An officer of the Sierra Leone Police Suliaman Dao gave summary of the security situation in the district. He said that they (SLP) have received several complaints/reports about mischievous activities happening during the night time. He said that some people go about throwing faeces inside the premises of peaceful citizens and business places. He described this act as “unlawful behaviour” adding that it might not be unconnected to politics.
Speaking to this issue, LUC Francis Joe Songo condemned the act in its entirety. He updated the team that the Police have not been able to apprehend any suspect because the act is done “under the cover of darkness”. He urged politicians to discourage tribal politics and encouraged them to focus on uniting the country.
Caroline Damba from the ABC Secretariat punctuated that the misuse of the social media would have far-reaching consequences on the peace and quiet of our nation. She said her institution is deeply concerned about the rampant misuse of WhatsApp and called for proper measures to be put in place to combat social media abuse.
The team also visited the APC and SLPP Bombali district executives at their party offices in Makeni to seek their commitment to peaceful electoral process.
At the SLPP office, the district chairman Mohamed Saffa alleged that some of their female members have come under repeated attacks because of their political affiliation to the SLPP. He said they as a party are committed to peace during and after the election and called on other political parties to make the same commitment. At the APC party office, the vice chairman Issa Kanu berated the use of tribal politics, saying it has no place in our society. He pledged his party’s commitment to peace and urged the youth to be law-abiding.
Similar dialogue were held in Koinadugu, Falaba, Karene and Tonkolili districts where the aforementioned stakeholders participated fully and made strong commitment to consolidating peace in their districts.
NB: In all the districts, WSR-SL has paid for air time at the various community radio stations as support to enable the stakeholders hold media engagements on peace and political tolerance in their different languages on a daily basis.