By Prince J Musa in Kenema
Residents of Combema in Kenema District have accused the police of brutalizing them in an attempt to impose a check in the town.
The locals say the checkpoint, which they insist must be permanently removed, has been a point for extortion by police officers who man it.
Combema, situated one and half mile from Kenema Town and located within the Gbo-Kakajama Section in the Nongowa Chiefdom, is a largely agrarian community. But its inhabitants also engage in a lot of business.
The complaint against the police was discussed at a meeting convened by the Provincial Security Committee (PROSEC) which led a team to the town on Friday.
Paramount Chief Sadique Kapuwa narrated how on July 25 he received a distress call from the locals in Combema complaining that police personnel had overran the community and arrested and beat up people for refusing to accept the police checkpoint.
The checkpoint had been there for some time and the residents say its location leaves them susceptible to frequent extortion. They say whenever they travel to Kenema to buy food items, the police at the checkpoint would request them to ‘book’ before passing.
PC Kapuwa said he felt disappointed by the actions of the Resident Minister East and the Regional head of Police - AIG East - by consulting only with the town chief of Combema for the establishment of the check point without consulting him or the Chiefdom Speaker, describing that as a “total disregard to the chiefdom authority.”
“If at all there was any confrontation or refusal by the people, I expected police to contact me with the matter,” he added.
PC Kapuwa also narrated that when the incident occurred he approached the local police leadership for explanation. He said he also requested the Ops Officer and LUC Alpha J. Kenneh to release those arrested.
According to PC Kapuwa, to his surprise the police rapidly charged all 19 detainees to court, leading to their incarceration for a week.
The district security authorities were led to the talks by the head of PROSEC, who is also the Provincial Secretary East, Mohamed Sheik Kargbo, who said that the meeting was meant for them to get first hand inform of the situation and seek a redress in the interest of peace.
“Police will not succeed without the co-operation and support of the community, and the community also needs security. So both need one another, which is the essence of community policing,” said Kargbo.
Villagers took turns to narrate their experiences in the hands of the police.
Salamatu Sheriff, a trader who sells within the vicinity of the checkpoint, narrated how she suddenly saw a police vehicle drove towards her and one of its occupants, a uniformed officer, came down and started beating her with stick.
“My market with money amounting to over Le300, 000 all got missing,” she told the meeting held at the town’s ‘Court Barray.’
Another resident, Samai Yusuf, recounted the destruction of properties by police, including cooking utensils and containers for drinking water.
Samai narrated how, during the incident, an old woman passed away in the town due to natural causes and they couldn’t burry her for two days. He said everyone had gone into hiding in the bushes, for fear of being arrested. Samai said the body was only buried when he contacted the Paramount Chief who sent in men from outside the community to do it.
“We, as a community, are not against the checkpoint, but our concern was that since the village has already become part of Kenema, we suggested that the checkpoint should be positioned at the back of the town, instead of before it,” he said.
Augustine A. Sannoh, Chairman of the Civil Society in Kenema, narrated how the checkpoint originally came to be in the community. He said during the Kenema and Pendenbu road construction, as civil society they approached the then AIG Sorry B Kargbo and demanded that he created a checkpoint due to the strategic nature of the highway which connects Kenema to various parts of the country, from Kailahun Town to Daru, among others.
Sannoh said they later realized that the police were collecting money from bike riders and motor drivers.
“A lot of complaints have been coming from the public from that checkpoint, which did not sound well for the police,” said Sannoh who blamed the “unprofessional” conduct of the police for the violence.
“It’s a disgrace to the SLP which is expected to protect the people but instead brutalized and violated the rights of the people,” said Sannoh.
He added: “Until the people vent out their feeling before we can succeed in achieving peace.”
The representative of the Human Rights Commission, Saidu Vandi, also lamented the unprofessionalism in the police force and said it is the major reason why it’s become difficult for the public to accept them. Most police officers, he said, do not even know the actual meaning of the word police.
“If the police did not have any atrocious motive, there would be no need to unleash violence on the people for an ungazzeted checkpoint,” he said.
“If our police fail to handle minor internal dispute situations, then there can be no essence in sending police for international peace keeping missions,” he added.
Vandi concluded by saying that the Commission will look into all the allegations leveled against the police.
AIG Francis Nyuma Bundor, head of the police in the Eastern Region, apologized for the conduct of his personnel but denied ordering them to act that way.
“We are charged with the constitutional mandate to protect lives and properties and therefore, for the unfortunate incident that occurred between the police and my personnel, I apologize to the Paramount Chief and authorities of Nongowa and the people of Combema,” he said.
The regional police chief however defended the existence of a checkpoint in the area, saying it is necessary given the need for a robust security. Bundor said it will enable revenue collection for the councils and the state, especially in light smuggling between that part of the country and Liberia.
“If the people of Combema refused the check point in the town, that can be looked into,” he said, adding: “But we as police are against lawlessness and indiscipline.”
AIG Bundor said though the Combema checkpoint was not gazzeted, they have documents from Police headquarters in Freetown instructing them to “fortify” all major crossing points in the region to prevent the possible escape of persons of interest to the ongoing Commission Of Inquiry.
Also present at the meeting was the Regional Coordinator East, Office of National Security (ONS), Sahr P. Mafinda who stressed the need for both sides – police and residents – to respect one another.
“Police should act professionally and the citizens most respect and obey the law of the country,” he said.
© 2019 Politico Online
