The Sierra Leone Police are said to have declared one Osman Fatorma Kanneh, of No. 4 Pa Alhaji Kanneh Street at Grafton, wanted for jumping bail after he was released from police custody for allegedly engaging in political activities which the state claimed were subversive and treasonable.
Kanneh’s ordeal started in February 2021 when he had his first brush with law enforcement authorities who arrested him for making critical comments about the “reckless spending of state resources” by the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government. He was also said to have highlighted several human rights abuses committed by state security personnel in the northern parts of Sierra Leone which are the strongholds of the main opposition party—the All People’s Congress (APC).
Mr Kanneh, who reports say, is a well-known member of the APC, was mercilessly beaten and nearly stripped naked in the presence of his family members and neighbours before he was taken to CID headquarters for questioning.
In late November 2023, during one of his weekly reporting at CID headquarters, Osman Fatorma Kanneh was detained and fresh investigations of his whereabouts and activities leading to the failed coup of that November started. His house was reportedly ransacked by investigators for incriminating evidence and members of his family were threatened and harassed repeatedly.
He was jailed without a due process for more than five months and was released on 24 June 2024 but was asked to be presenting himself to CID headquarters every Friday. But when he defaulted, after he was reportedly said to be out of the country to attend a conference; Osman Fatorma Kanneh was declared wanted by the police.
He now faces a long prison term whenever he returns to Sierra Leone from wherever he now resides.