By Sulaiman Aruna Sesay
Requisitionalist Members of The Sierra Leone Bar Association have recently made a stand in demanding accountability and transparency from their association. On Thursday 10th July 2024, members due to lawfully convene at the New Brookfields Hotel at 2 pm, a venue they had contractually secured to hold a requisitioned Extraordinary General meeting. It was understood that as early as 7:00am, armed officers of the Sierra Leone Police were observed at the entrance of the said venue, leading to speculation that they were there to ensure that no member of the association entered the venue for the said meeting.
According to the press release, what they termed as true to the said speculation, the police officers barricaded the gate of the venue, refusing entry to members who turned up for the meeting. The release also stated that no matter how hard the members of the association called for the police officers to let them in, their calls fell on deaf ears and were instead intimidated with rifles and tear gas launchers.
The Requisitionalist Members unequivocally condemn the actions of the police as a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of movement. The release further explained the exacerbating the unconstitutional actions of the police. The further unleashed pepper spray at the members of the association who had lawfully converged at the entrance of the venue of the meeting, thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm. They also strongly condemn that action of the police as flagrant violation of the members’ constitutional rights to protection against inhuman treatment and a criminal act of assault.
The Requisitionalists communicate their resolve and constructively seek every available redress and remedy under the law in response to these constitutional and criminal law violations by the Sierra Leone Police and its deployed officers. They wish to remind the Sierra Leone Police of their responsibility to secure and enhance constitutional rights and democratic practices and not to be an instrument of constitutional violations and an impediment to the thriving of democratic principles.
They said, the work of the Sierra Leone Police, over time, is replete with a plethora of actions queued on the wrong side of history. They urged the SLP to seize every opportunity to redeem itself rather than to further entrench itself on the dark side of the nation’s annals. According to them, they would continue to hope that they sooner rather than later will take the high road of doing only what is lawful and fair in the execution of their responsibilities for a democratic and better Sierra Leone.
