Rampant searching of homes, seizure of mobile phones, indiscriminate arrests and detention of civilians after pronouncement of a curfew have raised questions about whether Sierra Leone is under a state of emergency or not.
Apart from the police harassment, it is also reported that some residents even lose their lives when they attempted to defend their rights. Section 29 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991 specifies the conditions under which a state of emergency could be pronounced: when Sierra Leone is at war, Sierra Leone is in imminent danger of invasion, there is actual breakdown of public order and safety in the whole of Sierra Leone or any part thereof and there is clear and present danger of breakdown of law and order among others.
Arguably, none of these conditions existed but the people accepted the curfew owing to government’s aim of ensuring order and sanity within the state, but this does not mean that the people have sacrificed their rights especially the right to life.
As they carry out their duties, police and military officers should know that it is only the right to free movement that is surrendered to the crown and not all rights.
As if to restore normalcy after attacks on army and police facilities as well as breakage of Pademba Road prison last Month, government immediately declared a curfew restricting the movement of persons. Initially, it was 9pm to 6am but later shifted to 12 midnight after much appeals from the public.
Government’s objective was clear: to restore security and bring back the escapees to the cells, and cannot succeed in such venture without pronouncing a curfew.
However, it is now clear that the wild wolf chase is not directed at the runaway prisoners but at peaceful civilians who have no business with the prison. Complaints reaching this press have shown that people’s homes have broken into, property especially mobile phones taken away by armed policemen without showing any reason. The situation is much more dangerous when armed raids are carried out at night as one could hardly tell who pulled the trigger.
Residents at Congo water, Wellington, Calaba Town, Jui and other communities occupied mainly by residents perceived as APC (All People’s Congress) supporters and sympathisers have never seen peace after Sunday’s attacks owing to brutal police and military search in peaceful communities.
According to legal analysts, a curfew imposed without a state of emergency should not exceed a week and if it does, parliamentarians must sit to vet it thoroughly for extension, or if possible, an emergency is declared. It is also incumbent on the supreme law making body to come up with regulations to keep the people safe from police excesses. It however is not the case with the current situation as a curfew has been pronounced and prolonged without declaration of a state of emergency.
Although the harassed men in the community have made complaints to the relevant authorities, actions are yet to follow as distress calls have been ignored. Media investigations carried out so far indicate that those travelling from Freetown to the provinces are the most harassed as there are too many road blocks to cross.
Well-armed soldiers and police officers at Checkpoints demand identity cards as well as mobile phones for inspection and failure to produce either of the two documents lead to harassment sometimes even arrest and detention.
On several occasions, the detainees are released without charges, a very dangerous move particularly in a Christmas vacation when city residents get to the provinces to see their loved ones, heal old wounds and renew friendship and brotherly ties.
As threats and harassments continue in the face of economic hard times, opposition parliamentarians have urged police and military high command to control their forces and stop the intimidation if peace is to reign in Sierra Leone.
The forces are not criticised for the work they perform in bringing back the escapees and stabilise the country, but their work must be firmly entrenched within a culture of human rights, and must also realise that no power is absolute.
State power including presidential power is subject to checks and balances so that the right thing can done. The harassment and intimidation going on in several communities in eastern Freetown is a reminiscent of wrongs committed in the early days of the Bio regime when a state of emergency was pronounced in April, 2020 following the outbreak of Corona Virus in Sierra Leone.
During the deliberations leading to the declaration of the emergency, Sierra Leoneans were very much jittery and fearful about the actions of the police and the army especially if left unregulated.
But, opposition politicians were carried away by government’s assurances that the emergency will be used only for the control of the virus. The emergency was allowed but without rules and regulations to direct police and military dealings with civilians, and the consequences were dire. The security forces lorded it over the people especially those in opposition strongholds.
Indiscriminate arrest of civilians were not uncommon particularly during lockdowns and curfews. Those going in search of food were arrested without sparing women and girls who venture out for water and sanitation. Mistreatment of residents in Calaba Town and other communities in eastern Freetown still remains fresh in people’s minds. It became usual sceneries for men and women who broke curfew law to lie down on the floor and watch the hot-burning soon in the afternoon hours, a form of torture to keep the people in persistent fear.
The unregulated emergency remains in force till the end of Bio’s first term in office, and there is no proclamation from the Presidency signaling the end of Corona Virus as it was in the Ebola days.
Ebola Virus which broke out in May, 2014 was officially declared over in November, 2016 in a colourful occasion at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown. Without pronouncing that Corona is over, it appears as if the virus still continued on to the time Bio was pronounced again winner of June 24, 2023 elections, and might capitalise on Covid-19 emergency as security forces go on the rampage to bring back escaped prisoners.
By their actions against the people of Sierra Leone, government forces pay little or no attention that Sierra Leone is a democracy governed by the rule of law despite few challenges. The rule of law is underpinned by three distinct but interrelated meanings: supremacy of the law, equality before the law and recognition and protection of fundamental human rights.
Supremacy of the law principle means that nobody should be made to suffer in mind or body without a distinct breach of the law. Put in plain terms, the person arrested by the police must commit a criminal offence, tried and convicted in a court in which defence rights are guaranteed.
The second meaning says there should be no distinction in the application of the law as all men are equal whether rich or poor, high or low, literate or illiterate. The third pillar says the people’s rights must be recognised and respected as Sierra Leone as a signatory to several international human rights instruments as reflected in the 1991 Constitution which has a bill of rights as its preamble.
However, Sierra Leone is a far cry from the rule of law prescription as double standards in law enforcement and Justice system is rife suffice it to say there is one standard for the South-East regions and the other for the North-West and is also the same in terms of law enforcement: one standard for South-East and another for North-West regions.
People’s rights, liberties and freedoms are not respected, a situation that causes much resentment for government among communities targetted by the security forces. As the intimidation continues, it would be difficult to say that Sierra Leone is peaceful as former UN Secretary-General says: “Respect and recognition for human rights is the surest foundation for peaceful co-existence.”