By Hassan Osman Kargbo
Lawyer Henrietta Kargbo Ms. a legal practitioner and a member of the Sierra Leone Bar Association – SLBA has expressed her dissatisfaction towards the way and manner she was allegedly treated, intimidated, and molested at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters in Freetown by personnel of the Sierra Leone Police.
According to Ms. Kargbo, she was chocked, pushed and eventually put under gun point by three men at the CID, noting that she could identify all of those who were involved in that act that occurred on Wednesday 12 June, 2024.
She furthered that, two of the said men were in OSD uniform, and the other who wore casual clothes, she was informed that he was a driver at the CID.
She said that the head of CID was also present at the scene shouting that any lawyer who refused to leave the CID compound should be pushed out and/or arrested. She added that the “driver” who at a point held fastly to her, and notified her that she was under arrest and swore to his mother that she would sleep in police custody. Lawyer Kargbo continued that they locked eyes with her and shouted in her face, in the presence of RPG that “no law nor dae wae say r need AG e permission for arrest you and I will prove that today!” she said, noting that those were all due to her attempt to capture video evidence of two male officers who jumped on and physically assaulted a fellow female colleague.
“The said “driver” who at a point held fastly to me, notified me that I am under arrest and swore to his mother that I will sleep in police custody. When I demanded to see the fiat of the AG authorizing my arrest, he locked eyes with me and shouted in my face, in the presence of RPG that “no law nor dae wae say r need AG e permission for arrest you and I will prove that today!” That this was all due to my attempt to capture video evidence of two male officers who jumped on and physically assaulted a fellow female colleague,” she stated.
She noted that she phone was confiscated by the officers and she was forced by the Cyber Unit to delete all videos taken at the CID before it was eventually handed back to her, an hour later. My collarete was ripped off her neck and she was called names by officers as (myself and other colleagues) were escorted out of the CID compound. She noted that she was still in pain from the tight grips of men who are about two times her body weight. If it were not for the grace of God and efforts of fellow colleagues, she would have been killed or unlawfully detained at the CID yesterday.
She explained that it happened to her in broad daylight, and if it can happen to her it can happen to you. She said at this point it is apparent that to be a lawyer today in Sierra Leone is not only to fight for justice but it is to fight for your life.
She confirmed that what happened in front of her the other day was very sad, because seeing CID officers molesting lawyers who were at CID headquarters to give solidarity to their colleague.
