The main opposition All People's Congress (APC) party has accused the state's security of a calculated ploy to narrow the democratic space in Sierra Leone.
In a press statement released by the party on Tuesday 4th April, 2023, it was stated that the occurrence of 2nd April 2023 involving the convoy of Dr. Samura Kamara at mile 38 was nothing short of an assassination attempt.
They narrated the event as escalating after state's security barricaded the road leading to the town, preventing senior party officials from joining the campaign, resulting in an altercation and subsequent incarceration of some senior party stakeholders.
The release say this incident which resulted in the death of one supporter and serious injuries to others, was a re-enactment of what happened during the final day of their campaign in Constituency 056, Samaya Bendugu.
The APC party also alleged that during their triumphant entry to Freetown after their National Delegate Conference in Makeni, state security allegedly erected a notorious checkpoint by the Presidential Lodge, where anyone in red or APC t-shirt was molested and beaten up.
The party has condemned what they described as "the systematic harassment" of its members by the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party government and the persistent use of state institutions to silence opposition.
They called for an immediate investigation into this alleged assassination attempt and the persistent use of state institutions against their party.
The security forces in written and verbal statements debunked allegations of firing live rounds and emphasized that the events at Mile 38 stem from attempts to minimize crowd and maintaining order.
They furthered that, had the party adhered to the gentleman's agreement they had made, the incident would not have occurred.
The agreement is said to have provided for the use of ten vehicles as part of the party's procession but however, at the time they had gotten to Mile 38, the party had exceeded the agreed ten vehicles which had necessitated the call for disembarkment and attempts to enforce the agreement.
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