A total of twenty seven people have been confirmed dead and lots of business houses destroyed during the anti-government protest on Wednesday 10th August 2022.
Amongst the twenty seven people confirmed dead, six are police officers and 21 are civilians.
According to rumors, the anti-government protest is due to the economic hardship in the country.
Furthermore, many people have blamed members of the Sierra Leone Police for the poor handling of the situation that led them to encounter serious confrontation with the protesters. They police were also accused of using disproportionate force on the anti-government protesters that led to the death of people that are allegedly not part of the protesters. Most businesses were looted including Nuhaj Enterprises, a shop situated at 170 Bai bureh Road in Freetown, the entire house was burnt down with properties worth million of Leones destroyed.
Mohamed Nuhu Bah, the owner of Nuhaj Enterprises alleged that his shop was burnt down by disgruntle youths.
“It’s the security sector who told us to go about our normal business, which is the reason why some of us decided to open our shop for business on Wednesday. The youth looted the shop and set the entire house on fire. I was really shocked. It was a surprised to see my entire business been burnt down, ” he said, Mr. Bah continued by thanking the Almighty Allah for protecting him; despite the huge loses he suffered.
However, it’s reported that business houses were burnt down in other parts of the country; especially in the Northern Region.
As part of the measures to ensure the safety of people, the Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, imposed a curfew on Wednesday to quell the protests.
The Minister of Youth, Mohamed Orman Bangura, described the protests as an ‘act of terrorism’.
“Those are not protesters. There’s a difference between protest, riot and acts of terrorism. Protesting is different from acting as a terrorist. Going against the state, killing young police officers is not a protest,” he said.
After returning from his oversea trip, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio said the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s events would be fully investigated.
Other verified images from Freetown showed clouds of smoke and teargas as large crowds threw rocks and burned tyres, with armed officers patrolling the streets.
Surprisingly, the protest only occurred in the opposition’s strongholds and in the Capital City of Freetown.
“Two police officers killed in Freetown, three in the Northern Towns of Kamakwie and one in Makeni,” confirmed the Inspector General of Police, Mr. William Fayia Sellu.
Staff at the Cannaught Hospital Mortuary confirmed that at least 13 civilians were shot dead in Freetown, four in Kamakwie and four in Makeni.
Calm has returned to Freetown on Thursday but shops remained closed. Many people have remained indoors for fear of death.
The internet was shutdown for several hours on Wednesday, according to the internet observatory NetBlocks.
Police said the curfew would remain in effect from 7pm to 7am local time from Thursday after the government imposed a 3pm curfew on Wednesday in an attempt to put the situation in control.
