Novemeber 19, 2021
BY: MORISON M. KOROMA (Kenema)
Members of one of the most uncontrollable unit interns of fracas and who are best known for their riotous conduct, the commercial motor bike riders union, have on Wednesday 17th November 2021 created chaos in the streets of Kenema.
They claimed that one of their members has been killed by some personnel of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority. This brouhaha raised panic to citizenry within the Kenema municipality as there were serious threats from the riders who are notorious for creating hazards when on the rampage. As per information gathered from the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority, it all started in the morning hours on that fateful Wednesday when Borbor Vandi, a commercial motor bike rider who was standing along Combema Road awaiting his pillion’s to be transported to an agreed destination. Haven’t saw a Sierra Leone Road Safety Corps, the hasty rider who thought the corps was advancing in his direction for either an issuance of ticket or arrest, flee worriedly in an attempt to escape the wraths of that uniformed corps on duty.
But his worries landed him in an uncovered roadside drainage which caused a slight injury on his chin, the sector commander says.
Mohamed Rex Vandi is the union’s regional chair person. He denied having knowledge on the widespread rumors indicating a planned riotous conduct slated for that same day by his men before the incident.
“This is coincidental, I was in the district traffic officer’s office refuting claims of police intelligence which says that our union has planned to stage an unwarranted demonstration in the streets of Kenema, but coincidentally information met us that the streets were in chaos and its involved B.R.U, I was shocked”, he explained.
The Kenema District Traffic Officer whilst updating Pressmen dispelled the riders’ death claims. ASP Moijueh further explained that Ten (10) commercial motorcycles without riders at that moment were apprehended during the course of the insurgency and strongly disclosed that all will be charged to the court of law.
The horror lasted for more than an hour as stones were pelted and the normal firings of teargas canisters for crowd dispersal.
However, many people sustained minor injuries but there were no reported casualties and calm was restored to the city in less than two (2) hours.