By: Problyn J Alpha
Police constable 21893 Mohamed Kamara attached to the Tankoro police Divisional headquarters in Koidu City Kono district in the early hours of Thursday night 6th of April 2023 allegedly shoots and kills one Mohamed Turay AKA Junior a security guard that was working for the Jeng security agency attached to orange pole site on council road in Koidu city Kono district.
Talking to this medium one of the eyewitnesses of the said incident Sahr Lebbie maintained that on the aforementioned fateful night at around 10:30 pm whilst he and the deceased including others were standing by the orange pole site on council road in Koidu city discussing they saw an unknown man pushing a small bicycle.
He explained that noting a few steps from the unknown man they also saw a police officer chasing the said unknown man at the same time accusing him of stealing the small bicycle he was pushing.
Sahr Lebbie noted that it was during the process when the deceased went across the said council road and intercepted the unknown man until when the police officer in question finally arrived where the deceased intercepted the unknown man with the small bicycle and remarked that if the unknown man moves further, he was going to shoot him to death.
According to the eyewitness the police officer could not finish his words they just heard a gunshot sound and at the same time, the deceased fell down and was taken to the Koidu government hospital where he gave up the ghost.
Meanwhile addressing the family members of the deceased at the family house on council road in Koidu City Kono district the Local unit commander of the Tankoro police station Assistant Commissioner of Police Alhaji K.M Bangura in company with the second in command of the 9 infantry battalion Kono district major Samuel Ansumana, ONS coordinator Ibrahim Turay, Human Rights committee chairman Patrick Mansaray and the media foremost described the incident as unfortunate and saddened for one of his personnel to have shot dead the deceased.
He on behalf of the leadership of the Sierra Leone police expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased for such a great loss.
He said the matter was under police investigation as the law was going to take its fullest course because since the incident occurred the police officer in question together with his gun has been arrested and undergoing thorough investigation as a common criminal and not as a police officer any longer until the court of law poofs him guilty or otherwise. He, therefore, condemned the act by the police officer because as a trained officer it was not the institution that sent him to do what he did. However, on humanitarian grounds, the senior security officials present headed by the LUC presented to the bereaved family at least a full bag of rice and one million old Leone for the funeral ceremony of the deceased and strictly advised all to maintain the hard-earned peace in the district and the country as a whole as the incident was only done by an individual and not the Sierra Leone police force.
The Tankoro police station boss pointed out that as police investigate the remains of the deceased were going to be conveyed to Freetown for postmortem examination to ascertain the course of death of Mohamed Turay AKA Junior.
The police officer in question was on duty at the NCRA office on council road Koidu City few yards from the orange pole site where he ended up allegedly killing the deceased.