Sierra Leone Telegraph: 3 July 2022:
Sierra Leone’s democracy is under serious threat tonight, as one of the country’s leading female opposition politicians is barricaded inside her house, facing arrest by armed police, accused of inciting a group of women who are planning to stage a peaceful protest againt rising cost of living and growing poverty.
Dr Femi Claudius Cole is the Chairperson of the opposition Consortium of Progressive Political Parties (COPPP) in Sierra Leone. She is also the founder and leader of the Unity Party.
Her house was today surrounded by dozens of armed police and military personnel who arrived in trucks to arrest her without a warrant. Tonight, as the Sierra Leone Telegraph goes to press, it is understood that Dr Femi Claudius Cole has been arrested and detained at the CID headquarters, along with the chairman of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) Party – Dr Dennis Bright who went to the CID to offer support to Femi.
Both Femi Claudius Cole and Dennis Bright are no strangers to the police, given the frequency with which they have been frog-marched to the CID for questioning under bogus charge of inciting public unrest.
As Sierra Leone’s economy grinds to a halt and cost of living bites, people are becoming anxious and desperate for change.
Elections in Sierra Leone are due in June 2023, and President Bio is now using the poorly trained, trigger-happy and unprofessional police force to clamp down on the opposition, including innocent women who are planning to protest against the government.
Tonight there are demands for the international community to call on president Bio to reign in his police and army, and to sack the Inspector General of Police who is a paid-up member and grandee of the ruling SLPP party.
Writing in response to today’s police action, this is what civil rights lawyer basita Michael said:
You can watch Dr Femi Claudius Cole speaking below before her arrest:
“Propaganda is used to promote a particular agenda or point of view .The goal of propaganda can vary but common goals include shaping people’s opinions, convincing them to support a particular cause or political candidate or encourage them to behave in certain ways.” What Mrs Mansaray failed to realised the media landscape of Sierra Leone of the 1980s and 1990s is no more in existence compared to the social media phenomenon that have taken root in our country and is growing everyday and helping a gullible population that used to be forced fed a diet of government propaganda through the national broadcaster SLBS which back in those days won’t look out of place in the former Soviet Union or today’s Kim jung un North Korea . We Sierra Leoeans owe a debt of gratitude to Mr Thomas and his editorial board at the Sierra Leone Telegraph for providing us this independent news outlet that published facts not fiction about our country.
Even though the Bio government have his army of supporters on this noble forum , his actions and the actions of his thugish supportes that are always out and about delivering rough justice to would be his opponents , their actions have always blindsided his core supporters about the propaganda they like to spew on this forum that doesn’t correspond with what is really going on in the country. The good news for us we don’t need to go looking anywhere to proof our points , like a car crash waiting to happen,Bio and his thugish element , or paid Uber thugs for hire never failed to disappoint .Maybe his supporters should reach out to the State House propaganda press machine and ask them how best to present their case on behalf of his failing one directionless government so they can sing from the same hym sheets .
It will to Boi a world of good if they just get one thing or say one thing that is right about his government. Right now there is a complete disconnect with the propaganda promoted by Mrs Mansaray and others and the reality of every day life in Sierra leone. Thank goodness we are having this debates. I wonder if Mrs Mansaray will use her intellectual capabilities and launch a campaign for the abolition of the laws that discriminate against her fellow brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone , the Krio community owing lands in the provinces ?Maybe that is stretching her sense of tolerance to the limit.
Thank you Aminata Mansaray for implementing the Free Quality Education in this forum which is the flagship program of President “Talk and Do” Bio. Your positive comment is timely, based on the fact that since the APC lost the 2018 presidential election ,some of their members and supporters have made tribalism, insults (mammy cuss) , degrading our country and president (rather than constructive criticism ) their new profession. Unfortunately, they used to call former President Koroma who left our country under austerity “the world’s best”. As far as they are concerned, he left us in bed of roses. Mama Salone is our only mother, and regardless of her status should be RESPECTED. Please continue your Civic Education about the dangers of TRIBALISM.