An an ardent APC supporter in Magburaka town, Northern Sierra Leone, identified as Mahawa Thullah has fled her home town of Magburaka for persistent harassment and death threats from ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party -SLPP supporters.
It is an undisputed fact that Sierra Leone is divided on political, regional and tribal lines and Magburaka in the North of Sierra Leone is a traditional strong base of the main opposition All Peoples Congress-APC, but the handful of ruling SLPP supporters in the township and it environs are using the advantage of incumbency to intimidate the opposition supporters irrespective of they be in the majority in the town.
Though the situation is not that alarming as it is happening in the Southeast, but isolated incidences do occur and Mahawa Thullah is a victim of those isolated incidences and those incidences would be heightened before, during and after elections. Mahawa Thulla, on a daily basis was receiving taunts and chastisement from her neighbours who are ruling party supporters. The majority APC supporters cannot do anything because the security forces are supporting what the ruling party supporters are doing to the opposition.
According to residents in Magburaka, their disenchantment against the ruling party was informed by the conduct of the government since they assumed power in 2018 and the security forces are not doing justice in mediating disputes between them. In most cases according to opposition supporters, the Police will arrest the victims and set the perpetrators or offenders free. The government dismissed thousands of Northerners from their jobs and harassed others and forced them to resignation. The rampant killing of Northerners is another factor that fueled the disgruntlement of the people in that part of the country. The government security apparatus in 2018 gunned down a very popular youth in Magburaka called Adel, so the people of Magburaka were very obsessed with same and their disenchantment was further amplified by killings in Makeni, Lunsar and other areas perceived to be the strongholds of the opposition APC.
Mahawa Thullah who is believed to be in her late 20s, decided to fled for her safety as the ruling party members are threatening to harm any APC supporter during and after the elections.
According to confirmed sources gathered by the Nightwatch Newspaper, Mahawa Thullah is currently out of Sierra Leone seeking protection from political persecution as a group of angry ruling SLPP supporters attacked her home sometimes in September 2022.
According to some opposition supporters spoken to, they said the political intimidation is too much from the SLPP and they said Mahawa Thullah is a target for the SLPP in their neighborhood.
The people spoken to averred that Mahawa Thullah is a fierce critic of the ruling party and they are planning to destroy her life when they would have pronounce their leader as president for a second five year term come June 24th, 2023 general elections.
The Nightwatch Newspaper will make a follow-up on this story as elections are fast approaching.