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The People’s Power in Politics (PPP) has condemned the recently released report on the August protests by the Special Investigation Committee (SIC), in which they and Adebayor are implicated as the main perpetrators.
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 organisers, planners and funders of the August 8-10 protests in Freetown and other parts of the country.
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).
In response, the PPP stated that they have reviewed with great sadness the report of the Committee appointed by President Bio, noting that it was a missed opportunity by the Bio administration to learn about the country’s policy problems and to relate to them but he failed the nation once again.
“The public will recall that we, the only planners, organisers and sponsors of the protest, had informed the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the general public about our intention to peacefully protest on the 8th-10th of August, 2022 way ahead of time,” they stated, adding that, “We also put out a notice following the police brutality that ensued on the last day of the protest that our organisation is a legal entity independent of any local organisation, group or political party in Sierra Leone and that we are not affiliated to any group, interest of political party nor did we work with any.”
The PPP stated that they took absolute responsibility for calling on citizens who were aggrieved due to poor conditions of living, rampant corruption, financial hardship and violent human right abuses of the Bio administration, to join them.
They added that they are surprised that neither the government nor the Committee attempted to contact them for comment.
“Notwithstanding this, the Committee submitted a report in which it blamed us and Adebayor for the violence as they deceived themselves and their paymaster that we worked with local individuals to plan, finance and execute what they called “an insurrection.” It is false, a terrible joke and a continuation of Bio’s divisive politics,” they stated.
According to the PPP, although the Committee attempted to highlight the main cause of the protest, it undermined itself by including clearly partisan rhetoric and the talking points of Bio and his henchmen, adding that the Committee’s allegations against citizens is a failed attempt to politically divide the country.
“While the report may have saved the Committee the embarrassment of contradicting independent analyses and findings on the protest, it further implicated itself,” they stated.
The PPP further noted the following:
- The committee produced two reports; one for President Bio’s eyes only and another for the general public. We underscore the point that, that in itself operates to undermine the credibility of the Committee and its members who decided to put out a false report to the public and kept the other side away.
- We found that 98% of the members of the committee are known members, supporters and or sympathizers of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), Bio’s party.
- We learnt from them that they covered up the atrocities caused by security forces from the President’s Office, Lahai Laurence Leema who was visible on tape recorded by our team, when he entered premises of political opponents with armed military personnel and shooting defenceless citizens.
- We have collected numerous messages, twitter commentaries and Facebook posts of several of the members of the Committee drawing false conclusions and taking sides to blame some members of the public as being a party to the organisation or planning or execution of the protests prior to their appointments. They cannot therefore be judged for their own cause.
- That the version of the report which is published is full of suppositions, assumptions and blind conclusions not supported by facts or evidence. Most of what the report concluded are a repetition of the talking points of President Bio and his administration.
- We stand in solidarity with the people of Sierra Leone and urge members of the public to stand against the corruption of the Bio administration and his cohort for brandishing divisive and dangerous political opinions to scare opponents ahead of crucial elections that he is highly likely to lose. The reports particularly target known operatives of the All People Congress (APC) party in their stronghold.
