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This afternoon June 15th, 2024, a large group of youths from the east end of Freetown marched to the Ross Road Police Station, voicing their grievances in the Krio language.
Chanting “E NOR EASY AAAA,” which translates to “It is not easy,” the demonstrators expressed their frustration and anger over the alleged overnight demolition of their business premises by police officers.
The affected youths, many of whom rely on their small businesses for daily sustenance, claim that the police action was unwarranted and has left them in dire straits. According to eyewitnesses, the demolitions occurred without prior notice or explanation, resulting in significant financial losses and leaving many entrepreneurs without a source of income.
One of the protestors, Mariama Kamara, a small-scale trader, tearfully recounted how she arrived at her stall this morning to find it reduced to rubble. “We are just trying to make an honest living,” she said. “Now, everything is gone. How are we supposed to survive?”
The youths demanded immediate answers from the police and called for justice and restitution.
The scene at Ross Road Police Station was tense, with the protestors blocking the entrance and chanting slogans. The police, while maintaining a visible presence, did not engage directly with the demonstrators.
Who could have sent the police to pull down their market stalls, other than the City Council? Central government has nothing to do with market place only Local government. So why not go down to the City Council and protest against the mayor rather than the police station? It is a sad situation for people who are fending for their livelihood.
The war has started take note 👆
From now this is what is going to happen because their is no justice and we need justice and freedoms please Mr. President and the Leadership of the A P C
Yeah good evening this country the most team everybody don’t come on that place they don’t count the United for just they say any kind side with a fee for sale they know they take permission from city council they know they take permission from nowhere
Sierraloaded please stop the misinformation why do you have to used that.
Caption “STARTED PROTESTING” you guys are miss leading the public it’s good.
You fail to state the location where the stalls were demolished in your story.
“Who could have sent the police to pull down their market stalls, other than the City Council? Central government has nothing to do with market place only Local government. So why not go down to the City Council and protest against the mayor rather than the police station? It is a sad situation for people who are fending for their livelihood.”
Lawal, I appreciate your concern for poor struggling traders, but people cannot just squat wherever they want. Our capital city is now just one big mess and traders plumping down wherever they want is the main reason. We need better. We need special places designated for trading. Every street can’t be a market. So if City Hall is removing ILLEGAL structures, then good riddance.
Hello, thanks for the information. I have some serious concerns on how the comon sierra leonean is been treated. I think we are giving to much blind eye to importance matter when they start, for example I saw few day back traders selling infront of youyi building gate and their is a police post there. My concern is they are not stopping them now, authorities will wait until those trader make that place the source of their livelihood and they will now begin to pursue them. My opinion is “kill snake way e young” stop it now that it just start befor it goes out of hands. The same have happened to many places all over the nation, and today those street trading point have been highly politicise.
The behavior of ignorance has become the order of the day. Petty traders are in the habit of erecting stalls at their wish and doing business there.
I’m not happy with the actions of the police but I believe that the traders must have understood that the speculated site had never been approved by the government to trade there but they took chances because they were aware that our government is a sleeping one and leaves everything in the pipeline.
Sometimes it’s nice to get the opportunity to travel to other country and see how sanity operates and development came about.
We are always blind to the wrong doings and when state officials take actions we make blame games. If those trades were on the approved market place provided for them they won’t have nothing them but ignorance has dug the anger of good governance.
Did government provides an alternative for them?
It is the duty of government through councils to erect markets for socio-economic activities.
Let’s stop the dark edges (munku) politics as it will not help this nation, thives in MDA’s are civilized as corrupt state officials. They grabs and build on government or state lands, unfortunately, no one cares. When it is the poor we started building fabricated stories, change.
Some or most of their children aren’t in sierra leone, so they’re not care whether the ordinary people suffer or not to feed their families. Where’re the market buildings erected for them?Did the government provide any market buildings for them to sell and they refused???? ““Oh salon man, d moment e brade butter e dae consider d others as useless pipo dem”“
Did they follow due process before erecting the structures?
Is the land their rightfully theirs?
Is the location free from harm?
These are relevant questions one need to ask before making any conclusion.
The mindset of some politically motivated scumbags will tend to talk all sorts of rubbish without asking relevant questions.
It’s sad that every thing’s now politicized, including newspaper reporting. We have seen the newly-elected Bar President derogatively referred to as “embattled” and her position put in parenthesis, indicating it as illegitimate. And now this one-sided reporting! The government has nothing to do with street trading. That falls under the jurisdiction of the City Council, not the central government. Portraying it as government-sanctioned, whilst ignoring to mention that it’s the mayor and FCC is gross irresponsible. Given the current tense situation, it can be described as incitement. You guys can and must do better.
We’re expecting much from sierraloaded, but sometimes you people give out false information to the public that will insight others to become disorder in the country this particular information is a false information I’m living at # 35 Ross Road opposite the police station, for the past five(5) months im not come across nothing like what you have said and the caption of your report and no market place where not demolished by the sierra Leone police,my only advice for some of guys sometimes try to visit the scen of crime and gather the correct information before publish to the general public .