By Francis Kamara
Over four years ago since the Bio administration took office, Sierra Leoneans have witnessed a dark cloud of political intimidation, unlawful arrests and a police force that’s far from independence.
The past years have created a society that suppress anyone with the urge and will to speak up against bad governance, corruption, political intimidation, and abuse of power.
The political intimidation and unlawful arrests by the Sierra Leone police have caused an extinction of the freedom of speech, a vibrant fabric on which our constitution and democracy stands – dozens of arrests have been made, violent protests have erupted, due to such calamity and abuse of power.
However, we still have strong and patriotic Sierra Leoneans that have refused to bend to the will of the Bio administration, they have been speaking and are still speaking against bad governance and corruption, as well as educating Sierra Leoneans, especially the youth on the powers that they possess.
But the unlawful arrests and political intimidation still continue to destroy the hope and kill the voice of Sierra Leoneans.
In the evening hours of Thursday 6th October 2022, the former Anti Corruption Commissioner and strong voice of the opposition party – Lawyer Ady Macauley, was detained pending investigations for his legal opinion shared on AYV television.
A request for bail by his Lawyers was denied by the police. Police say they are investigating him for alleged inciteful statements he made during an interview on AYV Television on July 10th, 2022.
Ady Macauley has been considered as a powerful voice in Sierra Leone, he is also considered by many Sierra Leoneans as a strict interpretationist, a highly respected legal practitioner, and a figure of hope.
Arresting a legal practitioner for merely forming a legal opinion or for interpreting a section of the country’s constitution is beyond hilarious – disagreeing with a lawyer’s opinion is one thing, but to criminalize his honest and free expression is trampling on his fundamental human rights to freedom of expression.
There’s no iota of doubt that a bad and dangerous precedent is being set by the Bio administration.
Sierra Leoneans are tired and have lost faith in the system. Some people are of the belief that the Bio administration has lost the capacity and intelligence to make concrete arguments, therefore they have decided to lay siege on anyone who can point out the flaws and abuse of power by the Bio administration.
Our democracy is under serious threat by the Bio administration – they’ve made a mess of everything in the country and the fact that anyone can speak up and call out the government threatens and breathes panic on them. Who knows who could be next – even the press does not have freedom of speech!
