Renowned civil Society activist Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai will head a 15-member committee that will investigate the deadly protest that rocked Sierra Leone early this month, the presidency has announced.
Mr Abdulai was named in a statement issued on Wednesday announcing the formation of the committee, which comprises a blend of representatives from government, civil society and the religious establishment.
The August 10 protest took place mainly in Freetown and parts of the northern region of the country. The protesters said they were expressing their dismay at the government’s handling of economic hardship that has seen prices of basic commodities skyrocketed in the last two years, aggravated by the Russian-Ukraine crisis in the last six months.
But the Bio administration has referred to the incident as an insurrection, with government officials describing it as a failed attempt to forcefully take power.
President Julius Maada Bio has himself blamed unnamed opposition politicians for inciting the protesters.
Up to date, there has been no official death toll from the incident that saw security forces engage in running battle with protesters. Images shared on social media showed several dead bodies from the clashes. According to various media reports, over two dozen people may have lost their lives to the incident.
The only report the police issued – on Thursday August 11 – about the incident mentioned only four deaths, all of them its members. That number later increased to six, following the deaths of others from their wounds. The remains of those officers were buried on Monday, following a civic funeral attended by President Bio and other top government officials.
“This is a sad day in the history of our country, as we come to give our final respect to the victims of a violent and brutal attack on our peace and democracy. We have worked very hard as a nation for nearly two decades. We thought violence was completely taken away from the tools that would be used to resolve our differences,” the President was quoted saying at the event held at the Hastings Police Training School in Freetown.
The President later tweeted:
“We are hopeful that their death would help to bring eternal healing to our land and end the senseless actions of the enemies of our dear country, who are eager to divide us.”
Last week the leadership of the main opposition All people’s Congress (APC) in parliament called on the government to publish the full detail of civilian deaths. The police have not responded to several requests by ManoReporters to verify the death toll.
Meanwhile, the government says the Special Investigation Committee will investigate “both the immediate and underlying causes, sources of financing, execution and consequences of the insurrection, as well as the response of the security forces,” according to the statement from the Press Secretary at State House.
Other members of the Special Investigation Committee include the Presidents of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist and the Sierra Leone Bar Association. It also include representatives of the influential Inter-religious Council, the Women’s Forum as well as the heads of key security institutions like the Office of National Security and retired security officers.
President Bio had promised to set up the committee to identify all those behind the protests and to bring them to justice. It also followed calls both locally and internationally for an impartial investigation into the incident.
Abdulai, a renowned human rights lawyer, is also prominent in the civil society sphere, given his work on civil rights activism. He is founder and executive director of the Society for Democratic Initiative, a group known for its campaign for free speech. His appointment has been praised by many Sierra Leoneans, including known critics of the administration who say it promises an unbiased investigation.
There have been reports of the arrest of several people in connection with the protest. Among those detained is a sitting member of Parliament. Mohamed Bangura of the APC was reportedly detained on Friday, August 19th.
Meanwhile, a wanted list by the police has generated a huge debate over fake news. The list contains the image of a former Nigerian rapper, DaGrin, who has been dead for over a decade. It contains images of over two dozen people the police say are wanted for their part in the protest.
The police have also come under criticism for alleged human rights violation, over the death of a renowned opposition activist in the northern city of Makeni, scene of one of the August 10 protests. Hassan Dumbuya, known by his nickname ‘Envagelist Samson’, reportedly died from gunshot wounds. The police claimed he died in a cross fire during a raid on alleged ex-combatants suspected of organizing the protest.
