By Francis H. Murray
A group of civil society organizations (CSOs) has expressed disappointment at local actors in Makeni for their lack of coordination and and failure to make follow-up on the outcome of a stakeholders meeting which preceded the temporary transfer of a standby generator, resulting in last month’s deadly violence.
The generator was moved from Makeni to the Lungi International Airport. Angry youths barricaded the streets to prevent officials from the Ministry of Energy from taking away the generator. The youths clashed with security forces, leading to the loss of five lives, allegedly resulting from gunshot wounds.
Several others were seriously wounded.
The group of 13 CSOs, including Amnesty International Sierra Leone and the Center for Accountability and the Rule of Law (CARL), conducted a fact-finding investigation into the violence and the report was released on Monday.
“We believe that if local actors had held effective consultations with the people of Makeni, especially the youths, the chances of a protest could have been minimized,’’ the CSOs noted in a joint press release.
They specifically blamed the cause of the violence on the inaction of the participants in the stakeholders’ consultative meeting to timely disseminate the information to especially the youths.
‘‘We find it truly unfortunate that during the month-long, health enforced absence of the Mayor of Makeni City, none of the actors who participated in the meeting with the Ministry of Energy (MOE) in respect of the proposed temporary transfer of the generator to the Lungi International Airport made efforts to inform and effectively engage the residents of Makeni,” the statement adds.
The CSOs also expressed worrying concerns about the rise in the spate of violence across the country, and they condemned the security personnel for their handling of unrests. They singled out the Sierra Leone Police for the high handedness with which they handled the protests over the years.
‘‘We, therefore, unequivocally condemn the use of lethal weapon and random and rampant shooting by security forces on the 18th July 2020,’’ they stated.
The group recommended that an independent investigation be made into the incident in order to bring culprits to book, thereby breaking the cycle of impunity among youths as well as the security.
Shortly after the incident, the Independent Police Complaint Board (IPCB), an independent body responsible to conduct investigations in response to complaints from the public against police officers, launched an investigation into the incident.
The incident is described as the third major violence in the country in the last one year, after the Tombo and Lunsar riots.
It is not uncommon in Sierra Leone for officers to shoot civilians. In February this year, the IPCB cleared a police officer who shot and seriously wounded a civilian at the residence of the deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Lahai Lawrence Leema. That case is still court, where the victim is on trial.
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