Over 40 armed police officers of the Operational Support Division (OSD) led by AIG Senesie have been deployed in the Northern-eastern regional headquarters of Makeni.
The deployment was prompted by security reports that youths of Makeni wanted to burn down some government buildings notably EDSA office in retaliation to the killings of their brothers by security officers during the peaceful demonstration of July, this year.
However, the reports have been vehemently denied by residents in Makeni.
One of the residents say: “the people of Makeni are very peaceful.”
Three months have gone since the heavily- armed personnel were deployed there apparently to back up police command in that part of the country.
The continued presence of the police officers is a symbol of terror, oppression and intimidation taking place in the home of the former President.
The deployment of the OSD personnel came after the riots in which police personnel were accused to have shot dead six civilians.
To date no security personnel has been investigated for the killings.
Several people have raised serious concerns over the deployment of the armed personnel in their community.
Two months after the sad and ugly incident, nothing of security threat has been reported in the township.
“The generator has been relocated to Lungi without prior consultations. The security forces have shot and killed our brothers and no action has been taken against the officers responsible although the Human Rights Commission Sierra Leone stated that in their recommendations,” concerned citizens told this medium over the weekend.
Police Headquarters have been accused of making no provision in terms of accommodations and feeding for the deployed personnel in Makeni.
A civil society activist stated that the presence of these armed personnel continues to create fear in the minds of the people.
He said the officers should have been deployed to other communities to help provide security and maintain law and order.
Several people described the deployment of these armed personnel as a waste of government resources as these officers should have been deployed elsewhere.
Makeni saw bloodbath in July this year when youths took to the street in protest of the removal of a 1.65KVA thermal plant from their community to the north-western town of Lungi.
Government recently has come under fire from Sierra Leoneans and the international community for provoking the riots.
Questions and criticisms against government came after it apparently failed to hold proper consultations with community stakeholders prior to the relocation.
The general indictment against government is that it had the intention to massacre the people of Makeni considering the ‘irresponsible’ action of EDSA over the relocation.
A number of Sierra Leoneans have also indicted government as a weak and ineffective institution evidenced by their spree of thermal plant relocations from one district to another to meet energy needs.