Popular All People’s Congress (APC) politician, Kemoh Sesay has been arrested and hurriedly charged to court on allegations of inciting comments made against President Julius Maada Bio.
This is despite the fact that he is ill and slowly recovering after suffering from a stroke.
According to reports circulating on social media, Kemoh Sesay made the alleged inciting statements on a video circulated on social media.
However, a few days ago a popular SLPP operative whose video also went viral showing him publicly threatening to chop into pieces anyone challenging the SLPP was not arrested and hurriedly charged to court which is leading political pundits and social media commentators to believe that it appears that alleged threatening remarks from anyone in the ruling goes unnoticed while similar alleged threats from anyone in the main APC opposition is immediately noticed and action taken promptly. Additionally, political analysts and political pundits say Kemoh Sesay has become the first victim of the recently enacted Cybercrime law which could be described as a test case for the Judiciary.
“The significance if this development is that the law is being applied for the first time since it was enacted and on an opposition member despite the fact that several ruling party figures have flouted this same law since it was enacted,” said a senior journalist.
Hon. Kemoh Sesay could not be reached for comment but sources close to the family and the APC say he is fine and coping with hope to be granted bail, according to his lawyers, but that he is worried as he is not in the best of health.
The indictment of Sesay is one of numerous cases of opposition politicians and individuals being arrested and charged to court for criticizing President Bio and his ruling SLPP regime.
Last week Thursday, Mohamed Mansaray alias Blacker, a perceived lunatic and a businesswoman, Kadiatu Yankaday were remanded after they were both charged to court on one count of Public Insult and Provocation contrary to Section 2 of the Public Order Act 1965, following allegations of insulting the president.
There have also been recent arrests and detention of National Grand Coalition (NGC) Chairman and Leader, Dennis Bright, former APC Secretary General, Osman Foday Yansaneh, Unity Party leader, Femi Claudius-Cole and some other members of the Consortium of Progressive Political Parties (CoPPP).
In light of this, several civil society organizations in the country have issued press releases and position statements expressing grave concern about the frequent arbitrary arrests of opposition politicians and individuals in the country.
The Sierra Leone Police has been accused of being a pawn of the government, and a tool for arrest and intimidation of opposition politicians and individuals.
The European Union’s recent report accused the police of failing to be independent and impartial.
