By Mabinty M. Kamara
An alarmingly high rate of vehicle theft across Sierra Leone has sparked questions about what the relevant authorities, including the security forces, are doing about the phenomenon.
According to the Police, over 50 vehicles have so far been reported stolen within the last 8 months across the country.
People familiar with the situation say vehicle theft usually happens when people leave their vehicles on the street, which the police refer to as ‘unsafe places’, to enter offices, shopping centers or in other places to run errands. By the time they are out, either the vehicle is nowhere to be found or, if they are lucky, all your valuables have disappeared.
The Sierra Leone Police told Politico that the vehicle model Toyoya RAV4 is the most susceptible to theft, because its keys are universal; meaning one key of this car model can open many others of the same model.
Mary Sia Forya, a female journalist, shared her experience with Politico. Her RAV4 car was broken into while it was parked at MacDonald Street in the center of Freetown. All her valuables in the car, including documents, were taken away. The missing documents included original copies of her university degree, which she had inside the car her after a job interview on that fateful day.
“I alighted from the vehicle, checked the lock after parking the car, a RAV4 Old model, [and] crossed over to the cafe. I collected the package and saw a longtime friend when returning to the car. We had a chat, and I wanted to give him something when I noticed the doors to the car had been opened,” she recalled.
“I rushed in, checked for my bag which contained my laptop, degree certificate, passport, ID cards, in fact every document certifying my existence on earth, and I couldn't fine it,” Ms Forya explained.
She went on: “My whole world came crashing down in a second. I started crying, asking people around if they had seen anyone opening the vehicle. They said 'yes' but that they thought the thief was the owner. Again, I cried profusely.”
Mary is not impressed with the cooperation she got from the Police when she contacted them at the West End Police Station at Adelaide Street in Freetown.
Up to the time of going to press, Forya hadn’t recovered her documents and had given up any hope.
One of the most recent incidents of vehicle theft happened to Reverend Father Joseph Tamba Kamanda, on Wednesday, 18th November.
According to Fr. Kamanda, he parked his vehicle in front of the security post at Fourah Bay College campus, University of Sierra Leone, where he lectures. After attending a meeting which lasted for two hours, he returned to an empty parking space.
Like Forya, Fr. Kamanda has all his hopes in God, waiting for a miracle to happen, since he hasn’t seen much progress in terms of investigation of the incident.
“I parked my car purposely in front of the security post on the campus. And there were other people ahead who were parked there. Then I went to the new Lawrence Kamara Multi-Purpose Hall, the meeting lasted for about two hours. So I came out about 12:15, just to see that there was no trace of my car there,” he explained.
When Fr Kamanda went to the security personnel, they told him they had no idea and urged him to report the matter at the police post on campus. At the police post he was told to go to the CID headquarters, where he eventually made a formal report.
“That’s where we have been since that day. I have not seen any development, nor heard any information,” he said in a telephone interview.
Fr. Kamnada’s vehicle is a Toyota Land Cruiser; the brand is produced by the same manufacturer of RAV4.
The man of God pleaded to the relevant authorities to intervene and speedily investigate his case.
Kaitunde Augustine, Director of Road Safety and Enforcement at the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority, said they had also observed with dismay an increase in vehicle theft. He added that the SLRSA had been working with the police to recover some of the stolen vehicles after getting reports from the police.
However, Augustine said most of the vehicles were difficult to recover because either people do not report the incident or they do so late to the police and, sometimes, do not follow the right procedures for vehicle registration.
“When such incidents occur, we have our officers all over the place; we alert them with relevant details of the vehicle which we will use to make clarity to our officers,” he said.
He went on: “But what is difficult in all of this is that most times they will actually take these vehicles away, perhaps it has taken a day, two or three days, before the owner reports the matter. Perhaps it would have been moved out of this country, so there is not much that we can do in such a circumstance.”
The Deputy Police Media and Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent Samuel Saio Conteh, confirmed to Politico that there was an increase in vehicle theft nationwide, citing data from the Criminal Investigations Department. He said that robust plans and strategies were being implemented to track those who indulge in the act of stealing vehicles across the country.
He added that they were also closely monitoring scrap yards and border crossing points, noting that these might be some of the avenues of disposing stolen vehicles.
But ASP Conteh said the public too should be mindful and very conscious when they want to buy a vehicle so that they do not buy a stolen one.
“Indeed there is a slight increase in terms of vehicle theft and 419 scams, in terms of vehicle transactions. I’m just from the CID, I spoke with the head and the Operations Officer. What they told me is that they have been receiving complaints of car theft nationwide. It’s over 50 nationwide complaints of vehicle theft within the period of 8 months,” he said.
“Generally, we are advising the public, especially RAV4 owners. RAV4 is one vehicle that is very much vulnerable. The reason being, any RAV4 key can open other RAV4 vehicles. So the thieves have realized that and are with duplicated keys. No sooner you park your vehicle in a place that is not safe, they open it and drive off. So we are calling on RAV4 owners to not only lock their vehicle but to also lock the steering wheel,” ASP Conteh added.
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