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The Special Investigation Committee (SIC) set up by President Julius Maada Bio to probe the August 8-10 violent protests in Freetown and other parts of the country has implicated notorious social media commentator, Adebayor, in their findings.
The Committee which comprised various heads of Government institutions and professional bodies, on Thursday 13 April 2023, presented their findings to President Bio after they had investigated who were the organizers, planners, and funders of the protests.
The SIC findings indicated that social media became the hub for the spread of inciteful messages, hate speeches, disinformation, fake news, etc., and played a key part in the planning, organizing, and implementing the August 8th-10th incidents under the auspices of Adebayor and the People’s Power in Politics (PPP).
“The August 8th-10th incidents, as insidious as it was, did not occur in isolation and were not extemporaneous, as suggested by multiple pieces of evidence collated from existing literature and, clues gleaned from observations and interviews and narratives assembled from public and in-camera engagements,” they Committee stated, adding that, “Therefore, the events of 8th-10th August 2022 can be conclusively regarded as an insurrection against the central government. The insurrection was planned, well-orchestrated, timed, and geared towards destroying public property provided by the state to undermine the government’s authority.”
The SIC further found out that apart from the spread of social media audios inciting the insurrection from Adebayor, at the subnational level, people printed white PPP T-shirts and provided resources to protesters.
“They also provided motorbikes for them to go around regional headquarters and ensure that violent protests occurred. In areas where protests were slow to start, like in Port Loko, youth using these bikes and hailers were urging people to come out in their numbers and protest. In the violent upheavals, the statue of the President was destroyed by the angry youth,” they stated.
Another key finding of the investigation is that there is a huge communication gap between the governors and the governed.
“Engagements with the youth, women, traditional leaders, and other stakeholders in all the areas visited for this investigation revealed a lack of information about key governance issues that impact their lives and livelihoods,” the SIC disclosed, adding that, “Furthermore, they informed the Committee that the social interaction with government authorities to channel their grievances and frustrations was limited.”
During the investigation, the SIC noted that the mainstream media helped disseminate relevant information to the public and provided.
The Committee however noted that in the east end of Freetown, four radio stations; Tumac Radio, Justice FM, Citizens Radio, and Radio Tempo were reported by residents in those areas to the IMC of broadcasting disturbing political messages before, during, and after the August 10th protests, of which the IMC was swift to intervene.
The investigation further discovered that police personnel was targeted and killed accounting for the loss of Seven (7) police officers and Twenty-One (21) civilians.
The Committee found that no political party at the national level was involved in organizing or planning the event. The SLPP, APC. NGC and C4C leadership all condemned the violent outcomes of the insurrection.
The August protect report is bias against the protests. The report is a reflection of the undemocratic nature of the PAOPA system. How did the selected people of the PAOPA government find out that the protests had plans to destroy state properties? Did these well chosen SLPP members see any protesters carrying any weapon apart from the placards they carried? Why did the Bio chosen members never say anything about what happened that night when Lima and his team went about killing innocent people? Why did these selected people refuse to say something about the burial of the civilian victims? Was the PAOPA team sure about the number of innocent civilians killed? Who among the PAOPA selected people is a professional investigator and not an SLPP party card Carrier?
The selection of the investigators was itself not fair. For good governance procedures, the President should have involved members of other political parties or at least members who are non SLPP party card Carriers.To me the whole process was a sham.
However, the incidents would be Reinvestigated after June 24th Elections.Bio shall not be there to influence the investigation. New, Honest and people with Integrity Wil be appointed to do that investigation. Let us all pray for a peaceful election. Many things will change in Sierra Leone.