By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Lumley Police Station in Freetown is investigating allegations of assault brought against one Mariama Massaquoi by Dorotha Koroma after a fight at the residence of the Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED), Dr. Robert Chakanda. Both women are said to be lovers of the minister, who is married but does not live with his wife. One of the fighting women is estranged while the marital status of the other is unknown.
Explaining the circumstances of the fight, Ms. Massaquoi said she fought with Miss Koroma after she provoked her about a previous fight they had had last month. She said: “On June 25th last month, Doratha and Dr. Chakanda both fought me, with Chakandas holding my neck for her to beat me up. So when she came to the house the following week she made comments about that incident. I got angry and we fought again. I took a cane and whipped her,” Massaquoi explained.
Responding to the allegations of assault, she said: “She [Koroma] is lying about having injuries on her body. I know that she rubbed tomato paste on her body to make it look like blood. I have the pictures on my phone.” That phone was in the possession of the police at the time of our investigations.
Ms. Massaquoi told Politico that she had been kept at the station on the instruction of the Minister since Monday evening, without any of the officers listening to her own side of the story.
“I have been here since 7pm last night [Monday 13th July] and from the investigating officer to the head of this Lumley division, none of them have given me audience. They have detained me,” she explained to Politico behind a counter at the Lumley Police station.
Doratha Koroma was also around at the time of our visit to the police station but refused to speak to us despite repeated requests.
The investigating officer, Inspector Lamin Bangura told Politico that he would not give any details about the case until he had got permission from the Media Department of the Sierra Leone Police. Politico then called the Deputy Head of Media at the Sierra Leone Police, Assistant Superintendent Saio Conteh but even after speaking directly to the investigating officer, Inspector Bangura refused to answer any questions to us. “Go and write anything you want, I am no longer speaking to you,” he said.
Politico contacted Dr Chakanda for comment on the issues raised by Ms Massaquoi. He responded via a text message on Tuesday, saying: “it is only that I am defending a victim of a vicious attack on my premises for which I am being blackmailed.”
He did not comment on his relationship with the two women.
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