By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Sierra Leone Police has denied claims that its personnel acted brutally whiles arresting protesters from the All Peoples Congress (APC) party headquarters last week.
The incident on Friday has rekindled the unending debate about the professionalism in the force and the role of politics in national policing.
Police personnel were seen dragging, kicking and beating protesters. Video footages and pictures shared on social media, including some obtained by Politico, show that armed officers were also using tasers whiles rounding up people suspected of involvement in the protests and loading them on to vehicles.
However, according to the Head of Crime Services, Assistant Inspector General Brima Jah, the police leadership has not seen any evidence to support claims of brutality.
“In law we are allowed to use a reasonable force to force compliance. We have not been able to establish that Police officers were high handed. So it was a reasonable force, it has not been proven that it is disproportionate” AIG Jah told journalists on Monday.
Opposition parties and some civil society activists have condemned the police handling of the incident which was sparked by a court ruling on the same day stripping the APC of 10 parliamentary seats in favour of its arch rival, the governing Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP).
“We condemn the excessive use of force by the Sierra Leone Police, including firing tear gas canisters in to the APC headquarters in Brookfields, Freetown,” the National Grand Coalition said in a statement over the weekend, following a fact finding visit to the scene of the incident by its former flag bearer and parliamentary leader, Dr Kandeh Yumkella.
The Coalition for Change (C4C) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also decried the incident.
APC itself on Monday released a statement containing its official position on the matter. It reiterated its condemnation of the police’s actions. The main opposition party also said it would challenge the court’s ruling.
Despite the denial, AIG Jah said the police was willing to look at any complaint that comes forward regarding police brutality.
“I haven’t watched those clips and we have not got any complaints against that. Once we have complaints we will still look at it,” Jah said.
“We monitor peaceful protests, but when it becomes violent then it becomes a public order issue,” AIG Jah said.
Over 100 APC supporters were arrested for allegedly causing mayhem on the streets.
During the operation, the Police mounted sustained firing of tear gas in to the building with the intention of smoking out the protesters, who they police claimed were throwing stones and other missiles at them. AIG Jah said the protesters were even throwing teargas canisters at the police. He said six of their officers were also injured during the operation.
Having done some screening over the weekend, Police say they have released 36 out of the 117 people that were arrested. The remaining, 75 have been charged to court. They said they were still doing profiling on the rest.
Six of those charged to court are top APC party officials, including former government Ministers Mohamed Bangura, Femi Mansaray and Bai Mahmoud Bangura. But all six are said to have been released on bail.
The police on Monday also declared the APC spokesman and former deputy minister of Information, Cornelius Deveaux wanted over his role in the protests.
© 2019 Politico Online
