By Abdulai kamara
A young man, Salamana Jalloh is currently being hunted by people who want him dead. Salamana Jalloh should have been a first time voter in Sierra Leone had he been allowed to vote in 2018.
Salamana Jalloh’s problem in Sierra Leone started during the 2017 political parties’ campaign between the two major political parties in Sierra Leone – the All People’s Congress (APC) party and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
Information gathered by this medium indicates that Salamana Jalloh is a die-hard APC youth activist and that because of his zealousness and practicality in ensuring that he does what it takes by any means necessary to bring the APC to power in 2018, he became a hot subject among his political rivals leading to his summary alleged execution.
However, it is further understood that Salamana Jalloh sometime during the campaign period was noted for being very vociferous and adamant for his APC party. It reached a point when he was physically attacked and injured because he refused to bow to the dictates of his political rivals.
When Salamana Jalloh saw that he was coming under consistent attack from his political rivals, he discussed the issue with his family and friends who advised him to stay low for the time being.
But despite the fact that Salamana Jalloh stayed low, he became a target. He started receiving threatening telephone calls and could not even move a few meters from his home. It came to a point, according to our investigations that Salamana Jalloh was actually attacked and his family put under pressure.
When this press spoke with members of Salamana Jalloh’s family at a secret location, they said that Salamana Jalloh no longer has confidence in the security sector and that the sooner he finds a way to leave this country, the better it would be for his life.
Following this interaction, Salamana Jalloh was repeatedly attacked by his political rivals to the point that his life was at stake. He disappeared from Sierra Leone not too long after but managed to be in communication with a few people in Sierra Leone.
As a press, it is our view that Salamana Jalloh needs protection from the current political dispensation in Sierra Leone. It is also our view that wherever Salamana Jalloh might be at this moment in any part of the globe, the authorities in these parts of the globe must take into consideration the fact that they have a duty to protect lives albeit the lives of foreigners.
Family members and friends and some state authorities are also of the conviction that Salamana Jalloh must and should stay hidden at least for now if he values his life; and state authorities are equally advised to keep him safe at all cost.
It is no secret that Sierra Leone has been suffering for a very long time now from political harassment and intimidation meted to political rivals. Salamana Jalloh’s case is no different. But the reality is that the international community should and must be seen taking a very proactive role in discouraging politicians from bedeviling their own people.