Is the Sierra Leone Police for Civilians or Politicians?
By James Kamara-Manneh
Permit me to lend my voice to this all-important national conversation that continues to shape the conscience of our nation. The question of whether the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) exists to protect civilians or to please politicians has once again become a subject of intense public debate.
This debate gains renewed urgency as the country faces one of its most destructive social crises the Kush epidemic, a menace that is ravaging the youth and crippling the nation’s future.
In April 2024, President Julius Maada Bio declared a National Emergency on Drugs, acknowledging the alarming spread of “Kush,” a cheap and deadly synthetic drug destroying thousands of young Sierra Leoneans. At the time, many citizens welcomed the declaration with hope a belief that government action would finally match the gravity of the problem.
But today, more than a year later, the Kush crisis has only worsened. In nearly every community, young men and women under the age of 18 are trapped in the deadly grip of addiction. The evidence is written on their bodies rotting sores, swollen feet, hollow eyes, and in too many cases, lifeless corpses on our streets.
Even the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, recently raised a poignant question about the growing number of street deaths who bears responsibility for burying these young souls whose lives were stolen by drugs and neglect? Tragically, many of these deaths are linked to Kush addiction, yet the silence from those in authority has been deafening.
In a healthy democracy, when government action lags, citizens have the constitutional right to speak up to assemble peacefully and call for accountability. Unfortunately, in Sierra Leone, this fundamental right is often trampled under the boots of political convenience.
The Sierra Leone Police, empowered under Section 4 of the Police Act No. 7 of 1964, is tasked to protect lives, preserve law and order, and enforce the law without fear or favour. Yet in practice, the police have repeatedly denied citizens the right to peaceful assembly especially when such actions are critical of the government.
In 2024 and 2025, several groups from civic organizations to social media influencers attempted to organize peaceful anti-drug awareness walks, known as “Kush Awareness Parades.” Their aim was not political; it was patriotic to draw attention to a national tragedy and demand real action. Yet, their requests for police clearance were flatly denied.
The police cited the Public Order Act of 1965, claiming that protests without authorization risk public disorder. Ironically, the same police service that cannot control the open sale and use of drugs on our streets somehow finds the energy to control peaceful citizens who only wish to speak out against it.
The 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, under Section 26(1), guarantees freedom of assembly and association. However, Section 26(2) allows restrictions for the sake of public safety or order. The tension between these two clauses has created a dangerous loophole one that the police and politicians exploit to suppress dissent.
Legal scholars and rights activists have long argued that the police’s requirement for prior approval effectively turns a constitutional right into a privilege granted at their discretion. It is a deliberate tactic to muzzle citizens, especially when protests challenge government inefficiency or expose national failures.
Recent denials such as those issued against Mr. Thomas Babadi and Mr. Madi Williams, who sought to protest peacefully in December 2024 to demand transparency from the Electoral Commission, only reinforce this perception. Their proposed gathering was branded “unlawful,” and police publicly declared it banned. This pattern repeats itself every time ordinary citizens attempt to raise their voices on issues that embarrass those in power.
While the police flex their authority to silence peaceful gatherings, the real enemies drug traffickers, pushers, and corrupt enablers continue to operate with impunity. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, established by an Act of Parliament, remains crippled by lack of funding, mobility and political will. How can a nation fight a declared “emergency” without resources, coordination, or leadership?
The result is a horrifying social decay. Communities are losing their brightest young minds to addiction. Families are collapsing under the weight of despair. Schools are emptying, crime is rising, and the morgues are filling up. Yet, instead of empowering the people to demand better, the police spend their energy banning protests, intimidating activists, and protecting political interests.
If the police truly exist to “preserve law and order,” then they must understand that justice, peace, and progress are built on the trust of the people not on their silence. Every time the SLP denies citizens the right to gather peacefully, it widens the gap between authority and the people it claims to serve.
The time has come for the Sierra Leone Police to decide where its loyalty lies with the Constitution and the citizens, or with political elites and convenience. A police force that sides with power over people ceases to be a public service; it becomes an instrument of oppression.
Sierra Leone stands on the edge of a national tragedy not just because of drugs, but because of indifference. The Kush crisis is not merely a health problem; it is a moral and governance failure. Until the government and its police begin to treat it as such, the graves of our young people will continue to multiply.
If citizens are silenced from speaking truth to power, then who will save our nation from itself? The Sierra Leone Police must rise above politics and remember their sacred duty: to protect life, law, and liberty — not to police opinions, but to preserve the people.
