Sierra Leone, a democratic sovereign state in the community nations is being ruled in contravention of laws and rules laid down for governance of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s).
Most government officials have trampled with impunity in the governance of various MDA’s which form the face of government and state.
It is no gainsaying that when state authorities execute policies and programmes of government without adherence to rules, chaos and anarchy prevails.
The most prominent example showcased in Makeni quite recently where the relocation of a 1.65 KVA generator claimed the lives of six men whose bodies are still in the custody of the state.
Handing them over to the bereaved families for decent burial remains one of the greatest difficulties confronting the state.
The burial has become an albatross on the neck of government.
Credible sources say government want to ensure that peace prevails before the bodies are handed over to the bereaved families.
The disaster traced its origin to the relocation order issued by the Energy Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), the country’s energy supplier.
Based on the EDSA order, the thermal plant was to be relocated from the North-eastern headquarters of Makeni to the North-Western town of Lungi which hosts the country’s only international airport.
The relocation, government sources say, was in preparation of the reopening of the only airport owing to international flights.
In the implementation of the order, brute and crude force was applied leading to a nightmare in the North-eastern headquarters of Makeni.
Most members of the public argue that had there been any proper consultation and engagement of the youths, a resistance that was put up by the youths would have been forestalled.
The situation has brought about public resentment against state authorities evidenced by waves of protests by the affected families.
Police officers who have fastly relegated to status of stooges embarked on arrest sprees to quell down the protests.
In their arrest sprees, police recorded some successes in the public, but not inside parliament.
Yesterday witnessed another hulabaloo in the parliament when members of opposition parties protested for the release of detainees in respect of the protests.
While the Independent Police Complaints Board is investigating the killings, those arrested are still in police custody waiting to be charged.
The dreadful incident that unfolded in Makeni is one of several instances that demonstrate the rule by brute force instead of the rule by the rules.
The killings of Makeni was preceded by a brutal police raid in 2018, conducted in a village called Rosengbe in Yonibana Chiefdom in Tonkolili district
The raid was marred with injuries and fatality that remains a lingering history.
It was a joint raid involving the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and the Office of National Security to stop the cultivation and trafficking of cannabis which they said was the main occupation in that part of the country.
The trail of destruction left behind by the operation indicates that the actions of security operatives were largely unregulated.
Houses were broken into and properties worth millions of Leones were destroyed. Community residents who bore the brunt of the operation accused the police and military as criminals in uniforms.
Motor Cycles and huge sums of money were stolen during the operation. The police defended the actions of the operatives saying the money and goods seized were proceeds of the sale of cannabis.
A commercial motorist who refused to hand over his motor cycles was shot dead. The Local Unit Commander who exposed the errors of the operation was immediately relieved of his duties.
The LUC was in charge of the police division of which Rosengbe was part and parcel.
One wonders the magical powers possessed by the police to tell that all property earned by the weak and innocent villagers were bought out of the sale of cannabis.
As tears continue to stream down the cheeks of the bereaved, the killers walk free.
The state’s failure to bring those responsible for the carnage symbolises one of the greatest impunities in a civilised modern state.
As impunity boomerangs, the trail of killings continues intermittently.
On 29th April this year, other brutal killings occurred at the country’s central correctional facility whose investigation is yet to be initiated.
Reports show that 31 inmates were gunned down over what prison authorities referred to as an attempted jail break to free prisoners.
The country’s Vice President, Mohamed Juldeh assured Sierra Leoneans via radio link of a speedy and fair investigation into the alleged incident.
Almost invariably, those who are responsible for the killings are not roped in.
As the killing sprees persist, most members of the public especially those in opposition strongholds are worried and apprehensive.
They always say the killings have always occurred in the North-West and not in the South-east.
As impunity continues, communities in opposition strongholds go unsafe as the rule with the use of the gun takes precedence over the rule by the rules.