Sierra Leone President sacks police minister after weeks of deadly unrests

What you need to know:

  • First it was the deadly riot in the maximum security prison at Pademba Road in Freetown. Twelve people reportedly died in that incident on April 30.

  • In that same week riot broke out in the northern district of Port Loko, where angry youths burnt down a police station and the residence of a Paramount Chief

Freetown,

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has sacked his Internal Affairs Minister, after two weeks of bloody unrests across the country.

Edward Soloku will be replaced by David Panda-Noah, who until his appointment was in charge of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), a statement from the presidency said.

The new appointee will have to go through parliamentary approval.

The brief presidential statement on Thursday did not give any reason for the change in the ministry that is responsible for the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), which has been overwhelmed by series of events in the last two weeks that resulted in over a dozen and a half deaths.

First it was the deadly riot in the maximum security prison at Pademba Road in Freetown. Twelve people reportedly died in that incident on April 30.

In that same week riot broke out in the northern district of Port Loko, where angry youths burnt down a police station and the residence of a Paramount Chief, among many other properties.

The machete wielding youths were protesting against government’s handling of the controversial cancellation of the operating license of a major US mining company which they say took away jobs and destroyed livelihoods. One person was killed in that incident that exposed the weakness of the police.

The youths overpowered the police and forcing them to retreat. The local police chief was recalled as a result.

And on Wednesday, a day after the country came out of a three-day nationwide lockdown, another riot by youths in the fishing town of Tombo outside Freetown led to the death of at least three people. At least two people were reportedly killed as a directly result of the riot, while a riot police man died in a road accident that left three of his colleagues seriously injured as they raced to quell the riot.

Reports say the Tombo protesters were demonstrating against Covid-19 restrictions prohibiting them from engaging in fishing, which is their sole source of livelihood.

That incident exposed a growing trend of discontent against measures put in place by the government in the fight against the spiraling viral pandemic in the country.

Sierra Leone’s cases continue to grow by the day.

On Thursday, a day after the three-day nationwide lockdown ended, the country registered its largest number of cases in a single day – 26.

As of Friday, the cumulative confirmed cases was 231. The death toll has also been worryingly increasing. It’s 16.

The restriction in movement has left majority of the population, who live from hand-to-mouth, struggling for survival, amidst threat of protests.

The Inspector General of Police issued a statement on Wednesday warning against any unauthorized protest.

President Bio was scheduled to meet with representatives of the diplomatic community to discuss the security situation in the country.