The Kamaranka Police Post on 9 June 2018 reported that a resident of Royeama Village, Osman Koroma, allegedly committed suicide while in Police custody in the cells.
According to North East Region Police Officer in Charge of Media, Sargent Abdul Rahman Sankoh, the wife of the deceased, Fanta Bangura (accompanied by tribal authorities from Royeama) reported her husband (now decease) to the Police Post for allegedly physical assaulting her on 8 June 2018.
According to Sargent Sankoh, a police medical form was issued to Fanta Bangura for treatment and the husband was arrested on 9 June 2018 and placed in cells on the same day. “At 15:40 hours of the same date, Osman Koroma, was discovered dead in the cell after allegedly committing suicide,” he said.
The North/East Region Police conveyed the body of the deceased to the Makeni Regional Hospital for a post-mortem. Family members refused the burial until a post-mortem result is announced. They said they doubt the postmortem conducted in Makeni on the grounds that no family member was present during the post-mortem. They demanded another post-mortem. In order for the Police to create a fair play they conveyed the body in Freetown for another post-mortem to be conducted on 19 June 2018.
However, there are mixed reactions to the Police account into what happened in the cell. Many people listening to report from radio stations in Makeni expressed different opinions on the alleged suicide.
A trader in Makeni NP Lorry Park, Hassan Brima, doubts the account of the police because there is no evidence to what happened in the cell.
Some civil society organizations have also expressed concerns on the level of security in Police cells across the District. The Citizens Rights Association expressed their sympathy for the family and supported the second post-mortem.
Executive Director of the Citizens Rights Association, Banato Sesay, said the police officers on duty should be held responsible because they are in charge of everyone in the Kamaranka Police. “Police on duty should be held responsible because a man in Police cells should be under their custody. How can a man alleged to have removed a rope from an old motor bike in the cell and hang himself? For that reason the Police should be held responsible.”
MKM/21/6/18
By Matthew Kanu in Makeni
Friday June 22, 2018.
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