The police Local Unit Commander in Kailahun, Superintendent Mohamed Momoh Kamara has confirmed to Politico that an indefinite daytime curfew has been imposed in the town. Teargas was also fired. Other sources say live bullets were released. But the police have denied this. It followed a parliamentary by-election on Saturday in Constituency 001 which provisional results indicate was won overwhelmingly by the opposition SLPP candidate, Patrick Foyah who polled 11,114 (70%) of the valid votes while her challenger Susan Bonah polled 4,856 votes (30%). 888 votes were nullified. Kamara said the curfew “had to be imposed” because youth supporters of the SLPP “started attacking homes of their rivals” since it became apparent that their candidate had won. He said the winning candidate addressed the youth at the town centre to restrain them from violence but alleged that they started attacking their rivals shortly after Ambassador Foyah had left the scene.
The local police boss said that the address by the MP-elect had been preceded by a series of meetings the police held with political parties, civil society and other stakeholders to maintain peace and quiet after a sometimes tense campaigning. He said there had been stabbings but did not specify who stabbed who. He however said that SLPP supporters had been beating their rivals and that when police went to the scene they received volleys of stones. He said arrests had been made but would not say how many people or which party they were supporting. But the Chairman of the Kailahun District Council has dismissed the police account. Alex Bonapha told Politico that around midday today, a security detail to a ruling APC party member, Robyn Fallay attacked and stabbed a building contractor suspected of being an SLPP supporter. He accused the police of providing a safe passage for the APC supporters to leave the town. Bonapha alleged that at least two other people were beaten by the paramilitary OSD police allegedly led by one Kailli “for no good reason”. He said that one of them, a woman named Sarrah, was beaten up because she had palm fronds tied over her head. He denied that SLPP supporters had gone on the rampage attacking their rival supporters after their election victory. The by-election was necessitated by the death of Alice Foyah whose husband is the MP-elect. © Politico Online (29/09/13)
