Amidu Conteh Escapes Mob Justice

By Thaimu Thullah

Amidu Conteh , a resident of  11 Old Railway Line, Brookfields, in Freetown  narrowly escaped mob justice at the hands of angry SLPP youths in the company of military officers, who descended on his home on the 10th of August during the Protest, while desperately haunting APC supporters and members of the PPP alleged to be planners of the said protest.

This happened few hours  after youths of eastern Freetown took to the streets and stopped all government and private operations and preventing businesses, vehicular and commuter movement, effectively crippling businesses.

The protest started with hundreds of thousands of youths taking over the streets of Freetown in the east, shouting the slogan “President Julius Maada Bio must go”. They were protesting against the rising cost of living in the country and expressing frustration over  bad governance, harassment, and political intimidation by the SLPP led- government of President Bio.

Government and private offices were unable to open for work, as business places were looted, ransacked, and destroyed. Police Stations were also not spared, as supplies of bags of rice, motorcycles, and others items were stolen by youths, who were angrily protesting against the ruling SLPP-led government of President Julius Maada Bio.

The youths ensured that there were blockades on every main street or corner leading to the highway. Commercial and private vehicles were prevented from plying the streets, and if caught, drivers of those vehicles trying to bypass the blockades were at risk of being killed, irrespective of their gender.

Amidu Conteh, is well known for supporting the main opposition party (APC), which the government accused of orchestrating the protest. His address at Brookfields is very close to the National Headquarters of the main Opposition, All People’s Congress party.  Sources in the area disclosed that Amidu Conteh had left his home on that fateful day to the  eastern part of Freetown on a private job for one of his customers. On his way home, he met stiff resistance along Portee junction, where a police officer was beaten to death by angry youths. He attempted to rescue the stranded officer, denouncing the way and manner the officer was being treated, and immediately became a target. Some of the youths rushed at him and gave him slaps, but one of his friends, who was part of the angry protesters, managed to help him escape from the scene. After three days, Amidu’s photo was among those declared wanted by the police. His whereabouts remained unknown as we go to press.

The government, in a press statement, described the protesters as ” terrorists”. Two days after the situation returned to calm, there was massive arrest of suspected protesters, with over five hundred people detained in different detention centers across the country.

Civil Society Organizations have expressed grave concern about the manner of the arrest. They claimed that the police were working with SLPP supporters identifying people who have nothing to do with the August 10 protest, purely over rival political interests.

The August 10 protest was bloody, battle-tested, and is known to be very bad in the history of Sierra Leone.

However,  recent developments are that at the time Amidu Conteh was trying to rescue the police officer, his photo was captured and was misrepresented as one of those who had unleashed terror and mob-justice against police officers. This led to his house being put under surveillance by the police, whilst the APC National Headquarters was baricaded by the military.  The police alongside the military embarked on operation arrest, detaining and punishing suspects believed to be behind the August 10 protest.

Amidu Conteh could not be reached for his comment, but family sources disclosed that his whereabouts remained unknown. Several arrests were therefore made at his house. We are investigating the matter…