The party believed that the description by the Inspector General of Police of the decision by the SLPP to accompany our National Publicity Secretary to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as “idle activity” was not only extremely discourteous but it also put the office of the Inspector General of Police into disrepute.
The office of the Inspector General of Police the SLPP went on ought to be apolitical and any public statement by the holder of that office should be responsibly devoid of demeaning the leadership and general membership of any political party.
“We need not remind the Inspector General of Police that it is the duty of a responsible Political Party to accord solidarity to its National Officer especially in a circumstance where the allegations levied against him are politically motivated. Therefore, the repeated disparaging comments by the Inspector General of Police referring to such show of solidarity as “idle activity” were reckless and impetuous. If the Inspector General can call our leadership and general membership as “idlers” on national radio, what is stopping him from giving private instructions to his officers to run riot on our members at the slightest impulse?” SLPP questioned.
Also, with the current police investigation into the recent alleged attacks on their Party headquarters the party has expressed no confidence in the leadership of I.G. Munu that the investigation will hold to account all those alleged OSD officers who fired tear gas canisters at the party headquarters resulting in damage to our building and severe injuries of our members.
“We have always insisted that as the Political Party which has invested more than any other to bring peace and stability to this nation, we can settle for nothing less than an independent, impartial and professional Police Force that will command the respect and support of all the players as we approach the March 2018 elections. We therefore call on Mr. Munu to step down from the position of Inspector General effective immediately. The decision by the SLPP calling for the Inspector General to step down is to give the Sierra Leone Police the opportunity to regain public trust and confidence in the discharge of their responsibility with a new leadership. The general public and the international community should be in no doubt that as the main opposition party our resolve is unwavering until Mr. Munu steps down from the position of Inspector General of Police.
