By Winnie Kamau
The Women’s Situation Room – Sierra Leone (WSR-SL) has expressed grave concerns over the political violence that occurred on 20th February 2018 in Kamalo, Karene District, Northern Region of Sierra Leone and its negative impact which has caused injuries and created fear and anxiety on the general populace.
According to the national coordinator of the Women Situation Room in Sierra Leone, Hawa Samai two people were wounded as the police are still investigating who fired the shots. Samai is urging Salonese to be peaceful even with the few weeks ahead of the Polls “As we strive for a peaceful electoral process, we vehemently condemn in its entirety any act or behavior that would endanger the peaceful conduct of the polls including the unfortunate incident in Kamalo.”
Adding “We call on the All People’s Congress (APC) Party and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) being the oldest parties in Sierra Leone, to set a bright example by being committed to the Political Parties Registration Commission’s (PPRC) Political Parties Code of Conduct which emphasises on peaceful election campaigning.” says Samai
Samai is encouraging other political parties to call on their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully and exercise restraint against any act of provocation that will lead to violence saying “We also call on the Sierra Leone Police to investigate the matter with alacrity and advise the general public to stay calm and peaceful throughout the electoral process.” The Women’s Situation Room is a women’s peacebuilding initiative to prevent and mitigate conflicts during elections in Africa. The Sierra Leone Women’s Situation Room was initiated by Counselor Yvette Chesson-Wureh from Liberia, and it is set to look into essential activities on women issues in regards to intimidation and violence during the Election period.
The Situation Room was set up by Advocacy Movement Network (AMNET) at the Bintumani Hotel. It will run 23-hours a day and will have observers placed in hotspot areas and headquarter towns. The WSR is a women peace-building platform that will be observing the pre-election, during and after the elections.
