The name Hawa Hunt is trending across Sierra Leone’s social media for deeply troubling reasons. A young Sierra Leonean residing in Canada, Hawa was arrested on camera while participating in the “House of Stars” reality show in Freetown. Her arrest stems from a video she made last year before the 2023 elections, in which she expressed frustration with the brutality of Julius Maada Bio and the inflammatory rhetoric of his wife, Fatima Bio.
While social media moral judges attempt to justify Hawa’s arrest by focusing on her choice of words, they remain willfully blind to the grave human rights consequences of this arbitrary detention of a fellow citizen. This arrest was orchestrated to send a chilling message to critics of Julius Bio and his wife.
These moral judges need to understand that Fatima Bio’s hurt feelings cannot justify the weaponization of state power against a private citizen. Julius Bio also must understand that with public office comes public scrutiny. Instead of trying to silence critics, he should focus on addressing the legitimate frustrations of the people he was elected to serve.
Nearly a week has passed, and Hawa remains in custody with disturbing reports of torture and abuse. Even Julius Bio’s niece, the notorious Admire Bio, has made a video on Face Book appealing to her uncle and his wife to show mercy and release Hawa.
But we must ask: what mercy?
It is crucial to understand that insulting someone, even a president, is not a criminal offense under Sierra Leone law nor an offense for which a person can be arrested without warrant anywhere in the civilized world where democracy and civil liberties are respected.
Hawa’s arrest is a stark reminder of the challenges Sierra Leone faces in safeguarding freedom of expression and human rights. It is an affront to the values of democracy and justice that the country aspires to uphold.
The irony cannot be ignored: Fatima Bio is known for insulting Sierra Leoneans directly and through her hired agents. She once called a journalist “an educated fool” for exposing her corruption. She sent her agent to attack the head of EU’s election observers, calling her “a latrine bucket” for mentioning her name in the EU’s report for the rigged 2023 elections. Fatima Bio also called for the youth of her husband’s political stronghold to burn down the offices of opposition parties and homes of their members in that region. They did.
If Fatima Bio has the freedom to hurl insults at Sierra Leoneans without consequence, why is Hawa Hunt being persecuted for expressing her frustration in her choice of words as a Sierra Leonean?
This arrest of Hawa Hunt is simply another manifestation of Julius Bio’s tyranny and his wife’s abuse of power against the people of Sierra Leone. We must speak out against this blatant suppression of free speech and demand Hawa’s immediate release.
Furthermore, the arbitrary arrest of Hawa underscores the urgent need for Sierra Leoneans to hold their leaders accountable and to resist the normalization of state-sanctioned abuses of power. Criticism of public officials, including the “president” and “First Lady” is not a crime, it is a cornerstone of democracy.
The world needs to know about that Hawa Hunt’s arbitrary arrest is a representation of what’s currently happening in Sierra Leone since Julius Bio’s presidency began in 2018.
#FreeHawaHunt
#SierraLeone
#HumanRights
#FreeSpeech
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 