With general elections scheduled for 24 June 2023 – just about 10 weeks away – tension is mounting in Sierra Leone especially between supporters of the two main political parties – APC and SLPP. Probably not many were surprised when on Sunday 2 April there was a standoff involving the Sierra Leone Police and the convoy of the APC presidential candidate, Dr Samura Kamara who was returning to Freetown from Lungi. The standoff at the Mile 38 security checkpoint went on for hours. A press release by the police says they halted the convoy because they had had agreement that only 10 vehicles would be in the motorcade. They say that as they got closer to Freetown there were more than fifty vehicles. They accused APC supporters of physically attacking the police. In this exclusive interview, Dr kamara gave Umaru Fofana his account of events.
Umaru Fofana: Could you please tell me what happened yesterday [Sunday 2 April 2023] at the checkpoint or that led to the checkpoint
Dr Samura Kamara: It was unexpected. I was not expecting a police blockage. This was a thoroughfare. Yes, they did talk about 10 vehicles, but they themselves knew that was not feasible. I could not be stopping around and counting vehicles behind me – how many vehicles I had. And in any case I don’t think it is right for the police to have stopped Samura Kamara and his convoy to ply the roads coming back from Lungi. But over and above that I think the more worrying thing is that for the past four to five years many of us in the APC cannot travel without seeking permission from the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. I think that is not good. Especially now [that] we are getting into elections. There is no law that gives them the right to stop anybody from travelling…unless that person is a criminal and adjudicated by the law. So this is just an extension of what the government itself has done in the past, and what they’re still doing. So I’m still subjected to this type of restrictions.
Umaru Fofana: The police are saying that the vehicle convoy was becoming uncontrollable and you’d agreed with them that you’d only allow 10 vehicles.
Dr Samura Kamara: No, I don’t think so. I think we were disciplined. We parked and just stopped. And we were there, and nobody raised any voice. Nobody showed any violence. We were just watching them until they started unleashing teargas against us.
Umaru Fofana: I saw some pictures allegedly of the incident. Were any of your supporters injured?
Dr Samura Kamara: I cannot tell. Perhaps if anybody was injured it will evolve as the days go by.
Umaru Fofana: Did you feel threatened in any way during the melee?
Dr Samura Kamara: Well by unleashing teargas, even on my vehicle, I must have felt threatened.
Umaru Fofana: And how did you respond?
Dr Samura Kamara: Calmly. I just sat there. I even spoke to the IG [Inspector General of Police] when he confronted me. I said “look I don’t think this is right, but we’ll sit and wait for you to decide”. Until they decided before we moved.
Umaru Fofana: And the IG says some of your supporters got off their vehicles, some even took off their shirts and accosted the police officers.
Dr Samura Kamara: It’s always a problem here. The police will never tell you the truth because they are answering to his masters’ voice; and in this case his masters’ voice is not the public…they must support and protect. They must be answering to somebody higher than the people and nobody is higher than the people in this country. It is the people that he should be answerable to.
Umaru Fofana: Who do you mean by his masters?
Dr Samura Kamara: The executive. The executive in Sierra Leone. It’s always the case. And my worry is that at the time of President Ahmad Kabbah, we actually constituted a very disciplined Sierra Leone Police reform project under DfID, and it was very professional under Keith Biddle. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of those trained officers is around again. So…we are back to square one where we started before the reform programme. So which means if we come to power we have to revisit that same programme and reconstitute the reform programme again.
Umaru Fofana: Finally you seem undaunted; you seem unperturbed by all what happened. Is that because of your demeanour or what is driving that?
Dr Samura Kamara: Well I want to carry my political battles in peace. That’s me! On the eve of elections on June 24 2023 I think we should be accommodating. We should understand each other’s role. And politics is not about violence. And for me politics is not an end, it’s a means to an end. But for where people take politics as an end, that’s why you bring all of this: You have to protect yourself, protect your tenure as if you’re destined to have two terms. No! You only get two terms based on your performance. If you cannot read the people then that makes it very difficult. You have to resort to this type of things. It’s good for politicians to always read the tempo, read the minds of the people what the people are going [through], because it’s the people that you want to govern. So listen to the people, dialogue with them and understand them. They will show you the direction. If the people want you to lead them you don’t do anything, even when you sleep they work for you.
Umaru Fofana: Thank you very much sir.
Dr Samura Kamara: Thank you
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