JUSTICE OR TORTURE? Mile 91 Soldiers Accused of Stripping and Beating 20-Year-Old Osman Bangura

 

By: Richmond B. Tholley 

He is 20 years old. A worker at Crystal Springs Water Yoni in Mile 91. A son, a brother, and until last week, just another young man trying to earn an honest living.

Today, Osman Bangura’s body still carries the marks, and his voice still carries the fear.

Bangura and several co-workers were accused of stealing NLE 10,000 from the company. They denied it.

But instead of being taken to the Mile 91 Police Station, the company took them to the military camp at the Mile 91 Community Centre along Bo Road.

What happened next, Bangura says, was not an investigation. It was punishment by the very soldiers deployed to _protect_ the community.

“A stick was placed on my back, and one of the soldiers beat me with a naked cable,” Bangura alleges.

He says he was stripped naked. Beaten. Tortured. All until he was forced to say the words they wanted to hear: _“I did it.”_

He spent the night in military detention. No charge sheet. No lawyer. No court. Just a cell and pain, for a crime he insists he did not commit.

 

It was his in-law, Samuel Kanu, who later intervened.  

Kanu says he paid NLE 50 for Bangura’s “bail.” Another NLE 400 was given to the company manager.  

The agreement: Bangura would go back to work at Crystal Springs without pay to “pay off” the rest.

_“I was forced to admit to something I didn’t do just to stop the beating,”_ Bangura said.

 

When contacted, the soldiers denied beating and exposing Bangura to harsh treatment.  

But they admitted he spent the night in their custody and “admitted to the allegations” during their own investigation.

 

Under Section 5(2)(b) of the 1991 Constitution, _“it shall be the duty of the Armed Forces… to protect and safeguard the people of Sierra Leone.”_

In Mile 91, residents say that duty is being broken — and replaced with beatings, naked humiliation, and forced confessions.

For Osman Bangura, the memory of that stick on his back and that cable on his skin will not fade.  

And for Mile 91, the question remains: who will protect the people from the protectors?

 

This is a developing story. We will update you as we get more information about this matter.