Hon. Mohamed Bangura, member of parliament in constituency 066 yesterday wrote Sierra Leone’s Inspector General of Police (IG) on the arrest of one Mohamed Kamara (Med Kay) of the opposition All Peoples Congress Party (APC) a senior member who he said was arrested by the police on 18th November 2020.
Bangura further seeks clarification on the manner at which the police arrested the APC stalwart- “Mr. IGP, it is clear that the powers of arrest are vested in your institution but one thing that is not clear is the way this arrest was done.”
He explained that relatives, friends and supporters of Med Kay are shocked by the way he was picked up at his house, taken to the CID, OSD headquarter and later sent to remand at the Pademba Road Correctional Center.
“As a Lawmaker representing the people of Karene District and the All Peoples Congress (APC) party of which Mr. Kamara is also an active member, it is a fact that the due process of obtaining suspect statement, proffering charges and having a day in court were arguably infracted, thus prompting the question as to whether the due process of the law has been followed,” he maintained.
Bangura informed the IGP in his letter that Sierra Leone is governed by the rule of law and when these rules are not followed, it provokes an ill-feeling of selective justice, excessive use and abuse of power, violation of the fundamental principles of human rights and judicial processes.
He said every citizen deserves a fair trial but alleged that Med Kay has been denied the access to legal representation, and further posed questions on the nature of the offence against Med Kay, his present location, when would he be charged to court and more.
However, Suprientendent Brima Kamara, Head of Police Media said there is an issue regards to conspiracy in the Makeni riot Investigation and it is an elastic investigation- “I am sure his arrest has to do with the Makeni riot investigation.”
He cannot confirm if Med Kay is still in police custody or not, but promised to call the head of CID for confirmation. He explained that the Sierra Leone Police have powers to arrest someone if he or she commits an offense or is suspected to commit an offense.
By Abdulrahman Koroma