Sierra Leone police has declared Gibril kargbo of 11 Beccles Street in Freetown wanted as one of the collaborators of the August 10 skirmishes the led to the death of some security officers and civilians.
According to the release put out by the Sierra Leone police on the 14th of August 2022, which is four days ahead after the August 10 protest, Gibril Kargbo’s name and photo were among the 145 people declared wanted by the police. The August 10 protest by civilians was used to let the government know the plight of the masses over the continuously rising cost of goods in the country. The protest in question was called by a Sierra Leonean civil right activist living in the Netherlands nickname Adebayor.
Adebayor as he is popularly known is said to have used his usual social media message calling for a nationwide protest against the current government due to the rising cost of commodities in the country as well as other issues of human right violations, injustice, and many more.
In Sierra Leone, the majority now see Adebayor as the mouthpiece of the masses as he continues his activism lambasting the government whilst exposing its excesses. In the case of Gibril Kargbo, he was named among those declared wanted by the Sierra Leone Police on allegations of incitement against the government.
Sources within the community where Kargbo lives are that the young man is not a member of any political party but that his position as youth chairman placed him in commanding stature wherein most of the youth do listen to him. On the issue of the August 10 protest, others who spoke to this medium disclosed that the young man was not part of the protesters and that he is not a member of the opposition All Peoples Congress Party. But others in the SLPP hold the view that Gibril Kargbo is a long-time patronizer of the opposition APC referencing some of his negative comments against the government. This became an issue to the extent, four days after the August 10 skirmishes, Gibril Kargbo’s
Whilst briefing a cross section of the diplomatic community in Freetown. Since that briefing, people were targeted in their homes, arrested and detained at different police across stations across the country. Other were shot in front of their houses and abandon to die. The issue of name calling and pointing of fingers gained dominance wherein people began to run for their life. In case of Gibril Kargbo, his whereabouts remained unknown despite his being among those declared wanted by the police.
In the Northern part of Makeni, a young man by name of Evangelist Sampson was gunned down by security forces four days after the August 10 protest. The death of Evangelist Sampson became topical to the extent that both local and international media picked it up.
In all this, Gibril Kargbo who was also a prime suspect on August 10 had his house raided by the police as he was declared wanted. Up to the time of going to press, Times SL Newspaper is unable to reach Gibril Kargbo or any member of this family to get their side of the story.