By Kef Dukulay
Two Sierra Leoneans named Thomas Babadi and Madi Williams are currently helping the police in their investigation into a subversion suspicion believed to be machinated by individuals from behind the scene using stooge or surrogate civil society organisations and activists to achieve their diabolic goal of destabilising the state.
Subversion is the act of inimical behavioral pattern to the peace of a state with intent to destabilize it. It is a treasonable offence that attracts the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty as in the case of Sierra Leone.
By their actions, the two men stand accused of trying to undermine the security of the state; especially as they plan to mobilise people for a public protest without lawful authority.
Confirming the action of the police in a security sector meeting past Friday held at the Tower Hill headquarters of the Office of National Security (ONS), the Inspector-General of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Mr. William Fayia Sellu reaffirmed their commitment to taking proactive measures to ensure the reign of peace, especially as we are in the festive season.
He said the detention of the two people is linked directly to their intention to mislead the public at the time everybody is busy going about their normal business by calling for an unlawful protest claiming to fight for Electoral Justice.
Following a written request to the SLP for a “Police Presence” for a planned demonstration against the EC-SL where the protestors are to occupy the Tower Hill office of the Commission to demand for a porported “Electoral Justice,” the duo as co-signatories was invited to a meeting by the police hierarchy on Wednesday December 4 to make some clarifications on their request to stage a protest on Tuesday 10th December, 2024 without first asking for a ‘Police Clearance.
According to the letter dated 30th November, and co-signed by Messrs Babadi and Williams, a faceless group known as “Concern Sierra Leoneans” was organizing the protest against the EC-SL to force the Electoral Commission Chairman to release disaggregated or polling station results of the June 24, 2023 presidential election.
At the Wednesday meeting with the police, the two men failed to satisfy the requirements for a peaceful protest for which they became subject of suspicion for planning to destabilize the state. It became clear that the two men were grossly misrepresenting the people of Sierra Leone and that ‘Concern Sierra Leoneans’ is used by a certain civil society group known as Forum for Youth Network that has no legal right to operate. According to the IGP, when they were asked about the registration status of the organisation, they claimed it was registered with the Freetown City Council without documents to prove their case.
“The two people could not produce any evidence of registration for the organisation which is a crime; and in addition, the 37 Mends Street address given was not honest as according to our findings, they merely visit that house but do not operate from there,” the Police Chief informed.
Also, IGP Sellu informed that the signatories collected by the two men were either non-existent or taken without the consent of the people. “They haphazardly collected people’s phone numbers from various Whatsapp groups; so all those contacted have no pre-knowledge of a protest of any nature”
Also, and to further prove their iniquity, the police hierarchy told a group of civil society activists who led a delegation to advocate for the release of the two men that, Thomas Babadi and Madi Williams are not genuine in their pursuit as they even failed to take their mobile phones to the meeting. “That was very suspicious so we decided to have a hold on them to help the police in our investigation.”
In that brief engagement with the cross section of Civil Society advocacy group, the proactive Inspector-General of Police used the platform to continue to entreat on civil society organisations and the media to sensitise the public on the need to live in a peaceful society, not to serve as agents of destabilization. He reiterated that the SLP continues to encourage members of the public to cooperate with the police to keep the peace.
The public could recall that the issue of Electoral Justice, or anything related to the conduct of the concluded June 24, 2023 elections have been effectively handled by the Agreement of National Unity overseen by our international moral guarantors (ECOWAS, AU and the Commonwealth) in October last year that culminated in the setting up of a Tripartite Committee to look into, and address matters relating to the said elections outcome and other related matters. In all, about eighty-eight (88) recommendations were preferred to be implemented to address future matters arising from national elections, with some requiring constitutional amendments. It is therefore, disingenuous for anybody to continue advocating for electoral justice outside the realms of the Supreme Court and the Agreement of National Unity.
The proactiveness of the SLP is to forestall similar faceless calls for unauthorized protests that in the recent past have claimed innocent lives with the August 10, 2022 and the attempted coup of November 26, 2023 bitter experiences still lingering.
