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Sierra Leone: Violence erupts in Makeni leading five dead

By Mildred Christiana Saccoh

At least four people were killed in Makeni on Saturday after a second day of violent protests by youths opposed to the relocation of a standby electricity generator from the Power House to the airport town of Lungi.

Hospital sources confirmed to Politico at press time that all of them, including a 15-year-old boy, died from gunshot wounds. They say at least 10 others were injured with four of them having been referred to the Emergency Hospital and Connaught Hospital in Freetown.

The police and angry youths ran amok after a plan by the Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) agreed with the local authorities, was being carried out. The protesters say the move was an attempt to deprive Makeni of power supply.

Energy Minister, Kanja Sesay told Politico that the transfer was to be a temporary one because spares needed for the Lungi generator could not be brought into the country due to the Covid19 flight restrictions.

“This was not something we decided overnight,” he said, adding: “We had discussed it with the local authorities including the Mayor of Makeni, assuring them that it was a temporary measure and would not affect electricity supply in Makeni”.

He said he sent his Permanent Secretary and the Director General of EDSA who met with the authorities and agreed the decision. The minister said that he even spoke to the National Secretary General and other senior members of the opposition APC party “who had no objection to it”. He said it was to have happened weeks ago.

Sources say the violence started around 10pm on Friday when the EDSA officials arrived to collect the 1.65 megawatts thermal generator.

Some eyewitnesses reported the firing of live rounds and teargas to disperse the protesting youths, who were also seen throwing stones at the security forces.

Makeni resident, Mabinty Kamara, recalled suddenly seeing a group of youths pelting stones as she went about her business on Saturday.

She said shortly afterwards, a group of armed police and military personnel appeared and tried to disperse the protesters. It was at that moment, she said, that teargas was fired.

“I nearly collapsed when I heard the sound of a gun. I saw everyone running here and there. I thought we had another war due to continuous gun sound,” she said.

Local Unit Commander of Makeni Division, Chief Superintendent of Police Joe Songu, could not comment on the number of deaths, except that there had been an imposition of a curfew in the town with the objective of easing the tension.

Songu said the protesters burned tyres and threatened to burn down the offices of the utility provider in the city.

“We went and engaged them. They started sending stones at us. So we used teargas and we were able to move them from that location,” the local police chief told Politico. He said that at that point the protesters started regrouping at different locations and threatened to burn the police station.

“So they continued this morning (Saturday) and we were left with no option but to declare a curfew and things are gradually returning to normalcy,” he said.

A spokesman for the energy ministry, Austin Luseni told Politico that key officials were present at that meeting held in the Mayor's Parlor in Makeni.

“The request was made to them that currently Makeni was getting 24-hour uninterrupted light and they were on the Bumbuna Hydro” he said, adding that even if Bumbuna went down, it would never go below eight megawatts and Makeni itself does not consume more than three megawatts.

Lusani said the Ministry assured the Makeni authorities about all concerns raised about the plan, including assurances that there would be no chance of a power cut in the city in the event of a need for maintenance at Bumbuna.

Luseni said that they were assured that when the substantive generator in Lungi was repaired, they would return the Makeni based standby generator.

Makeni, the headquarters town of Bombali District and home to former President Ernest Bai Koroma, is the only city in the country that enjoys 24-hour electricity supply. This is partly because it is hooked on to the Bumbuna Hydropower Station in nearby Bumbuna.

Copyright © 2020 Politico Online

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