–Due To Late Announcement of Presidential Run-off Results
By Hasbin Shaw in Freetown, Sierra Leone
At least two journalists were attacked and several properties damaged Thursday as a result of the late announcement of results of the presidential run-off of the Sierra Leone elections. reporter the city of Freetown on April 5th saw rioting youths who reportedly properties, as other people’s belongings were stolen or destroyed following the late announcement of the Presidential Election results.
Our Freetown Correspondent said a huge crowd stormed the streets of Freetown immediately after the National Returning Officer of NEC, Mohamed N’fa Alie Conteh, announced at 2:00pm local time that the Sierra Leone People’s Party’s Julius Maada Bio had been duly elected president in the March 31st Presidential Run-off Election.
Residents of Freetown reported incidents attacks, including two journalists of the Concord Times Newspaper who said riotous vandals attacked them. Ishmael Sallieu Koroma of the Concord Times newspaper was attacked at Gloucester Street in Freetown at approximately 22:00GMT, his bag containing laptop computer, digital camera, mobile phone and other gadgets were commandeered by miscreants.
Another journalist, Ibrahim Tarawally, of the Concord Times was also attacked along the Sani Abacha Street in Freetown, his mobile phone was stolen and fiscal cash of up to 300,000 Leones were taken.
Designs around the cotton tree on Siaka Stevens Street in the central business district of Freetown were destroyed. Tables of some petty traders were destroyed and a building said to be owned by former Bank Governor Sanpha Koroma was vandalized.
A security personnel of The Daytime Security Guard, John Bangura, saw the Samco Company Building on Lightfoot Boston Street vandalized. He said he is not aware of any antecedent that could have led to the unfortunate incident.
Also, another computer shop closed to Samco Building was vandalized. People who were on the scene said those who carried the act did so due to the APC inscriptions on the sign board that is on the building.
The APC inscriptions on the building meant “American Power Conversion (APC)” which serves as extra energy saver on most of the gadgets sales in the shop, but was misunderstood for the outgoing political party, All People’s Congress (APC).
After the March 7th presidential and general elections, local and international observers advised the National Electoral Commission (NEC), to stop announcing elections results after 5pm, but it failed to heed.
The delay for the announcement of the presidential runoff election result was blamed on unavoidable lateness and subsequent absence of the Eastern Region Commissioner Stephen Aiah Mattia. Even though he sent in all his works manually as ordered by the Sierra Leone High Court, NEC said they wanted present.
However, some sect of public have heaped huge portion of the blame on NEC for the destruction caused by mostly youths who came out and burglaries after the announcement of the final result.
