By Sulaiman Aruna Sesay
Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has on Monday 10 June 2024, spoken out on the alleged physical assault of one of their members-journalist Munya Bawoh of All Out Radio 90.1 FM by police officers in Kenema.
The alleged physical assault on journalist Munya Bawoh occurred last Friday 7 June 2024. SLAJ has called on the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police to speedily investigate the matter and bring to book the alleged perpetrators.
According to report from eastern regional office in Kenema, Bawoh and his colleague journalist, Jacob Ibrahim Sheriff went to the Kenema Police Station on a follow-up on a human rights interest story they were investigating. It was reported that, upon their arrival they noticed the police media office closed the door and they decided to visit Charge Office to greet an acquaintance at around 12pm to 1pm on the very Friday 7 June, 2024.
Report stated that, while they were still in Charge Office, a group of visual impaired persons entered the police station and complained about the arrest of one of their members by the police. In an attempt to contact Jacob, Bawoh was interrupted by a police officer who forcefully grabbed his phone and handed it over to the Crime Officer. The report added that, Bawoh approached the Divisional Crime Officer for clarification.
The report further that, the Crime Officer accused Bawoh of recording the incident for which Bawoh denied. To Bawoh’s greatest surprised, the divisional Crime Officer reacted aggressively by physically assaulting him when he denied recording the incident. According to report, more police officers joined the Crime Officer in physically assaulting Bawoh to a point of broking his eyeglasses. Report further explained that, Bawoh was allegedly detained without any charge. Bawoh admitted that he was abused by fellow inmates. He claimed that NLe900 (Nine Hundred Leones) in his wallet and digital audio recorder were stolen.
SLAJ Eastern Secretariat followed up on the matter and interviewed the divisional crime officer and other support officer regarding Bawoh’s detention. According to them, there was no crime committed and Bawoh was placed in an open detention due to an argument that had happened between him and certain police officers.
An eyewitness testified contrary information about the incident to SLAJ secretariat. The witness revealed that, Bawoh was severely beaten by specific police officers including the Kenema Divisional Crime Officer.
According to the eyewitness, the Crime Officer allegedly instructed the Custody Officer to detain Bawoh for filming an incident involving the police and visually impaired persons. According to SLAJ Secretariat, when they confronted the Crime Officer, he denied giving order and claimed to be surprised by Bawoh’s detention. He claimed that some officers felt threatened by Bawoh’s actions and resorted to violence against his person.
According to investigations, the East Secretariat confirmed that journalist Munya Bawoh was assaulted and detained for allegedly recording the incident between the police and visually impaired persons. The regional office has briefed the Commissioner of Police East on the matter and the police have endorsed Bawoh’s medical report. Report stated that, the Complaint Discipline Internal Investigation Department (CDIID) of the police has taken a formal statement from the journalist.
“This is an unfortunate incident in light of the MoU with the security sector. We urge the leadership of the Sierra Leone Police to ensure their personnel across the country are fully aware of their commitment to ensure the safety and security of journalists in the line of duty. We believe the police will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves and ensure the alleged perpetrators are accountable for their actions,” Said SLAJ president Ahmed Sahid Nasralla.
