By Mustapha Kamara Jnr
Enforcement of traffic rules and regulations by the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) has forced hundreds of commercial bike riders in Freetown to withhold their services.
The pre-planned strike by the Okada riders, as the bike riders are known locally, began on Monday when the police mobilized to prevent them from entering the Central Business District (CBD) of the capital. The center of the city was unusually quiet because of the absence of the bikes which have been blamed for constant traffic congestion.
The Okada riders who have vowed to remain on strike indefinitely also accused the Police of harassment. But the police are determined to push, dismissing the strike action as non-issue.
Assistant Inspector General of Police, Al Shek Kamara, told Politico that the enforcement of traffic rules and regulations was meant to ensure safety of members of the public. He said most Okada riders were bent on violating traffic rules and cited the practice of riding without crash helmet and plying the wrong routes. AIG Kamara said the Okada riders were also in the habit of hit-and-run, and that whenever they fall victim they resort to “jungle justice” and do all sorts of things on the streets within the municipality.
“This is a civilized society, for the fact that we are policing in a democratic environment doesn’t mean Okada riders should take matters in their own hands. We are just doing the normal kind of policing and that is what they don’t want to comply with,” he said.
He explained further that the reasons for the enforcement included the prevention of the many fatal accidents and to ensure this by forcing the bike riders to observe and obey traffic rules and regulations. He said they wanted to hammer home the idea that traffic regulations were not meant only for motor drivers.
Ibrahim Bangura, an Okada rider at Dwazak Okada Park, told Politico that they were protesting against constant harassment from the Police. He said regardless of whether they had the correct documents or crash helmet they were not spared by the police. Bangura said even with the current operation, when they stayed away from the CBD, as a result of the restrictions, the Police still harassed them at various Okada parks by demanding money from them. The young rider then called on the government to consider bike riders as partners in development, arguing that they were helping greatly to ease the perennial transportation problem in the country.
“We are rendering our services to the people by taking them to remote places where cars cannot reach,” he said, adding that he believed the effect of their strike action on the people would force government to address their concerns.
And indeed the effect of their action was visible on the streets of Freetown. Hundreds of commuters, including school pupils, struggled on Monday to reach their destinations due to difficulty in accessing transportation.
Okadas are undoubtedly the best means of transportation for may people in and around the city largely because commercial transport cars are insufficient. And, as Bangura the Okada rider argued, they go to areas cars do not venture. Okadas are also notably faster, given the constant traffic jam in the city. But they are risky. They lead to deaths and injuries, largely due to the rough nature of the riders.
As part of Monday’s clampdown, the Okada riders have alleged heavy-handedness by the police.
David Sesay, President of the Bike Riders Union - Sierra Leone (BRU-SL), defended his colleagues.
“There is a restriction that bikes should not operate within the CBD, but the complaints that the riders are raising is that they are seeing some injustice, Sesay said. He said some bikes were allowed to ply the restricted areas while others were forbidden.
Sesay also said this is a serious problem because those riders who were restricted to ply the CBD were in the majority. He went on to allege that the few bikes that were allowed to ply the CBD without harassment were owned by some highly placed government officials.
Speaking further, he stated that all bikes operating nationwide were licensed and insured to operate in the country. He said however that some bikes were licensed as private motor bikes so that the riders of these bikes would have access to ply the central business area without harassment from the Sierra Leone Police.
AIG Kamara though insisted that the public good was more important than the interest of the bike riders. He denied allegations by the riders that the police were employing high-handedness in their operation.
“We have not been high handed; we are just using the minimum measures that are available to use, to get them to comply,” he said.
The AIG said the Police on several occasions had engaged and asked executive members of the BRU-SL to proffer suggestions that could help them to catch those riders that were breaking traffic rules and committing other offences. But, he said, that has been very difficult because the law breakers were “very difficult to catch.”
In response to the sit-down strike, Kamara said: “We are happy for that. We want them to go for as long as possible….let them continue to sit down for as long as they do not interfere with public order.”
According to him, the Police had deployed officers in strategic locations in the city to make sure there is no breach of public peace and order during the ongoing operation. He then warned that the Police would arrest even drivers caught flouting traffic laws, including drivers of privately owned vehicles. He said even those in government-owned vehicles would not be spared.
“The law is no respecter of persons. The law respects only those that respect it. So if you are highly placed in society, please make sure you comply with the law, and that includes even ministers and public servants that are highly placed.,” AIG Kamara said.
(C) Politico 17/05/16
