The security sector in Sierra Leone has said in a recent press statement they have made series of arrests including certain individuals and senior military officers.
According to the press statement, the arrests were made after an intelligence indicated that “certain individuals, including senior military officers, were working to undermine the peace and tranquility of the state and unleash violence on peaceful citizens of Sierra Leone.”
“In that regard, several arrests have been made and the suspects are assisting the police with the investigations,” the statement added, stating: “Preliminary investigations have revealed that these individuals planned to use purported peaceful protests between 7 to 10 August 2023, as a guise to unleash violent attacks against state institutions and peaceful citizens.”
The security sector noted that the alleged action of the said individuals came as a shock to them “despite continued efforts to consolidate our hard won peace and democratic gains, there are individuals at home and abroad that continue to undertake actions meant to derail the peace and tranquility of the country.”
The head of police media in Sierra Leone, Brima Kamara, has however refused further comments on the issue, stating it will prejudice the investigation.
The number of arrests made so far is not known. And the police has equally not published the identification of the arrests.
This is happening at a time military takeovers are unleashed in the sub region. Five countries including Sierra Leone’s nearest neighbor- Guinea- have had a taste of it.
The country, which is suffering from a struggling economy, is challenged with heightened political tension.
Sierra Leone had a controversially high-tensioned national election on June 24th, 2023.
The main opposition All People’s Congress has still not accepted the outcome of the election, alleging it had been rigged by Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone to favor incumbent President Julius Maada Bio.
On the 10th August, 2022, Sierra Leone experienced one of its bloodiest insurrection since the end of the 11years brutal civil war. The insurrection saw a huge loss of properties and the killings of innocent civilians including police officers.
President Julius Maada Bio had said in a national broadcast then that the “insurrection was for a violent overthrow of the democratically elected government,” and had blamed the “premeditated” unrest on the country’s main opposition political party, the All Peoples Congress.
Meanwhile, despite the political tension that has now engulfed the country, the security sector has assured “the public that the country remains peaceful and that the situation is fully under control.”
“The public is therefore urged to remain calm and go about their normal business.We encourage members of the public to report any suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities.”
