Sierra Leone News: APC Urges Police to Release Karamoh Kabba & Pursue Perpetrators

By Hasbin Shaw

The main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party has urged the Sierra Leone Police “to immediately release their Karamoh Kabba [Deputy Organising Secretary] and pursue those who disrupted the APC rally and unleashed unwarranted violence against peaceful party members and supporters of the APC”.

The party said in a preliminary statement on Tuesday that, Mr Kabba, who visited the victims of Monday violence at Hamilton, decided to report the matter to the Adonkia Police Station., and “while he was making a statement at the police station somebody said Karamoh Kabba was present at Hamilton where the fighting took place and was immediately arrested”.

The statement of the party came following violent clashes between supporters of the APC party and ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party on Hamilton, Peninsular Road in Goderich which left dozens injured and a vehicle set ablaze.

It was not clear what cause the incident. What is clear is that Monday July 29, 2019, was approved by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) as the day allocated to the APC to launch its campaign and rally in constituency 110 in the Western Area.

The APC party said that the launching of campaign and rally at the Goderich Community Centre was successfully conducted and the party members went on the campaign trail as is required by NEC . “No other political party is allowed to come out to disrupt the process or come out to campaign. The party members rallied in several villages and towns to sensitize their supporters and everything went on peacefully.”

“However, members of the APC were violently attacked by thugs of the SLPP candidate at Hamilton village. As a result several APC supporters sustained severe injuries from stabbing and stoning from these thugs. Many victims were conveyed to the emergency hospital for treatment,” the Party said in a statement.

The National Secretarr General, Dr Alhaji Osman F Yansaneh is urging the police to immediately release Karamoh Kabba and pursue those who disrupted the APC rally and unleashed unwarranted violence against peaceful party members and supporters of the APC.

The ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party said in a statement that their candidate for the parliamentary bye-election in Constituency 110, Madam Josephine Jackson came under attack by “supporters” and “hoodlums” of the APC on the day prescribed for the APC candidate to rally.

“Madam Jackson’s house was pelted with stones and other offensive materials and eventually her vehicle was set ablaze and burnt to ashes by the assailants. Several of her relatives and well-wishers were wounded, an unarmed RSLAF personnel was also injured,” the Party said.

The Party said, “The SLPP takes a dim view of this incident and unequivocally and in no uncertain terms condemns this barbaric and crude tactic deployed by our opponents who have already sensed defeat in the August polls and want to scuttle it. We call on the police to institute a swift investigation of the attack and prosecute whosoever is found culpable. We also demand full protection of our candidate including her house.”

The Party urged its supporters to remain calm and desist from any retaliatory action.

The police said they are investing the matter, and they will come up a statement on Thursday.