit from Police to stage today’s demonstrations organized by aggrieved women, while Mr. Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray of the Alliance Democratic Party ( ADP) has been in jail for almost three years now ,despite being accused of a bailable offence.

Despite threats of arrests and open intimidation by the police , women dressed in black were seen loudly demonstrating in some parts of the city, dispelling widely help beliefs by supporters of the SLPP  that the women will be cowed by the heavy-handed police handling of demonstrations in the country. A very brave woman arrested in Freetown could be seen in one video boldly addressing police officers across a security console who were threatening her that she will rot or die in jail.

At Waterloo and Jui in Western Area Rural District and Masingbi and Makeni in the North, citizen journalists also showed video streams of protesters demonstrating and decrying high petrol and food prices, starvation and suffering under the abusive reign of President Maada Bio.

CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINKS TO SEE THE ANGRY PROTESTS.

Sierra Leonean women are demonstrating against the unprecedented economic hardship, brazen political intimidation, gross violation of human rights, rampant corruption and a government controlled judiciary.

Martha Bendu, a trader at Abacha Street and single mom of 3, blamed President Bio’s bad governance, inept leadership, and police brutality for the present economic woes.

Marie Conteh, a trader at Kissy Road reckoned,

“… the Bio government is just using the Russia/Ukraine war as a scape-goat for non-performance. We have been in this messed way before the Russia/Ukraine conflict”.