The Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission report have adequately apportioned the management of these institutions as factors responsible for the eleven years civil war.
The TRC cited the politicization of the Judiciary, specifically pointing out that the judiciary was not economically independent. It also questioned the appointment of judges and the fusing of the Office of the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice, which ultimately makes the Attorney General political.
“Corruption is rife at all levels of the judiciary. There is little or no meaningful access to the courts for the majority of Sierra Leoneans,” the report states.
“The Office of the Attorney General lost its independence and the perception of impartiality when it was fused with the office of the Minister of Justice by virtue of the 1978 Constitution. The Commission finds it regrettable that this state of affairs was confirmed by the 1991 Constitution. They still persist today. Under this legal regime, the discretion of the Attorney General cannot be free from political influence,” the Truth and Reconciliation Commission further states.
As for the Sierra Leone Police, precisely the trigger happy Operational Support Division, they have become a tool for the politicians to manipulate.
The TRC was also able to establish that, the OSD was established by late President Siaka Stevens to oppress and suppress opposition opponents. Since then the OSD has been used by subsequent regimes for the wrong reasons except for the late President Tejan Kabbah’s regime.
Efforts by Keith Biddle, who badly hated the OSD, to reform the group by jointly training them with the general duty personnel did not yield the desired result.
The British born Inspector General was privy to the TRC report and saw the damning issues against the OSD and did everything, including engaging in refresher trainings in law enforcement and other human rights areas. This is because their initial trainings were only concentrated on weaponry, maneuvering and tactics.
This did not change especially so when a very good number, mainly the Samu and Sandust OSD squads that made up the older generation and mostly at the leadership positions, were not part of the new drive to reform the OSD.
It is therefore not surprising that the OSD today, under the leadership of the exuberant Assistant Inspector General of Police Kailie, could not move away from its old tricks of victimizing, brutalizing and manhandling political opponents. It was shameful over the weekend to see OSD officers displaying gross unprofessionalism and human rights abuses by firing hundreds of teargas canisters on defenseless citizens at the APC office and the densely populated Brookfield’s Community with no respect and regard for human lives.
Hell was let loose at the Brookfield’s as there was absolutely no command and control to manage the mayhem that was unleashed by the so-called state thugs against the opposition. The footages of the incident went viral, sending the message that we are still not ready for peace and democratic tolerance.
Thank God the media, in the likes of the AYV and Star TV, were able to expose the brutality of the OSD live to the world.
The TRC report had clearly noted that the OSD should be disbanded due to its role in the eleven years conflict. A testimony by former Inspector General of Police, Acha Kamara, clearly indicted the OSD by stating that the paramilitary force (OSD), formed in the police under Siaka Steven’s regime, turned into an “instrument of tyranny and oppression.”
A paramilitary force of that sort exists in the police today in the form of the OSD. The proposed National Security Principles enjoin the Government of Sierra Leone to ensure that no paramilitary force exists outside of the Sierra Leone Army. The existence of such a force within the police is contrary to the proposed National Security Principles, the TRC explicitly stated.
We are therefore not surprised that, the Judiciary and the OSD continue to portray the same tendencies that led us to war. Subsequent Governments have failed to amend the constitution to separate the Attorney General’s office the Minister of Justice.
It is therefore not strange to hear that court rulings mostly do not go as expected or outlined by the constitution. We keep on seeing judges making very dangerous precedents that are used as case laws to make judgments that erode the people’s mandate and create tensions that have the tendency to lead to conflict.
The judiciary has clearly been portrayed to largely dance to the tune of the ruling Government. When administering the oath to the Director of Public prosecutions and many more senior top officials in the judiciary, President Julius Maada Bio made a promise to depoliticize the judiciary and make it independent, considering the current state of affairs. He had called on the DPP to help him achieve this.
Few months down the line we have seen a worse state of affairs; the same judiciary is handing down rulings based on past precedents. The Judiciary has also been accused of refusing to hear matters from bodies and groups in the country. The case of the 32 APC petitions, the Bar Association case at the Supreme Court on the Commissions of Inquiry, the case of Sylvia Blyden and Dr. Samura Kamara bordering on the March, 2018 elections are all piled up at our courts.
It is therefore safe to conclude that the factors that led to the 1991 rebel war are still rife and living with us. It will therefore make no sense to talk about the establishment of a Peace Commission, like the Civil Society stated at the conference. It will get our state institutions right first before talking about a Peace Commission.
The panelists from Kenya and Rwanda stated it very clearly, that the Peace Commission will only work when the other critical state institutions execute their mandate.