Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 May 2021:
Sierra Leone’s Inspector General of Police – Ambrose Sovula (Photo above), last week suspended four senior police officers in his watch for alleged corruption and misconduct.
The country’s Head of Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Chief Superintendent John K. Alpha was suspended along with his Deputy Tommy B. Zizer and CID Operations Officer Mohamed K. Allieu (notoriously known as MK Alieu).
An internal memo issued by Assistant Inspector General of Police – Brima Jah, the new Director of Professional Standards who was until recently the Director of Crimes at CID, indicates that the three senior police officers have been suspended for negligence, corrupt practices and non-compliance to orders issued by the police chief, Ambrose Sovula.
Their suspension came to immediate effect on May 21 – the same day all three were demoted to subdivisions as a local unit commander and general duty officers respectively.
Unlike M.K Allieu (Photo) who became notorious for arresting a portrait of the former president as evidence in last year’s trial of opposition APC politician Dr Sylvia Blyden who was fighting a bogus charge of seditious libel against president Bio, the fourth man, Inspector Brima A. Munu, is not a well-known police officer.
All four men have been stripped of their badges and placed under investigation.
Prior to their suspension the IG of Police – Sovula demoted and posted all three officers to lower duties.
J K Alpha – former head of CID was transferred to Congo Cross policde station as Local Unit Commander; MK Alieu – former operations officer at CID was transferred to Freetown East (Ross Road) police station to take on general duties; Tommy Zizer – former deputy head of CID was transferred to Freetown West (Lumley) police station to take on general duties.
Other announcements as part of president Bio’s police shake up include the promotion of Ms Joan Bull who was legal officer at CID to become the Head of Legal and Justice Support of the Sierra Leone Police, taking over from Mr Richard Robert who has been promoted to Head of CID – replacing the now suspended chief superintendent John K. Alpha.
Commenting on the demotion and suspension of the notorious M.K. Alieu to ordinary officer role in the police force, Dr. Sylvia Olayinka Blyden (Photo) whose human rights were grossly violated and abused by M.K. Alieu, during last year’s investigation into alleged seditious libel against the president by Dr Blyden, said this:
“This chap M.K. ALIEU is now an ordinary General Duty (GD) fellow with immediate effect as from yesterday May 21st 2021 when he got instantly demoted in job assignment from Number 3 (Head of Operations at CID) to now be basically a ‘fontoba’ without fixed duties.
“It is a very serious demotion on the exact anniversary of the day when, after he had spent 21 days fruitlessly finding something criminal to charge me with, he cooked up a bunch of ridiculous charges against me at the C.I.D on May 21st 2020 after he and the then Head of CID, J.K. ALPHA (also instantly demoted yesterday) had forced me to sleep on bare filthy floor in a faeces-smelling police CID cell with no mattress and no blanket for 21 days.
“The State charged me the next morning (May 22nd) to court on amusingly stupid charges to please this current Government who had been desperate to justify my unlawful, abusive detention as a Woman. (Watch MK Alieu on this video for which he will be remembered)
“Their key “evidence” they presented, as the democratic opposition leadership stayed silent, was this framed presidential portrait of a former president that had been hanging on the wall in my private residence. Watch the video.
“Anyway, M.K. ALIEU has yesterday been sent to work in Eastern Freetown as an ordinary, general duty policeman. My guess is that as a General Duty ‘fontoba’, he is going to be assigned to searching private homes in Eastern Freetown looking for photographs of Former President Ernest Bai Koroma hanging on their walls”.
Praise should be given when and where it’s due. Sometimes change comes from the most unlikely source. IG Sovula’s predecessors (Munu and Moigbe) were the no-initiative type. By his action IG Sovula has sent shockwaves throughout the Police Force. Henceforth officers will be mindful of what they do – they will become more disciplined. Contrary to popular belief, there are people amongst us who if not thwarted by politicians would do a mesmerising, totally professional job.
The ACC head, Ben Kaifala, can testify to this undercover of darkness with his voice disguised. Sylvo (Dr Sylvia Blyden) can now lecture us without notes about Divine or retributive justice- “God nordae sleep “. And yes, Maada Bio has left the IG alone for him to his job. We should praise him as well.
The SLPP cabal has started to take out the trash from its own backyard. The Inspector General is totally fed up and disgusted with unethical and unprofessional conduct it seems; These individuals do not deserve to wear police uniforms but the outfits given to thieves and hardened criminals for whom hope no longer exists. They thought that they can bully, harass and violate the rights of citizens and no one will utter a word. Time has proved them wrong. Their arrogance is confounding; The laws of the land are being trampled upon, abused and misused by these corrupt police officers; I implore I.G Sovula to not join the masquerade but to stay grounded in acts of Discretion, Patience and Humility.
IG Sovula Sir, let these thoughtful words become a Shepherd’s staff of Security, Peace and Hope for you to lean on in times of challenges and Instability; He that is down needs fear no fall; He that is low no pride, He that is Humble ever shall have God to be his guide.” IG Sovula do you want Omnipotent Heaven to watch over you and be your trusted guide? Then let those Timeless words by the Poet John Bunyan become your daily mantra in rain and sunshine,come hell or highwater hold on to them, steadfastly, thoughtfully and devotedly…(lol)
The chickens have finally come to home to roost. The suspension and dismissal of these high ranking police officers, whilst under investigation, after being caught red-handed taking bribes, and involved in corrupt activities, Deputy Chief Superintendent John K. Alpha, his deputy Tommy B. Zizer, and the most recognisable face of the three amigos Mohamed K Allieu, will send notice to the rank and file. That fighting corruption, is not only applicable to politicians alone or civil servants but all public officials, that took the oath of public service. It would have even been better if the inspector General of police, Ambrose Soluva took the high ground and tender his resignation. Some might ask why? The answer is simple. It happened under his watch. If he was a chief executive of a company, and corruption allegations are made against his organisation, he will have to carry the can for the behaviour of his subordinates.
Since his appointment, he has presided over a chaotic police organisation, and has turned the police against the people they are meant to serve. Under his leadership, the Sierra-leone police has lost track of its role in delivering public safety and security for all the citizens up and down the country. Mr Soluva is not Bambay Kamara. We are talking about two men with different approaches to public service. Instead of making the Sierra-leone police independent of political interference, he has bowed to Bio’s pressure and politicised one of the most respected institutions in Sierra Leone. The lack of discipline amongst rank and file, has manifested itself in such a way, given the impression that the police can do anything they want, without suffering any consequences.
We see the killings of unarmed stone throwing youths, and prisoners in Pademba road. So little wonder, that these senior police officers, under Mr Soluva think they are above the law. They feel they can get away with murder, literally. This lack of discipline has contributed significantly to the corruption we are now witnessing. Many of these police officers are underpaid, which leads them to a dilemma that can result into corruption. Which by the way is not an excuse. If you are not happy with your pay grade, you can always ask to be put forward for training to enhance your pay grade. The trouble here these are senior officers. What hope have the junior officers got. Sometimes, greedy senior officers are unaware of their self acts that have caused larger amount of misfortune for the rank and file under their command.
A determined and no nonsense Inspector General of Police taken out the rotten and bitter groundnuts from the smooth and creamy peanut butter. There is no doubt in my mind about this IG’s determination to bring discipline, law and order to a force that should show me examples of Good behaviour. Street, wayward and reckless behaviours by police officers is unacceptable. These men deserve to be axed out of the force, later investigated and face the full force of the law if convicted. What do they think about one of our country’s best Inspector Generals of Police ever? See the serious and determined face of IG Sovula in the picture. Norf respect to you IG Sovula. God bless IG Sovula and the Sierra Leone Police Force. What a determined IG Sovula there. Yeah.
They will reinstate them the Mende way as soon as the dust settles in. If it were other ethnic tribe, they would have put these criminals in jail. But oya.
Sir, it is unfortunate Mr. Editor is enabling or giving you space and voice to promote anti-mende sentiments. What you wrote above is not free speech; rather it is hate speech, intended to stir up tribal animus. The article explicitly describes the disciplinary actions taken against members of the police force. Why would you hastily equate that action to a particular tribe? Is this the dream you have for Salone?
Papani – I strongly suggest you desist from making tribal slurs. Thank you.
Papanii, some of you want to be noticed. Your continued Mende campaign a telling configuration of your personality and character- you’re a coward, insipid vulture feeding on ethnic division, an isolated figure in your little Ekutay world. I seriously doubt your APCness; I doubt it because a true APC will not exhaust his valuable time digging the party’s grave. What do you get from this constant mende bashing other than to glorify your small mind.
I am a proud Mende and a taller APC without regret. No party will win a national election in sierra leone without considerable votes from regions other than your ‘home’ base. But again, you are an awful character with chronic tribalism plastered all over you. Talking politics, there is so much to talk about the horrible leadership of the paopa boys and girls, yet your lousy mouth is only about mende mende.
I cannot go for Sovula for police leadership, yet that’s Bio’s choice. Bear in mind that the past two police bosses were both from the north, Munu a temmene and late Achar Kamara a limba and Moigbeh a Kono man. So, unless qualifications become the subject, otherwise, I see no tribalism here man. Wake up and be a man enough to attack Bio on his fleece education project which like the Kabbah Sababu project will devour all the monies poured and fail flat. How could a free education programme work when half of the school kids don’t have proper buildings, chairs, and other logistics to school. Talk about substance man not petty tribal tinkering.
Hashim – please note that Papani is on notice. Any further breach will lead to his permanent expulsion from this forum. Papani had previously served suspension of more than 12 months for breaching forum rules.