April 8, 2021
By: Francis F.M.Harding
As fire disaster left many Police personnel’s and their children at the Kingtom Police Barrack, within the Central district in Freetown devastated, the Inspector General Ambrose M.Sovula, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Madam Elizabeth Turay and the Executive Management Board of the Sierra Leone Police Force have on 7th April, 2021 donated ten bags of rice, twenty-one foam mattresses and one million two hundred thousand Leone (Le 1,200,000/00) to each of the seven fire affected household.
In donating the items the IGP intimated that the Police Force is always playing their constitutional role to protect lives and properties, but at this time he pleaded with humanitarian organizations to come in and give assistant to the affected fire victims.
IG Sovula said he felt downhearted when he heard that some quarters at the Barrack was on fire and that has necessitated their action to donate to their colleagues as part of the Police mandate under the welfare scheme.
He said that the scheme is there to complement the effort of the Disaster Management Team as an extension of the mandate of the Office of National Disaster (ONS) in o mitigating the impact of the fire on the affected Police personnel.
It has been gathered that some of the affected officers were part of the peace keeping team from Sudan. The IG promised that their certificates will be provided again in the soonest possible time.
In a show of transparency, the IG revealed that the total amount of money given to each of the victim is about one million two hundred thousand Leones totaling ten million Leones, ten bags of rice, twenty one foam mattresses with their stands.
The IGP said himself and his wife has decided to construct the first holding Centre at the Kingtom Police barrack Canteen and to register the children of the fire incident.
He cautioned against illegal electrical wiring and said they should always hire the services of professionals to do all wirings to avoid recurrent fire disaster. .
Speaking to this medium, one of the fire victims, Hawanatu Koroma, ‘AKA Hawa Boys,’ said she was on duty at the beach, when she received a call that their quarter was on fire. She said she then rushed to rescue her children, and luckily none of her children was hurt. She also expressed appreciation to the IGP and others that came to their aid at this time of dire need.
Another victim Olive Boima said one of her eyes was hurtt at the time of quenching down the heat from fire on that fateful afternoon, she said she lost many property, but thank God for her life.
