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Sierra Leone Telegraph: July 23, 2018:
Sierra Leone's main opposition political party – APC will hold a press conference at its headquarters in Freetown today to discuss its response to the publication of the SLPP government. report on its first hundred days in power, as well as condemning the recent series of what the party describes as political violence and the heaviness of the police.
Since taking office in April 2018, after winning the presidential election winning parliamentary majority, there has been a difficult truce between the SLPP-led government of Julius Maada Bio and the APC defeat – now opposition
APC supporters accuse the government and the SLPP party of muzzle freedom of expression and law, with the help of the police.
Yesterday it was reported that a politician of the opposition – Mohamed Kamaraimba (Photo) had been arrested. He criticized President Bio and his government for implementing policies often described as hostile to the country's liberal democracy, but police denied the report saying that Mr. Kamaraimba was not arrested but invited for an interview at CID
In response to accusations of political intimidation and choking of democratic freedoms, a senior SLPP official told Sierra Leone Telegraph that "the opposition APC is determined to cripple the SLPP government's failure to accept defeat at the polls. "
In a press release issued yesterday, here is what Cornelius Deveaux said – the national secretary of advertising APC opposition:
"The Peoples Congress invites the media, civil society organizations and the diplomatic corps to a press conference, starting at 15:00, tomorrow Monday, July 23, 2018, at party headquarters, Ol d Railway Line, Brookfield, Freetown, to present the independent evaluation of the first 100 days of the SLPP government in power of President Julius Maada Bio
"In addition, information received at the Congress of Indigenous Peoples ( APC) indicate that the Sierra Leonean police tried Sunday to arrest opposition politician, Mohamed Kamaraimba Mansaray, at his residence without a warrant.
"The APC condemns this action by the police and takes it into account, including the brutal badault of a supporter of the APC residing at Government Wharf, continuing the wave of violence and intimidation against the opposition parties and their supporters following the controversial election of Julius Maada Bio of the SLPP as President of Sierra Leone in April 2018. "
However Sierra Leonean police condemns the increasing use of the media, particularly by politicians, to make public statements that may provoke political instability. Today, too, they have issued an energetic statement warning citizens of the consequences. This is what Inspector General Dr Moigbe says (photo above):
The reactions to the police statement were quick. Here's what Abdul Malik Bangura – a member of the APC said:
"I read with total disgust, a press release from the Inspector General of Police from Sierra Leone, saying police now monitor media activities in the country
"For me, this is disrespectful of our democratic credentials as a country. How can the police monitor the media in Sierra Leone? It's completely absurd !! The Inspector General must immediately withdraw this statement because it is never the police mandate to monitor our media. The institution in Sierra Leone that is responsible for monitoring our media is the Independent Media Commission, which is firmly established by an act of Parliament.
"While I had raised this issue of the government dissolving the board of our own Independent Media Commission (IMC) without any immediate replacement, I also want to frankly say that the police do not have the mandate to monitor the media in Sierra Leone if a case is not referred to him for investigation.
"However, if President Bio has now decided to run a government for 3 weeks now without a functional BMI, we must also tell the president that, with due respect, our media in Sierra Leone can not be regulated by the police. Repair the CIM and be at peace.
Some civil society groups are also concerned about the deteriorating political climate and increasing attacks on civil liberty in Sierra Leone. This is a statement from the Institute for Good Governance:
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