By Mabinty M Kamara
The husband of a woman allegedly killed by stray police bullet is demanding justice.
Abdul Salam Bangura’s late wife, Fatmata Jarret Bangura, died after a bullet hit her during clashes between police and locals in Tombo in May this year. The incident was sparked by a riot between the ‘Orjeh’ society and the Muslim community on May 21 in Tombo in the Western Area Rural District.
Mr. Bangura told Politico that he wasn’t in town when the incident occurred but that an eye witness told him that his 38-year old wife was at home when the bullet hit her on the head.
“She wasn’t at the riot scene. She was at home when a stray bullet from the guns fired by the police hit her on the head which led to her sudden death,” the husband explained. He went on to say that since the death of his wife, he has been moving from one police station to another, as well as media institutions, seek the attention of appropriate authorities for justice on behalf of his deceased wife. Bangura lamented that nothing seemed to be happening.
“Nothing has happened to the one that shot my wife, neither has anything been done to the two parties that perpetrated the riot that led to the death of my pregnant wife. I need justice for my wife and the innocent unborn child,” he cried.
Police Public Relation Officer, Assistant superintendent Ibrahim Kamara, confirmed the incident and said the police was investigating it.
“If the post-mortem examination has proven that it was a gunshot wound then we need to investigate to determine the type of gun used and who could have used it before we come to conclusions. So you see, it takes time,” he explained, adding that the shooting might have been done by somebody who is not a police officer.
“Investigation is a process, my side, your side, and the truth,” the police spokesman noted.
Because of the seeming delay in the police’s response, Mr Bangura filed a complaint on the issue to the Independent Police Complaint Board (IPCB). A spokesman for the IPBC, Amadu Femoh Sesay, acknowledged that they’d received the letter of complaint.
“But we can’t comment on it now since the matter is under investigation,” Sesay told Politico in an interview at the IPBC offices at New England.
“Investigations take time depending on the nature of the complaint and our staff base is also very small. We are having six staff including the chairman. This also affects the investigation process, but we have been doing our best in handling complaints. We have just concluded an investigation on the death of a suspect in police custody and we have sent our recommendations to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP),” he said.
© Politico 15/07/16
