Politico reporter in Kono District, Septimus Senessie, has reported a death threat allegedly issued by supporters of the Acting Mayor of Koidu, Aiah Bartholomew Boima Komba.
Senessie, who was recently attacked by men known to be loyal to the mayor, said they accused him of reporting negatively on his office and the Council.
The reporter also accused the local police chief of Tankoro Division, Chief Superintendent David Sahid Koroma, of making similar threats on allegation of bias reporting.
Mr Senessie, who is based in Koidu from where he covers the whole of Kono for Politico, named Aiah Gborie, aka Kanabbe, as one of his attackers on April 15. Also involved in that attack was a man named Awippa (an alias), he said. The attackers allegedly threatened to burn the journalist and have his body as sacrifice.
Senessie has reported for Politico for over five years now.
According to him, he was accused of reporting negative and bias stories against the council recently. He said Gborie, who was also named by suspended mayor Saa Emerson Lamina as one of his attackers in February, together with his co-attacker identified themselves as special guards to the Koidu New Sembehun Acting Mayor. He said they threatened to kill him by slaughtering him and burning his remains if he didn’t desist from reporting negative stories about their mayor, the Council and other stakeholders in the district.
Senessie is also accused of being bias against Paramount Chief Paul Gabba Saquee of Tankoro Chiefdom, as well as members of parliament in the district. He said he was also frowned at for allegedly reporting negatively on the activities of the diamond mining company OCTEA Koidu Limited.
On Friday April 15, Senessie had been stopped as he rode his motor bike through the compound of the Council by Martin Kaindaneh, Communication Officer of the council, who accused him of “complete biasness”. He said Mr Kaindaneh was unhappy that he’d not reported on a story on the three month backlog salaries payment made to junior staff of the Council in just three weeks after the acting mayor assumed office.
At that point, Gborie and Awippa approached. Senessie said Gborie allegedly declared the Koidu City Council premises as a no-go-area for him, and threatened to inflict “serious humiliation” on him anytime he was caught violating his order.
Senessie said this was the second time Awippa had attacked him for reporting negative stories about authorities in the district.
In 2014, he was reported to police at the Tankoro Police Division for allegedly attacking and threatening to beat up the reporter for his report on the activities of some MPs in relation to funds meant for the Ebola fight.
According to sources, Awippa was never called for questioning by the police in that case.
Police threat
In a separate development, Senessie also last week had an encounter with the Local Unit Commander of Tankoro Police Divisional, Koroma, who allegedly threatened to instruct his police officers to arrest and beat up the reporter over a report against the police.
“I will not sit down and see you putting my credibility into mud without going on the offensive against him,” LUC Koroma reportedly said to Senessie at a meeting held between the police and representatives of the suspended mayor. The meeting had been convened to discuss police decision to limit the number of people allowed to receive Mr Lamina whose supporters had planned a big welcome porgramme party for him as he made his first visit since his suspension from office.
LUC Koroma went on to warn the reporter to “be careful with your life.”
“I will be the last authority you have written about in this district because the day I will handle you it will be very catastrophic for you,” he vowed. The LUC said he felt highly disgusted with the reporter for his continued reporting against the police in Tankoro Division.
He asked rhetorically: “do you see me carrying out mining? Do you see me with women at night?”
Senessie believes the threat from the police chief may have been provoked by his recent reports concerning the Tankoro Police Division. In one of those reports, some police men were accused of involvement in town mining at Kensay and Briomotor communities. Another report revealed that the police had dropped investigations against those alleged to have attacked the suspended Koidu Mayor. The LUC was cited in that story as saying he’d dropped the investigation on the matter because it was political and that he wouldn’t want to lose his job.
(C) Politico 03/05/16
