By Abu Shaw
Brutality and human rights abuses are conspicuously synonymous with the ruling SLPP government in Sierra Leone under President Maada Bio.
The opposition politicians are the latest victims of police and soldier brutality. State House.
sources have confirmed that it was President Bio who personally instructed the SLPP military and police officers to launch the unprovoked assault on the opposition politicians who visited the seat of power this week to deliver a letter signed by the Consortium of Progressive Political Parties CPPP. For such human rights violations to be unleashed on political opponents at State House is appalling as well as insulting the integrity of the people of Sierra Leone. (Photo: Some of the CPPP leaders during the meeting before the assault at State House).
On Thursday, April 22, 2021, will go down in history as a ‘Dark Day’ for undermining political tolerance following the astonishing molestation of the CPPP representatives at State House in Freetown where dodgy state security officials attacked the opposition politicians in broad daylight. Eyewitnesses say they were shocked to see the manhandling of the CPPP representatives who went there to hand over a grievance letter to President Bio.
Reports intimate that it was all normal when the CPPP representatives alighted at the State House main gate and informed the security personnel that their motive was to present a letter to the Head of State. The letter contained the final resolutions arrived at by the CPPP during a meeting on Thursday when they deliberated on the SLPP government’s controversial Mid-Term Census and the Cybercrime Bills and the Non-Political Partisan in local elections.
The CPPP consists of thirteen political parties including the main opposition party the All Peoples Congress APC, the Coalition 4 Change C4C, the National Grand Coalition NGC, the People’s Movement for Democratic Change PMDC, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, the Unity Party UP, CDP, the Alliance Democratic Party ADP, and the United Democratic Movement UDM
Reporter: A host of the military personnel with OSD personnel came to the main checkpoint. As the CPPP representatives came in, the security personnel intimidated them and beat others. Even the C4C official was touched. This is what Femi Claudius Cole of the United Party UP said. (Photo: State House and President Bio who engineered the assault himself).
UP: We went to consult with him. Can the opposition not request a meeting with our president?
Reporter: What is your message to the people of Sierra Leone and the international community?
UP: The international community, we want them to wake up. We want them to know where they are investing their monies, what they are investing it for. What is our question; this Mid-Term Census, removing political parties from local council elections. Cybercrime, we want to engage to do our duties. If we are doing Census, we want a Census that will benefit our children and our grandchildren. They should not just do it to benefit the SLPP government. So if we want to give our letter to the President, we don’t think they should take guns to beat us. I think it is our right to do so. So I think the situation is good for the public to see. Let the public get the awareness. What we are seeing now is the real meaning of the terminology ‘Paopa’.
Reporter: Thank you very much Ma. This is what happened. This is one of the C4C officials, what is your name sir?
C4C: My name is honourable Sahr Charles.
Reporter: He is one of the C4C politicians attacked. Will you tell us what they did to you, sir?
C4C: We just saw the brutality and the paopaism of the current government. What is bad about just delivering a letter to the President? What is bad about it? You know. We just came to deliver a letter. Right. The Consortium of Progressive Political Parties CPPP that came together in one voice believes that we should respect the democracy in our country. We came to deliver a letter to our President and to get an opportunity to get to the President. Here is the situation we came peacefully, without any form of commotion.
Reporter: What happened?
C4C: The police and the soldiers intimidated us. They pushed us. They even used a gun to hit me as you can see. They manhandled me. I have got some of my things missing, my glasses and what have you. Why? Is it a crime now for somebody to come to State House? For us to come to talk to our President; President of the Republic; He is not a President of any political party. He is the President of the people of Sierra Leone. We understand the fact that through the SLPP party he came to State House. Understand. If it was SLPP members who had come today to see the President, would they behave this way? Is this the democracy we want? (Photo: CPPP political leaders, a unity that has shocked President Bio and his corrupt SLPP government).
Reporter: Ok, honourable Sahr Charles, somebody would like to ask maybe they did not recognise you as a matter of fact, that it is a usual act to intimidate people. What can you say to that?
C4C: The people just don’t want to know. Whenever they see strange faces, people that they think are not in tune with them, definitely, they have the pre-conceived mind that as long as they see people like Tamba Sandy, Yansaneh, Femi Claudius Cole, leader of the Unity Party, and others, they would not pick. They don’t want to know what motivates you came with. Even to the extent, I told that we did not come here for the commotion. You said we did not follow the right procedure. Ok. It’s well and good. Give us the space to go back. And on our way coming back, they started harassing us. They said a call from State House has authorised them to push us. They behaved that way. Right. Even the leader of the Consortium Femi Cole, a female, gave no respect to her. They attacked all of us. This is the situation we are in. Sierra Leoneans, our democracy is at stake. And we must stand up as a people to fight for this country.
Reporter: Ok. Thank you very much for talking to the Global Rapid Team. Sierra Leoneans, this is what happened at State Avenue as we are talking to you. Plenty of the soldiers who came from State House, for no reason, beat people because they came to tender in a letter to the President so that the President would listen to the concerns raised over the months on issues that are affecting the country. Police and soldiers intimidating and harassing and beating people including parliamentarians. And one guy told us that they beat him mercilessly. This violence we are talking about is being perpetrated by the SLPP. This is the current situation. I am Mallam, the national PRO of the Global Rapid Team in Freetown.
Meanwhile, a brief statement dated 23 April 2021 from the opposition parliamentary leaders was released yesterday. It reads: “We have watched with shock and dismay the humiliation of some of our Political Parties as they deliver a letter to His Excellency the President. Such peaceful events are regular occurrences in working democracies. We strongly encourage the government to understand and encourage inclusive dialogue and consultations with Political Parties especially concerning critical issues of national interest,” signed by Hon Chernor Bah, APC and Hon Kandeh K Yumkella, NGC and Hon Saa Francis Bhendu, C4C.
