According to a Public Notice from the Sierra Leone Police, the said group ‘Concerned Sierra Leoneans’ are planning to stage mass protests on the 19th September, 2019, for what they regard as a way of expressing their dissatisfaction regarding the state of the current economic situation in the country, increase in violence, tribalism, oppression and humiliation of opposition members and supporters, especially the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) Party.
Presenting the contents of the Public Notice, the Director of Community Affairs at the Sierra Leone Police, AIG Kalia Edward Sesay, encouraged the organizers of the said demonstration to engage the Inspector General of Police and their management team for further discussions and obtain written permission/clearance if their concerns are in accordance with Act No. 46 of the 1965 Public Order Act.
The Head of Media and Public Relations at the Sierra Leone Police, Superintendent Brima Kamara, reassured the public of their safety while calling on them to go about their normal business.
However, in addressing the Public Notice issued by the SLP, the All People’s Congress Party says it takes exception to the notice linking their party to any planned protests.
In response to the public notice, the opposition All People’s Congress in a letter signed by Secretary General Ambassador Osman Yansaneh and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Dr. Richard Moigbe, expressed their concerns, noting that: ‘this is another move by the SLP to set the stage for more arrests of senior party members.’
The letter further states that the APC is shocked and surprised by the Public Notice issued by the Sierra Leone Police which among other things “calls on the executive of the All People’s Congress Party to distance and dissociate their party from those planned protests……”
The letter is said to serve as a warning to the Sierra Leone Police ‘against any intimidation of members of the APC.’
