Anti-Government Protests Turn Deadly in Sierra Leone
Voice of America
12 Aug 2022, 04:05 GMT+10
Nairobi, Kenya – Authorities in Sierra Leone say at least 13 civilians and six police officers have been killed in clashes that broke out during anti-government protests.
Anti-government protests erupted in Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown and two other towns on Wednesday.
In Freetown, protestors barricaded the streets, expressing anger over the soaring cost of living under President Julia Maada’s government. According to the protestors the cost of living has gone up more than 40 percent within a few months.
The Africa News network reports that protesters threw stones at police, sparking a confrontation that led to the deaths.
Sierra Leone police inspector general Willam Fayia Sellu told Reuters news agency Thursday that two police officers were killed in the capital Freetown, three in the northern town of Kamakwie and one officer in Makeni, a northern city.
Sierra Leone Vice President Mohammed Juldeh Jalloh termed the protests as unauthorized.
Rights groups in Africa have called for investigations into the protest. On its official Twitter page, Amnesty International urged Sierra Leone to guarantee and protect the right to peaceful assembly.
Several Dead in Sierra Leone Anti-government Protests
LIBERIAN DAILY OBSERVER
Violent clashes on Wednesday erupted between police and anti-government protesters in Sierra Leone, resulting in an unspecified number of deaths in the West African nation, neighboring Liberia.
Citizens had gathered in major cities across the country to protest against “economic hardship” and chanting “Bio must go”, referring to President Julius Maada Bio, who has 10 months left in his term. Maada Bio, who is eyeing re-election, is currently in the United Kingdom on a private visit.
According to Cocorioko.net, a popular Sierra Leonean news outlet (founded 1973) whose content appears mostly critical of the ruling establishment, the street demonstration was called by an organization named PEOPLE POWER IN POLITICS (PPP) headed by a social media political commentator known as Will Adebayor, who operates from Holland. With an audience of 48,587 followers on his personal Facebook page, many have dubbed him the “King of SaLone”.
Efforts by the Daily Observer to get comments from Mr. Adebayor via his social media handle did not materialize up to the publication of this story.
Wednesday’s demonstration was the climax of a two-day sit-down strike against the Julius Maada Bio administration, which took place earlier this week, August 8 and 9. On Wednesday, August 10, as allegedly directed by Adebayor, the people came out into the streets to demonstrate. Chanting, “MAADA MUST GO, WE WANT PEACE”, hundreds of people thronged the streets of Freetown and major municipalities across the country, denouncing economic hardship, rising prices, dictatorship, corruption, and bad governance. Adebayor posted a flier on his page, announcing the opening day of the protest (August 8), calling for an end to tribalism, political intimidation, police brutality, killings, and corruption.
The government of Sierra Leone through Vice President, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, announced a nationwide curfew from 3 p.m. after the clashes broke out when demonstrators set up roadblocks.
According to the Washington Post, VP Jalloh informed local media that “lives of both policemen and civilians were lost,” without giving further details.
But police spokesman Brima Kamara told the AFP news agency that “two police officers, a male, and female, were mobbed to death by protesters at the east end of Freetown this morning.”
In a full statement broadcast on Sierra Leone national radio, the police said: “Following the declaration of a nationwide curfew by His Excellency the Hon. Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) wishes to inform the general public as follows: That the curfew shall be in force from 3 pm on the 10th August 2022 to 7 am on 11th August 2022. Every other day is from 7 pm to 7 am. That all essential workers at the following places: hospitals, hotels, radio stations, television stations, telecommunications, companies, Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC), and Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), with valid identification, are allowed to move around during the period of the curfew.”
Several protestors told international news agencies that security forces had also fired live bullets that resulted in deaths.
Dozens of protesters were arrested on Wednesday, police said. Dozens of injured people are also said to be undergoing treatment at hospitals in Freetown.
The internet and all other telecommunication services suffered a 2-hour blackout nationwide on Wednesday morning, according to NetBlocks, a web monitoring group. Netblocks said “Authorities subsequently denounced an attempt to ‘overthrow’ the government and imposed a nationwide curfew.”
“As a government, we have the responsibility to protect every citizen of Sierra Leone. What happened today was unfortunate and will be fully investigated. I urge all Sierra Leoneans to be calm,” President Bio posted on his official Twitter handle. He’s expected to address the nation today.
Meanwhile, expressions of concern and condemnation have poured in from the international community, including the ECOWAS Commission and the United Nations.
The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) has strongly condemned Wednesday’s violence in the country.
“ECOWAS calls on all to obey law and order and for the perpetrators of the violence to be identified and brought to justice, in accordance with the law.”
In a tweet, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Sierra Leone, Babatunde Ahonsi, said: “The United Nations in Sierra Leone expresses serious concerns over the violent incidents that occurred today in Freetown, including reports of casualties.”
Only two independent news websites on Sierra Leone have filed reports on Wednesday’s protest so far. Both outlets have published previous articles that point to a record of political intimidation by the Bio administration against political opponents. At least six other well-known independent news outlets (which are online) in the country have no coverage on the protests as at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
Cocorioko reported that a few months into the Bio presidency in 2018 the State House ordered the SLPP police to forcefully remove ten legitimately elected APC (All People’s Congress) party parliamentarians from the House, leaving many of the APC MPs ambushed to sustain serious beatings and injuries. And the 10 APC MPs were quickly replaced by 10 ruling SLPP party officials who were defeated in the 2018 general elections.
But in July 2022, a band of thugs, believed to be supporters of Bio’s SLPP, entered the House of Parliament and began stoning opposition MPs, causing some to sustain injuries, while one APC MP was left unconscious, Cocorioko reported.
On August 9, the Sierra Leone Telegraph, another independent news outlet, reported “allegations of misappropriation of almost One Hundred Thousand Pounds by Sierra Leone’s ministry of finance to fund the president’s latest holiday abroad – with the country in economic turmoil”.
Chaos Erupt in Neighboring Sierra Leone as Citizens Violently Protest against Rising Cost of Living
Videos on social media showed large crowds of demonstrators, dead bodies, burning cars and piles of burning tires.
Other footage showed a group of young people throwing rocks and marching through smoke-filled streets in Freetown.
Sierra Leone’s leadership announced a nationwide curfew on Wednesday in response to the violence it said had caused an unspecified number of deaths, including among the security forces.
Vice-President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh in a video address said “These unscrupulous individuals have embarked on a violent and unauthorized protest which has led to the loss of lives of innocent Sierra Leoneans, including security personnel.”
“The government hereby declares a nationwide curfew. The security sector has been authorized to fully enforce this directive,” he said.
He did not say how many people had been killed.
However, the AFP news agency quotes the police spokesman Brima Kamara as saying, “Two police officers, a male and female, were mobbed to death by protesters at the east end of Freetown in the early hour of the protest.
Earlier, internet observatory NetBlocks said Sierra Leone faced a near-total internet shutdown with national connectivity at 5 percent of ordinary levels.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it condemned the violence and called in a Twitter post for “all to obey law and order and for the perpetrators of the violence to be identified and brought before the law.”
The government has criticized the unidentified organizers of the protest, warning that the country already has suffered enough through more than a decade of civil war that ended in 2002.
Reasons Behind The Protest
There have been brewing anger by a large segment of the public for a number of reasons, including a perceived lack of government support for ordinary people who are struggling, said Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah, a constitutional lawyer and governance activist.
“There has been little empathy from the central government to encourage folks that they see them suffering, and that they understand these are tough economic times,” Marrah told Reuters.
Long-standing frustration has also been exacerbated by rising prices for basic commodities in Sierra Leone, where more than half the population of around eight million lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
“People are upset about the country’s justice system which is sickening, daily price rises and economic hardship,” Daniel Alpha Kamara, a university student was also quoted by Reuters.
The protesters demanded the departure of President Julius Maada Bio, who was elected in 2018 and still has 10 months left in his term. The demonstrators chanted “Bio must go” as they made their way through the capital, Freetown.
Government Was Aware of Protest
In the build up to the anti-government protest, organizers launched a social media campaign calling on the pubic turn out in their numbers to form part of the demonstration.
The Government alerted the army to provide backup for the police in case of any eventuality.
On Tuesday, August 9 – a day before the protest, the national security coordinator, Abdulai Caulker, by the directive of the Vice President, ordered the Armed Forces to be prepared to back up the police from August 9-12, warning of a “potentially volatile security situation”, according to an internal letter shared widely online.
In the communication, Caulker said, “the Vice President and Deputy Chairman of the National Security Council has directed the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSAF) to assist the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) under the backing of Military aid to civil power (MACP) policy in the emergency category.”
“This directive is consequence on the potentially volatile security situation in the country caused by repeated social media incitements of the gullible population to embark on a country-wide violent demonstrations with the aim of subverting the peace and stability of the state. The SLP has assessed its resources and advised that it may not alone cope with the emerging security situation.”
The objective of the directive, Caulker add, is to ensure that proportionate plans are made and necessary actions taken by RSLAF in support of SLP to ensure the security of the state and its wellbeing.
Meanwhile, the latest situation in Sierra Leone has left the Mano River Union (MRU) countries including Sierra Leone’s closest neighbors – Liberia and Guinea on the edge as citizens of these countries continue to grapple with high price of basic commodities such as petroleum and rice.
Eight police officers killed in Sierra Leone during protests, minister says
(CNN)Eight police officers were killed during violent anti-government protests in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, the country’s youth minister told CNN on Thursday.
Curfew imposed as police officers, citizens killed in anti-government protests in Sierra Leone
By Biodun Busari
No fewer than eight police officers were reported killed during violent anti-government protests in Sierra Leone on Wednesday.
The country’s youth minister, Mohamed Orman Bangura told CNN on Thursday.
The minister also confirmed that a number of civilians were killed in the brutal demonstrations while others were injured.
Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh imposed a curfew Wednesday to quell the protests.
“Those are not protesters. There’s a difference between protest and riot and acts of terrorism. Protesting is different from acting as a terrorist…going against the state, killing young police officers,” he said.
“The police have made some arrests,” the minister told CNN while accusing the country’s opposition of financing the protests.
Calm returns to Sierra Leone as protest death toll rises
ALJAZERA
At least six protesters and six police officers killed during anti-gov’t protests in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, according to reports.
At least six protesters and six police officers were killed as anti-government protests in Sierra Leone turned violent, according to officials and local media reports.
Hundreds of people took to the streets on Wednesday in a public display of anger over economic conditions in the country and to protest the perceived failure by the government to cushion the effect of rising prices.
At least six protesters were killed, the AFP news agency reported, citing a morgue technician at the Connaught Hospital in Freetown; local media reported that seven protesters died.
Two police officers were killed in Freetown, three in the northern town of Kamakwie and one in the northern city of Makeni, Police Inspector General William Fayia Sellu told the Reuters news agency.
Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify death tolls.
Deadly unrest is uncommon for Sierra Leone, especially in the West African country’s capital Freetown. Relative calm returned to the city on Thursday after a nationwide curfew was imposed. Police and troops patrolled the streets of the capital, and some shops in the city’s central business district had reopened, AFP reported.
What began Wednesday as a peaceful assembly by market women to draw attention to “economic hardship” descended into clashes between security forces and young men demanding the president resign.
Several police stations were burned down and vandalised around the country, it said.
A police statement said 113 “suspects” had been arrested in the northwest and northeast provinces.
‘Embrace dialogue’
One video verified by Reuters from Freetown showed a police officer firing a gun into a crowd.
Sulaiman Turay, a 19-year-old living in east Freetown, marched briefly before police started firing tear gas and said he later saw demonstrators getting shot at from his porch.
“I think people are shocked. It’s not the country we know. Sierra Leone is a peaceful place,” he said.
A curfew imposed on Wednesday would continue from Thursday between 7pm (19:00 GMT) and 7am, the police said, without specifying an end date for the measure.
The government also announced it had put in place “mechanisms” to monitor social media and warned the public against spreading “incendiary” information “to destabilise the state”.
The internet was cut for two hours on Wednesday and again overnight, according to internet observatory NetBlocks.
President Julius Maada Bio, who had been in the United Kingdom on a private visit, returned ahead of schedule on Wednesday night, according to presidency spokesperson Tanu Jalloh.
“As a government, we have the responsibility to protect every citizen of Sierra Leone”, the president said on Twitter, describing the events as “unfortunate” and promising an investigation.
“I urge all Sierra Leoneans to be calm”, he added.
The United Nations, European Union, UK and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have all condemned Wednesday’s violence.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, urged the government to hold “prompt, impartial and thorough investigations … and bring those responsible to account regardless of their status and political affiliation”.
“I urge all sides to embrace dialogue”, she said.
Sierra Leone has had a reputation for relative stability since the end of a civil war that ran from 1991 to 2002.
Its population of eight million people live in one of the poorest nations in the world, ranking 182 out of 189 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index, a benchmark of prosperity.
The economy, heavily dependent on minerals, was devastated by the civil war that left about 120,000 dead.
Efforts at rebuilding were set back by an Ebola epidemic in 2014-2016, a fall in world commodity prices and the coronavirus pandemic — all of which have disrupted trade and investment and hit exports.
In July, the country slashed three zeros off its currency in a bid to restore confidence in the inflation-hit leone.
Sierra Leone imposes curfew as anti-government protests turn deadly
Issued on:
At least two police officers and one civilian died after a day of anti-government protests in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, staff at the city’s main mortuary said on Wednesday.
Sierra Leone’s government previously said there had been deaths, but did not say how many, as protesters threw rocks and burned tyres in the streets out of frustration at worsening economic hardship and other issues.
The West African country, which has been struggling with rising inflation and a fuel crisis, imposed a nationwide curfew from 3 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) in a bid to stem the violence.
“As a government, we have the responsibility to protect every citizen of Sierra Leone. What happened today was unfortunate and will be fully investigated,” said President Julius Maada Bio on Twitter.
In addition to the three bodies at the mortuary, a Reuters reporter saw another civilian body on a street in eastern Freetown.
The police chief and spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Videos on social media verified by Reuters showed large crowds of protesters and piles of burning tyres in parts of the capital, Freetown. Other footage showed a group of young men throwing rocks on a street filled with whitish smoke.
“People are upset about the country’s justice system which is sickening, daily price rises and economic hardship,” said Daniel Alpha Kamara, a university student.
The violence started at around 10:30 a.m. local time, he said, when he saw clouds of tear gas rising up outside his dormitory room.
“These unscrupulous individuals have embarked on a violent and unauthorised protest which has led to the loss of lives of innocent Sierra Leoneans, including security personnel,” said Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh in a video address.
“The government hereby declares a nationwide curfew,” he said. “The security sector has been authorised to fully enforce this directive.”
Regional political and economic bloc ECOWAS said it condemned the violence and called in a Twitter post for “all to obey law and order and for the perpetrators of the violence to be identified and brought before the law.”
Discontent has been boiling over for a number of reasons, including a perceived lack of government support for ordinary people who are struggling, said Augustine Sorie-Sengbe Marrah, a constitutional lawyer and governance activist.
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“There has been little empathy from the central government to encourage folks that they see them suffering, and that they understand these are tough economic times,” he told Reuters.
Long-standing frustration has also been exacerbated by rising prices for basic goods in Sierra Leone, where more than half the population of around 8 million lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
Earlier on Wednesday, internet observatory NetBlocks said Sierra Leone faced a near-total internet shutdown during the protests, with national connectivity at 5% of ordinary levels.
On Tuesday, the national security coordinator asked the armed forces to be prepared to back up the police from Aug. 9-12, warning of a “potentially volatile security situation”, according to an internal letter shared widely online.
(REUTERS)
At least 21 protesters killed during anti-government protests in Sierra Leone, sources say
By Nimi Princewill, Stephanie Busari CNN and Reuters
Eight police officers were killed during violent anti-government protests in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, the country’s youth minister told CNN Thursday, while hospital sources told Reuters that at least 21 civilians were killed in different locations in the country.
The officers, six men and two women, were “brutalized” and killed in the area where the protests held on Wednesday, youth minister Mohamed Orman Bangura said.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the capital Freetown on Wednesday, protesting inflation and the rising cost of living in the West African country.
The protests grew violent at times. Graphic images and video of battered and seriously injured protesters and some members of security forces could be seen on social media. Security forces were also seen firing guns at citizens.
Bangura said he could not immediately confirm the number of civilians killed or injured in the violent demonstrations.
“We are yet to know how many people were injured, but I can confirm that eight police officers were killed.”
According to Reuters, at least 21 civilians were killed at different locations in the country. It reported that 13 people were shot dead in Freetown, and another eight were killed in Kamakwie and Makeni towns, citing hospital sources.
Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh imposed a curfew Wednesday to quell the protests.
Youth minister Bangura described the protests as an “act of terrorism.”
“Those are not protesters. There’s a difference between protest and riot and acts of terrorism. Protesting is different from acting as a terrorist…going against the state, killing young police officers,” he said.
“The police have made some arrests,” the minister told CNN while accusing the country’s opposition of financing the protests.
“This was well planned, calculated and financed by members of the opposition All People’s Congress. Members of the opposition paid young people to come to the street to take over governance,” Bangura, a member of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party said.
“If the protest is as a result of the cost of living, why is it not happening in all the strongholds of the current government? Why is it in Makeni that happens to be the headquarter town of the opposition? Why is it not a nationwide strike? Out of 16 districts, why is it only in three districts that they (the opposition) think is their stronghold?” he asked.
CNN has reached out to the opposition party APC for comment, but is yet to hear back.
However, Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who is one of the leading politicians in the main opposition APC party, has denounced the violence.
In an emotional video released Wednesday, Aki Sawyerr pleaded for an end to the violence and said: “This is not about party but about people.”
The mayor added that she had been praying for peace and national unity in Sierra Leone alongside the steering committee of religious leaders.
“Today in our city… my heart goes out to all who lost their lives and loved ones… the ones who lost property right across the city. We all are brothers and sisters… I believe fully in peace and stand against violence,” she said, speaking in the local creole dialect.
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