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Last week, the United Nations called on authorities and all political parties to work together to avoid being distracted from the fight against the virus, which so far has infected 291 people and killed 17.
FILE: President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio. Image: AFP.
FREETOWN – Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio accused the main opposition party of orchestrating a series of violent incidents, deepening a political confrontation that could undermine the country’s efforts to contain a coronavirus outbreak.
At least 18 people have died in three riots in separate parts of the country in recent weeks, including a riot at Freetown Central Prison on April 29 that began after an inmate tested positive for the virus.
In a televised speech, Bio claimed that members of the All People’s Congress (APC) party were behind the violence.
“These attacks are therefore premeditated, orchestrated, and carried out with one clear objective: to make the state ungovernable,” he said in an unscheduled broadcast on Friday.
The APC has denied the allegations. “It is shocking, the statements the president makes,” said party spokesman Sidi Yayah Tunis.
Last week, the United Nations called on authorities and all political parties to work together to avoid being distracted from the fight against the virus, which so far has infected 291 people and killed 17.
Since then, two prominent members of the opposition have been detained without charge. Amnesty International and local rights groups have called for his immediate release.
Without referring to specific incidents, Bio said the recent arrests were not politically motivated but linked to investigations into the violence. Authorities will take further steps to protect security and the rule of law, he said, without elaborating.
As part of the country’s response to the health crisis, the courts have been closed and those considered serious criminals may be detained without bail, the chief justice of the Supreme Court ruled last month.
The APC and the Bio Sierra Leone People’s Party have long been enemies. After beating an APC candidate for president in 2018, Bio launched an offensive against the alleged graft that has resulted in several former APC ministers being jailed.
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