This morning, the residence of Deputy Mayor of Freetown, Kweku Lisk in Freetown faced a surprise raid conducted by police and military personnel.
The purpose and details of the search remain undisclosed at this time.
“Deputy Mayor of Freetown Kweku Lisk’s home was raided and searched by Police and military men this morning. Details for the search are not yet known,” Gleaner Newspaper posted on X.
Lisk, the Deputy Mayor of Freetown is a member of the Sierra Leone’s main opposition party, All Peoples Congress (APC), whom President Bio accused of trying to overthrow his government in an attempted coup.
President Bio in his address to the nation on Saturday, emphasizing that the government’s response to last week’s attempted coup would strictly adhere to “respect for the law.”
In a televised speech, President Bio stated, “The attempted coup will be treated by my government as a simple matter of public order and not as a political, tribal, or religious issue.”
“No matter the provocation, our response to the events of November 26 will be measured and determined along only one parameter – the rule of law, nothing more, nothing less,” he added.
The November 26 incident involved an assault on a military armory, two barracks, two prisons, and two police stations, resulting in 21 casualties, including 14 soldiers, a policeman, a prison guard, a security guard, a woman, and three assailants, as reported by Information Minister Chernor Bah.
Mr. Bah labeled the event as a “failed attempted coup” with the goal of illegally subverting and overthrowing the democratically elected government.
President Bio, who secured re-election in June for a second term, assured that all individuals involved in the coup, regardless of their status, would be held accountable within the legal framework.
Thirteen soldiers and one civilian suspected of coup involvement are currently in detention.
In a bid to track down additional suspects, the police have released photos and names of 32 men and two women labeled as “fugitives.”
Underscoring the gravity of the situation, the government announced a “handsome reward” for anyone providing information leading to their capture.
President Bio concluded by reiterating that the events of last month unequivocally constituted an attempted coup d’etat. He characterized the attack as “premeditated and coordinated to overthrow the democratically elected government by violent and illegal means, to overthrow the constitutional order and reverse our decades of investment in peace and democracy.”
