March 19, 2021
By Ilyasa Baa
The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) stand accused by the Okada Riders Union of stealing batteries from bikes confiscated by officers parked at various police stations in the country.
The Okada Union expressed such dissatisfaction following the arrest of hundreds of commercial motor bikes during Operation Push Back rolled out by the SLP recently, to restore what they referred to as sanity within the Central Business District (CBD) where commercial bikes are not allowed to ply.
The Union further alleged that most of the bikes that are seen plying the CBD are actually owned by police and military officers using their boys to find money for them in spite of the bulky sum of money they receive as salaries coming from the Consolidated Fund.
According to the Union, its estimated one million members have been contributing immensely towards the transportation sector of the country, noting that it is wrong for riders to be perceived as lawless. “They are just defaulters”, the Union insists.
The District Traffic Officer attached to the Lumley Police Station, ASP Moses Tholley, denied the allegation that it is police officers stealing parts from the confiscated bikes. He accused the riders of stealing their own parts not his officers whom he said provide the needed security for those properties. He said the bikes were confiscated on the grounds of lawlessness noting that they discovered that most of the bikes were not licensed or insured and therefore not fit to ply the road for any purpose, the ASP declared.
He added that the traffic department of the SLP is working in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) in ensuring that defaulters rush to their bikes before the bikes are released.
It could be recalled that commercial bike riding since the end of the eleven years rebel war, has been making positive impacts in the lives of youths considering the high level of unemployment in the sub-region. However, the Union was certified by the Sierra Leone Labor Congress in 2011.