As We Celebrate LAJ’s Release From Prison, Let Us Demand The Truth Behind His Alleged Torture in Police Detention.
By Saikujohn Barrie
I have been following the news of the presidential pardon of one of Sierra Leone’s finest rappers, Alhaji Amadu Bah, known as LAJ.
I watched the videos of his release, and I also listened to his speech at the front of the correctional centre, which had been his home for the past years.
I pray that he adheres to what he has promised, among which are to be a law-abiding citizen and also promote peace in the country.
As the publicity of his release from prison spread like wildfire across the globe, as he continues to celebrate his newfound freedom, I want to remind LAJ that those who were behind what he and some of his family members, including his father and his colleague artists, went through at the hands of the Sierra Leone Police in Benghazi are still around, and some of them are still powerful.
Since President Maada Bio used the powers vested in him by the National Constitution to include LAJ among those who were lucky to be released from prison today, I strongly believe that the decision LAJ took to return to prison after the prison break galvanised much support around him. The minister of information and civic education has confirmed this.
However, as one of those who had raised concerns about the human rights violations LAJ and others suffered at the hands of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), like the alleged beating and the apparent removal of his dreadlocks while in police custody at the notorious Police Paramilitary Detention Centre called Benghazi in Freetown, I wish President Maada Bio’s government would institute an independent investigation into the alleged human rights violations that took place at Benghazi.
I think Sierra Leoneans would like to know about the lawfulness of the removal of his dreadlocks and other inhumane treatments he endured during his arrest and detention.
Also, I believe that citizens are supposed to demand an independent investigation into such human rights violations, and anyone found wanting should be subjected to the law.
As a democratic state, it would be unfair and unjust for powerful people or politicians to subject people they perceive as a threat to them or their political existence to inhumane and degrading treatments just to make them powerless and helpless, including locking them up, and then capitalise on a situation wherein the victim will turn around and thank those who engineered their predicaments for their release.
I am not saying LAJ didn’t commit any crime, but those who charged him with robbery with aggravation or robbery knew that was wrong, and such moves were designed to keep him silent in prison and make him feel powerless and helpless.
I just believe that many actions taken during LAJ’s arrest through his sentence were designed to take him out of society and to thwart him from engaging in national conversations on national issues, especially political issues.
In addition, those who were parading around the world, including on social media, saying LAJ was a threat to society and he was so lawless that the Sierra Leone Police’s action against him during his detention was justifiable was proven wrong when LAJ voluntarily returned to his prison cell after the jailbreak on the 26th of November.
His return to prison after the jailbreak demonstrated that LAJ was not as lawless as the way those people wanted us and the rest of the world wanted us to believe.
In addition, whether LAJ single-handedly returned to prison or he was advised by his lawyer or family members, his return to prison painted his character and person with a completely different paint than those who were defending the ill-treatments he went through during his arrest, tortured, charged, and sentenced to Pademba Road Correctional Centre.
Shamelessly, those who were defending LAJ’s inhumane treatments, including the cutting of his dreadlocks, and who were even fabricating stories about how the hip-hop rapper was evil and lawless are the ones trying to take credit for his release or even trying to pretend as if LAJ was released because of the empathy and love they have for him.
Let me say this before I rest my case. Granted, the release of LAJ is welcome news, but I and I believe many Sierra Leoneans would want an independent investigation into the allegations of torture he was subjected to during his detention, and I call on the government and/or the Human Rights Commission to thoroughly investigate why his dreadlocks were cut off and what they did with his dreadlocks.
Therefore, as we celebrate his release from prison, let us also demand the truth behind his alleged torture during police detention.
On this note, I would like to wish every Sierra Leonean at home and abroad a prosperous and happy 2024.
I rest my case.