Few days ago the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) accused the Police of bias against them in the treatment of their supporters. Supt. Samura rubbished the claims, saying they (police) have not treated the issue of violence seriously.
“We have arrested several perpetrators of violence across the country. We arrested perpetrators in Bo, Kenema and Kambia in the last week. The issue of Kaningo is still under investigation,” Supt. Samura said.
The Police hierarchy has insisted that people who were arrested will be dealt with in accordance with the law, regardless of their political affiliations.
“We are not going to say these are the people who were disturbing SLPP or APC members. We are going to treat them as law-breakers,” Supt. Samura told AYV.
In the last few days there has been a surge in political violence across the country; a situation which many people have described as worrying with just few days left to the presidential runoff election. In response to the surge, Supt. Samura stated that Police have reviewed their security strategy to incorporate military personnel in their operations. However, he added that police shall be in charge despite the drafting of army personnel into their security plans.
“We have evoked the Military Aid to Civil Power (MAC-P) and so we will patrol and secure the major cities and towns across the country, side by side with the military,” Supt. Samura said.
Sierra Leone prepares for a runoff presidential election on 27th March, 2018 between the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). As the day draws closer, the stakes are getting higher and the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) is set to ensure total security, peace and tranquility during the process.
