A credible source has intimated this press that President Julius Maada Bio has been invited by the ICC (International Criminal Court) for the second time. The letter which is now in the desk of the US Ambassador will be forwarded to President Bio who the, source said, had been notified.
The ICC was set up by the Rome Statute of 1998 to bring to justice those who commit war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Sierra Leone is a signatory to the Rome Statute, and must therefore cooperate with the court when the need arises, and the need has arisen as the court alleges that Bio’s government has committed serious human rights crimes which must be investigated.
Bio is expected to cooperate with the court by handing over those who committed to the crimes for trial, and fingers continue to point at the police and army chiefs as well as key security operatives to have carried out the killings.
Former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Lahai Lawrnece Leema too have been identified as one of those who masterminded extra-judicial killings in the country between 2018 and 2023.
Reliable sources have also intimated this press that the court will look at crimes committed by President Bio when he was Chairman of the defunct of the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) which toppled of late President Joseph Saidu Momoh in April, 1992.
Bio, over the years, has been battling with allegations of masterminding extra-judicial killings of prominent Sierra Leoneans including late police chief, James Bambay Kamara during the NPRC.
Judges for the court, according to the source, have been selected, and those who committed serious human rights abuses and crimes against humanity will be humbled in the court.
Those who also issued order for the killings to be carried out will also be roped in so that they could give account of their alleged wrong doings. This time, President Bio will go to the Hague city which houses the ICC, and not the United States.
The second invitation comes at a time the people of Sierra Leone wanted to see that justice is done so that victims could be appeased and would-be offenders deterred.
Sierra Leoneans’ aspirations for justice on the Sierra Leonean soil resonates with that of ICC’s stance. In a recent meeting between Bio and the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Karim Kahn, it came out clearly that the court will sit here in Sierra Leone so that those whose people had crumbled under the barrel of the gun will see justice at work.
The court’s prosecutor informed President Bio that the prosecutions would not be confined to the ICC and that the court is guided by the equality principle.
“The lives of people of Global South, Latin America, Asia and Africa matter just the same way as the lives of people anywhere in the world,” the ICC prosecutor reminded Bio during their discussion.
He also appealed to President Bio to cooperate with the court as usual as Sierra Leone now enjoys the privilege of sitting among 10 non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Sierra Leone was recently elected as a member of the Security Council alongside two other member states, a position the prosecutor will count on Sierra Leone to cooperate with the court for the prosecution of those who will be declared wanted.
Sierra Leone has been supporting the ICC for years and such support became clear when government recently nominated two Sierra Leonean judges to sit as ICC judges. Justices Miatta Samba and Sengu Koroma currently sit as judges at The Hague where they have shown their competence over the years.
In his past five years, Bio’s government allegedly carried out several waves of unlawful killings in Freetown and other parts in the provinces. The first killing was carried out in early 2018 in Rosengbe village in Tonkolili district where a commercial motorist, (okada rider) was shot dead for refusing to surrender his motor cycle.
The joint police and military raid which was carried out for cannabis turned into a security disaster for the people of Tonkolili as homes and dwelling houses were broken into and property worth millions of Leones carted away.
Makeni city in the Northeastern region was next after Tonkolili as 20 people were allegedly shot dead in July, 2020 by police and military officers in a row that ensued over the transfer of an electricity generator from Makeni city to Lungi town in the same region.
In a show of a sinister cover up, government however put casualty figure at six as dozens of youth were also arrested, detained and tortured by state security forces. Threats of further crackdown were also made by government.
Makeni also lost one of its sons, Hassan Dumbuya aka Evangelist Samson in the aftermath of the August 10, 2022 demonstrations, and accusing fingers were also pointed at the military officers deployed in that part of the country.
Lunsar, Tombo, Freetown other parts of the country also saw similar sad chapters of horror for which Bio’s forces would be implicated. Arguably, the worst killing took place in April, 2020 as 31 inmates including a correctional officer were shot dead by guards at State House.
Senior government officials and members of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party were also implicated.
Similarly, 31 protesters including six police officers were fatally injured in August, 2022 during a protest staged against high cost of living. Two weeks ago, about six people were also killed by state security forces when the people protested against stolen votes and crunching hardship.
Those who were secretly extra-judicially executed were not accounted for, and the casualty figures are sure to hit high if they are all captured.
Since Sierra Leone has shown no readiness to prosecute the crimes, the ICC takes such responsibility by issuing out summon for Bio and his men. Observers in the media and the public have made it clear that Bio’s second letter is not too different from the one issued to former Liberian President, Charles Taylor.
Knowing its legal implications, Taylor escaped from Liberia to Nigeria before he was arrested and arraigned, but what will happen to Bio remains a wait-and-see affair.