WE CONDEMN THE ALLEGED COUP ATTEMPT BUT CALL ON SLPP GOVT. TO RESPECT THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE AND THE DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW
By Kabs Kanu
The SLPP Government’s case that an attempt was made to overthrow the regime on Sunday November 26, 2023 seems to have been bolstered when a UK -based opponent of the government, AMADU KOITA MAKALO, earlier listed by Police as one of the wanted participants of the coup attempt, was arrested in Freetown .
We at COCORIOKO condemn the November 26 events and the apparent the coup attempt . We believe that legitimate power should be attained through the ballot box, though the President Maada Bio government has consistently killed democracy in Sierra Leone and denied citizens the rights to speak through the ballot box. We do not support or will never be party to any military or electoral coup in Sierra Leone.We believe in democracy and constitutional change of governments.
Though we abhor the misgovernance , tribalism, shedding of innocent blood and human rights abuses of this Bio regime, we condemn all coups in the bodypolitik of our nation. Armed and violent usurpation of power, as well as electoral coups, which represent an illegal power seizure, should have no place in our country. Any kind of coup, whether by the gun or through the ballot box, should be repudiated and roundly condemned and those who commit them must face the full force of the law. Bio has allowed our nation to enter another dangerous phase of democratic regression and breakdown of law and order ,but we cannot exacerbate the problem through electoral and military coups. Sierra Leoneans are entitled to democracy and free, fair and credible elections , though they have been denied it by the Maada Bio Government.
However, as we condemn the November 26 chaos, we also want to caution the SLPP Government to follow in full the cardinal legal principle of THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE in the ongoing investigations into the coup attempt. We know extremist SLPP supporters and bitter haters of the APC would be annoyed with this message.But it is what it is. We live in a civilized world and everything must be done through the best practices of civilization.
The Rule of Law must always be followed by the Bio government and it demands that no man should be presumed or pronounced guilty of any offence until he has been tried and proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a competent court of law, and the burden of proof is always on the prosecution to demonstrate and satisfy that the accused is guilty of the crime with which he is charged .
We keep hearing very disturbing social media audios in which some angry extremists have taken unto themselves the roles of judge and jury and are pronoucing people guilty of being part of the November 26 events . This is reprehensible and wrong . We cannot be silent when we see extremists accusing people falsely and endangering their lives and well-being , as well as threatening them in contravention of the law.
SLPP extremists have already assumed names of people ( including former President Ernest Koroma) as behind the coup attempt. This is wrong. Mere suspicion or ties with the suspects is never enough to presume or pronounce that somebody is guilty of or a collaborator of any crime . Extremists are undermining the constitutional rights of innocent people and endangering their lives by these unproven allegations and assertions.
The SLPP Government must learn to follow the Due process of the law in investigating and prosecuting all suspects of of the alleged coup attempt . This means that the SLPP must conduct all legal proceedings according to established legal rules and principles and the Rule of Law , to ensure the protection of civil and constitutional rights of all suspects and defendants . Due process imposes on the SLPP the duty to ensure legal procedural fairness to all, regardless of tribe, region or political affiliatoons. Due Process also imposes on the Bio government the duty to guarantee the right to protection of all suspects from physical harm , unjust and cruel investigation procedures and trials by ordeal throughout the judicial process .
Also, all searches, seizures and arrests should be conducted in strict adherence with the rule of law. We are not under a State of Emergency and therefore the security forces cannot enter any home to search or seize a person or property without a valid search warrant or legal arrest warrant or a probable cause that the person has committed an offence. Despite the seriousness of this situation and the pains it had regretfully inflicted , the security forces are still under the law and should conduct searches and arrests according to law.
It must also be emphasized that all suspects and detainees should be treated in accordance with the principles of the Vienna Convention on prisoners of war ( which also covers prisoners of any conflict ). Prisoners must not be murdered, brutalized or denied any of their private and fundamental rights as human beings. The fact that suspects may have killed others during the commission of their alleged crimes does not excuse the government from its responsibility to adhere to the due process and the rule of law.
The images we have been seeing on social media are very, very disturbing and create the impression that the SLPP Government has not been following the presumption of innocence, due process or the Geneva Convention. Did Leatherboots have to be murdered ? How do we know that he was not innocent when he was brutally killed before his own side of the story was heard ? Did he die in a crossfire ? Who gave the security forces the right to kill him before he was fully investigated ? How many more people may have been extrajudicially executed who probably had no hand in the alleged coup attempt ?
The picture below shows damage to the right eye of Koita . Was he brutalized after his arrest ? We learnt that he did not put up a resistance during his arrest , so what happened to his right eye ? What more brutal punishment may he have been subjected to from the CID to his prison cell ? Is Koita still alive ? Can the government show us a recent video of him in police custody ?
Nobody likes to see the sad,bullet -ridden bodies of innocent people killed during insurrections and alleged coup attempts. Every life is precious and we extend our deep condolence to all the relatives and friends of those who lost their lives during this crisis and we pray that justice will be served , according to the Rule of Law.
We stand with grieving and mourning families in seeking justice for the victims but the rule of law is the rule of law. It must be adhered to, even if it might seem to us that the accused do not deserve it.
