As we mourn the terrible, excruciating, barbaric, and unfortunate death of our brothers and sisters in Makeni, who, on the 18th July 2020, were murdered in cold blood for their democratic and constitutional rights to protest, we wish to unreservedly state that, in all circumstances, we can never be happy for what happened.
We condemn in the strongest terms the use of lethal force by the Siera Leone Police and Military to disperse harmless civilians and protesters, all in the name of bringing a machine to Lungi that led to such fatal and despicable casualties. We want it to be clearly known that any life lost or wasted in Sierra Leone, is worth more than 100 thermal machines or any electricity that would be provided for us as a people.
Against this backdrop, we want to also establish that, the attitude and unprofessional actions of the police against civilians has reached the maximum level. We are beginning to see their actions as an orchestrated and calculated attempt to shoot and kill citizens with impunity, knowing fully well that nothing is going to come out of it. The police and by extension, the government is established to protect lives and properties and not the other way round.
If those who are supposed to protect our lives are the ones destroying them, we can never feel safe under their watch nor their protection. We are of the strongest conviction that, if the police can unreasonably kill civilian citizens in Makeni in the name of a machine, they can unhesitatingly kill people in Lungi for a similar circumstance.
Therefore, we see this by every indication as counterproductive regardless of the fact that electricity will be provided for the people of Lungi. Hence, we unanimously call on the government to investigate expeditiously and bring to book those trigger-happy police officers or military men, who in their quest to shoot, massacred the precious lives of our fellow compatriots. (Photo: Makeni under curfew).
Moreover, we also want to point out very clearly that, in as much as we appreciate the attempt to restore electricity in Lungi by the government, we wish to register our dissatisfaction over such long neglect of almost 5 months; especially when we take into consideration the strategic location of Lungi. We are aware of our stakeholders’ consistent and relentless effort to pacify government, to see reason as to why Lungi must be lighted; Sadly, all of those efforts by MPs and other stakeholders were waved with the back of a hand at a time most needed.
It begs the question to ask whether indeed Lungi is a priority as the gateway to Sierra Leone? Or was, is that, the government only thought of providing light to Lungi because the airport is about to be opened full-fledged? Or is the government telling us that, they cannot procure a new machine for us? Are the people of Lungi really taken seriously in terms of electricity or the government just want to use this situation to cover-up for their action and inaction in maintaining electricity in this part of the country? Well, all of these questions have left us wondering and perturbed, especially, when valuable lives are now wasted at the expense of a light that cannot be equated to their lives by any shape, standard or form. We are depressed and devastated by this circumstance and pray that we never again witness this kind of diabolic situation.
From a clear vantage point or perspective, we also wish to unhesitatingly state that, the unreasonable so-called motorbike or vehicle parade by an insignificant group of people in celebration of the arrival of the so-called machine on the 19th July 2020, doesn’t represent the views of thousands of Lungi people. These are ill-motivated sycophantic miscreants who were galvanised (possibly by SLPP propagandists), to send a picture that could seem as if Lungi is unsympathetic to the Makeni massacre. We can never celebrate viciousness! Not today, not tomorrow and not any time.
With heavy hearts, We register our profound sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the families and people of Makeni. May the families be consoled in these trying times. May the souls of those who lost their lives in the quest to exercise their rights, rest in perfect and perpetual peace. God bless Makeni! God bless Lungi!! God bless Sierra Leone!!!
