Popular youth influcerAugustine Kamara feared dead
Family members of the youth activist Augustine Kamara whose influence among the youths in Makeni was second to none and also being a member of Makeni Union of Youth Groups (MUYOG) and of course a Member of opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) have through this medium expressed fear over his sudden disappearance after the Ministry of Energy relocation plan of the 1 megawatts Caterpillar generator to the country’s airport town of Lungi led to violence resistance by Makeni youths.
Roland Johnson, a neighbor to the now disappeared Augustine told this medium that he saw a police pick up van at the apartment of Augustineseeking information about his whereabouts given the intelligence theyallegedly said they had about the activist’s role in mobilizing the protesting youths in the Sunday standoff that resulted to five youths been shot dead.
In a related development, family members of one of the deceased youths AlusineSesay who was shot and killed along Station road in Makeni are reported to be on the hunt for Augustinewhom they claimed fetched their now deceased son from their residence before he met his demise. They told this medium that theywant to demand for answers from the activist as to reason he took their son to a scene where he was killed in cold blood.
The Regional Police Commander Northeast- AIG Frank Alpha said in an interview with this press that his men didn’t use any force more than necessary. “ we didn’t use guns, we use tear gas” he explained.
He noted that the gun firing heard during the standoff actually came from the protesting youths,a claim human rights monitors have debunked as untrue.
Augustine’s friend, one UnisaPatrick Kamaratold this press that he had visited the CID Headquaters in Freetown where all 51 arrested youths are been held in detention for the Sunday July 18th standoff between the police and the youths but could not find Augustine.
Unisa denied claims been circulated in some quarters that his friend was involved in mobilizing the protesting youths, Unisa further disclosed that they were together during the said crisis. He said Augustine left him late on the evening of the said Sunday after he had received a call from a friend that accusations wererife in town that he championed the deadlyprotest and was wanted by the ruling SLPP vigilantes that helped the police to put down the protest.
Unisafurther explained to Times-SL that he knew exactly where theallegations of Augustine’s involvement in the said standoff were coming from. He said he had the strongest of convictions that his friend’s growing popularity and mobilizing power of young people was enough threat to many in the political class in the region.
Pa.SaiduKoroma, Augustine’s aged uncle expressed fear that the absence of his nephew in police cells and also not been amongst the injured hospitalized at the city regional hospital wasis enough reason to suspect that he could have been killed and dumped in an unknown location.
WahabSesay,another of Augustine’s close friends said if his friend (Augustine) is still alive one week after the standoff that saw five protesters dead, thenit implies he could have fled to unknown destination given the situation on the ground that saw both the police and parents of one of the youth killed directly shifting blame on himfor the July 18thand 19thstandoff and the deaths that follows.