The government of Sierra Leone continues to use the 2022 August 10th violence in Freetown and some parts of Sierra Leone to clamp down top opposition supporters, as they have been continuously publishing list of wanted perpetrators.
The recent wanted list that was published by the Sierra Leone Police has been frowned at by Civil Society Organisations and Human Rights Activists. Some of the people that have been declared wanted by the police have been challenged by the public. Key among them is Victor Junior Khan and his close friend, Hassan Dumbuya aka Evangelist Samson a popular opposition social media blogger who was brutality killed in the street of makeni by the Sierra Leone Government Security on the 14 august . According to some members of the public in Makeni, Khan is a very intelligent, hardworking philanthropist and prosperous business man, that cannot be associated with violence. They further stated that Khan has only been included in the wanted list because of his strong affiliation with the All Peoples’ Congress party, which happens to be the main opposition party in the country.
The August 10th demonstration led by faceless people, spontaneously broke out and there was violence and chaos in the capital city Freetown and some parts of the country. Some people lost their lives, including six (6) police officers that were on duty. Properties worth millions of Leones were destroyed and there was a standstill in Freetown and other affected areas which resulted in the declaration of curfew and deployment of Military Aid to Civil Power (MAC-P). Immediately after the incident the government set up a special committee to look into the violence and bring all perpetrators to book.
Although most people have registered their dissatisfaction over the inclusion of Mr Khan’s name on the wanted list, few people also believed that he was one of the culprits of the August 10th violence in the country. Based on the evidence gathered during our investigation, we believe Victor Junior Khan is innocent and is a victim of political witch-hunt. His house and that of his family members have been continuously raided by military personnel and OSD Officers, in search of Mr Khan, instilling fear and panic in his family members and also threating his safety and that of his family members.
It can be recalled that the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Lahai Lawrence Leema is behind the house to house raiding of key opposition figures in the name of arresting the August 10th protesters. He has been working tirelessly in ensuring that
