BENGHAZI: SIERRA LEONE’S TORTURE CHAMBER FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS

It has been an open secret in Sierra Leone that President Maada Bio has a special security force that operates under the radar. This special force was credited for killing dozens of unarmed prisoners at the country’s maximum-security prison Pademba in 2020.

But little has been known about the special torture chamber the president maintains at the headquarter of this special force. Until about a week ago when a popular musician who is a critic of the president was arrested by police and allegedly taken to the president’s special force headquarters known as Benghazi. Since his arrest, Alhaji Amadu Bah popularly known as LAJ has been refused bail, refused visitation by his family and lawyers, and denied court appearance.

As if all these violations of LAJ’s human rights to due process were not bad enough, the people of Sierra Leone are now agonizing over allegations that LAJ is suffering from major health problems stemming from a chemical injection that was administered to him a few days ago while at Benghazi. 

As a musician whose main identity and brand as a rapper have been his long dreadlocks, Sierra Leoneans have also learned that LAJ’s head was forcefully shaved by officers at Benghazi.

This allegation has not only added to Sierra Leoneans’ anguish about the mental and emotional health of their fellow citizen LAJ, but it has also added to their own mental and emotional anguish about their own safety and security, as the alleged treatment of LAJ shows the extent of the power the police and special force have over the lives of citizens, the extent of the power of the politicians who give orders to the special force that is trained to torture citizens who oppose President Maada Bio.

The fact that LAJ has been refused his right to bail, right to appear in court, and right to see his family and lawyers, the people of Sierra Leone have no choice but to believe these allegations, lament in anguish, and wonder who may be the next victim of President Maada Bio’s Benghazi as the 2023 elections draw closer.