For Fear of Political Violence, Many Political Activists and Politicians Seek Refuge in Other Countries
By: Benedict AbuBakarr Conteh If not hundreds, then scores of Sierra Leoneans, especially vocal politicians and political activists who are critiquing the excesses of the Bio-led government, have either fled the country or are in hiding due to intimidation, violence, and death threats they get from members of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party. For those who couldn't flee the country, they are incessantly intimidated and bullied and, to an extent, arrested and jailed for challenging governance inadequacies of this regime. A popular critic who has joined many others to flee the country is Umaro Kamara, who, according to him, narrowly escaped police arrest after the July 19th generator protest that claimed the lives of six civilians in Makeni. Makeni, in the north of Sierra Leone, witnessed a horrific incident that could only be cited or measured in relation to the eleven years of civil conflict in the country. The protest, which was organized by young people, ...