The opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) rally which started peacefully yesterday in Freetown almost went tumultuous when they started pelting missiles in the form of sticks and stones along Pademba road via Percival Street.
The hundreds of die-hearted supporters were going about their rally peacefully when a man wearing red, the color of rival party All People’s Congress (APC), made them go berserk.
While it is unknown whether the man was wearing red to support APC or just by coincidence, the crowd clearly thought he was an APC supporter as evidence of the violence that pursued.
Fighting ensued between the man and the supporters for about 10 minutes as stones, sticks and abusive languages were used as defensive weapons by the SLPP supporters.
The whole of Percival Street scattered as people ran from the violence – some even having to dodge stones that were thrown in random directions.
According to an eye witness who was on the scene, among the eminent supporters there was a group of thieves who were instigating the conflict so they could steal from people.
“I notice the group movement and I went to prevent them,” the witness said, “but then I was manhandled by them.”
The angry crowd then reportedly began beating the witness, but bystanders came to his rescue and he was pulled out of the crowd. One female police officer was able to eventually calm the crowd down and once the violence died down, the rally continued throughout the late hours of the night.
By Abibatu Kamara & Yu Nakayama
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