By: Mohamed Jalloh
Andrew Lavalie the Executive director of Institute of Governance Reforms (IGR) has released a comprehensive report on the root causes of the August 10th Insurrection.
The report was given to journalists at the IGR headquarters in Spur Road, Freetown on Thursday 1st September 2022.
In the first instance, the report captured that Sierra Leoneans are Deeply Divided over the Motivations for and meaning of the August 10, Protest.
On August 10, a violent anti-government protest resulting in the death of nearly two dozen people including police officers and civilians, rekindled memories of the brutal war in the 90s.
A new poll shows that Sierra Leoneans are deeply split over the motivations for and meaning of the protest.
Sierra Poll canvassed opinions of 1,008 Sierra Leoneans in four cities: Freetown and Makeni (opposition areas where the protests occurred) and Bo and Kenema (ruling partycontrolled areas that were free of protests).
The results reinforce prevailing perspectives of a divided country where public opinion on policy issues have increasingly taken political party colorations.
The country context With COVID-restrictions in 2020, Sierra Leoneans’ perceptions of how things are going in the country shifted towards the negative, with 64% saying the country was struggling economically at the time the pandemic started, compared with 46% who felt that way in 2018 (Afrobarometer data).
It is likely that the global economic downturn arising from Russia/Ukraine war and the attendant increase in prices of essential commodities (food and fuel) a year later further worsened livelihoods for many Sierra Leoneans.
A food security assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) in July 2020, revealed that almost 1 in every 4 Sierra Leoneans reported being unable to buy rice (the main staple) due to either an increase in price or a decrease in household income.
Urban areas are the hardest hit by the rising cost of living (WFP 2020) especially for young people who remain largely unemployed.
Government responded to this situation through several measures including direct cash transfer to over 65,000 households who lost jobs; payment of fuel subsidies to reduce fuel pump prices, deferment of taxes for importers of essential commodities and the provision of micro-grants to small and medium scale businesses, among others (Ministry of Finance Quick Action Economic Response Program (QAERP 2020).
This response is however, less than adequate given the severity of the economic depression. In spite of the dire economic situation, it is important to note something about Sierra Leone’s civic culture. Many Sierra Leoneans are generally unwilling to participate in public protests.
The reasons for the August protest given this general unwillingness to take part in a protest, how then do we explain the protests of August 10?
Sierra Poll found that Sierra Leone is split over the reasons behind the protest.
Initial reaction of some government interlocutors and interest groups were to describe the protest as a plan to topple a legitimate government through illegal means. Some citizens see it differently.
Overall, 36% see the August 10 protest as a genuine concern about the economic hardship and bad governance while at least 4 in every 10 Sierra Leoneans (40.5%) believe that citizen’s concern about the economic hardship was hijacked by opponents of government.
23.8% really see the protest as a plan to overthrow the government or discredit the regime though. Respondents were asked: Which of the following statements in your view is a true description of the protest that occurred on the 10th August 2022.
The protest was a genuine expression of concern about economic hardship by ordinary citizens.
The protest was a concern about the economic hardship but was hijacked by opponents of government.
The protest was politically motivated and intended to either overthrow the government or discredit the regime.
Sierra Leone: Percentage of Sierra Leoneans who say they will not take part in a demonstration or protest March.
Sierra Leone: Aug 10, 2022: Public Perception about the Reasons for the August 10,was hijacked by opponents of government.
Genuine concern about economic hardship.
A ploy to overthrow or discredit government.
4. However, responses vary by city, with the partisan dynamics in the meaning of the protest mirroring 2018 voting patterns.
While a majority of people in opposition cities of Makeni (68.4%) and Freetown (52.4%) see the protest as a genuine show of disapproval of the dire economic conditions, respondents in ruling party areas in Bo and Kenema see it differently.
In Kenema, only 7.8% of respondents saw it as a genuine expression of economic hardship, and 14.3% of respondents in Bo.
In contrast, ruling party-controlled areas were more likely to view the protest either as a process captured by opposition politicians (64% of Kenema respondents) or as a ploy to overthrow or discredit the government as reflected by respondents from Bo (44.5%).
Who to blame for the loss of lives and property in the protest? Nearly two dozen civilians and police officers were killed in the protest.
Public assets such as police stations, government vehicles and private property were burnt down while market stalls were destroyed in Freetown.
Overall, at least 4 in every 10 (43.5%) respondents blame protesters for the destruction compared to only 1 in 5 who blame the police and Government (21.9% and 20.7% respectively); while 13.6% blame opposition politicians.
There is a broad partisan gap on the question of who takes the blame for these losses. For ruling party controlled cities of Bo (59.2%) and Kenema (55.6%), protesters share the biggest blame. Respondents were asked: Ordinary people and security personnel died during the protest and properties were destroyed or stolen. Who do you think bears the greatest responsibility for this? Government, Police, Protester or Opposition politicians. Select only one option.
Who do you blame for the loss of lives and property?
Protesters, Police, Government, Opposition Politicians.
54.5% of Sierra Leoneans say they heard about the August 10 protest through social media posts.
Public Protest and the 2023 Elections Despite the issues with the last protest, there appears to be a recognition of public protest as an important part of Sierra Leone’s democratic culture.
Overall, three in four (75%) Sierra Leoneans said that the police should grant the request of people who want to protest, with men (79.4%) more likely than women (70.6%) to say yes. However, an equal share of Sierra Leoneans (74.5%) say, in the remaining months leading to next elections, public protest is not an effective way of communicating grievances and views on issues.
