By Edrissa Jallow
The Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament, Hon Binta Camara, stated that the Parliament has strongly condemned the 10th August Anti-Government protest that occurred in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. The Deputy Speaker made this remark on Tuesday 16th August 2022, during her speech at the ECOWAS fifth Legislature meeting in Banjul.
It could be recalled that on Wednesday 10th June 2022, the people of Sierra Leone came out in large numbers expressing dissatisfaction over the high cost of living. Protesters claimed that for the past four months the high cost of living has mounted up to 40 per cent. However, angry demonstrators were chanting on the streets for the president to resign from his position as they chanted “Bio must go”.
The protest later turned deadly as more than 15 civilians were killed. Sierra Leone’s Inspector General, William Fayia Sellu, also confirmed to Aljazeera International News that “six police officers had been killed,” during the protest. Sierra Leone’s Police Spokesperson, Brima Kamara, also told AFP News that “two police officers, a male and female, were mobbed to death by protesters at the east end of Freetown this morning”.
In this regard, the ECOWAS Deputy Speaker, Honorable Binta Camara noted that the parliament has strongly “condemned the act to the highest level” as “it was very unfortunate that lives were lost”.
“The community wants peace, democracy and good governance and there are several communities’ texts which are adopted to promote peace and security within the region,” said Hon Camara.
Deputy Speaker promises to address the concerns of Terrorism ensuring safety and strong security within the West African states. She continued that the ECOWAS Parliament will surely “ensure that the texts adopted during the meeting will be implemented to promote peace”.
The unfortunate violence occurred when the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, was out of the country. However, the Vice President in charge, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, used the power vested in him to declare a nationwide curfew, during the protest at 3 pm.
