According to the UN as promulgated by the secretary general rule of law is “a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency. The statement is not applicable to Sierra Leone under the present political establishment? No because a new doctrine has developed which is slowly replacing the rule of law; ORDER FROM ABOVE. The maxim is used by certain Ministers to disadvantage innocent citizens and further their personal interest. In Koidu City police officers opened fire on harmless protesters killing two youths. As I writer Minister Karamoh Kabba is rounding up any one suspected to be part of the demonstration. What is suspicious about the Minister’s attempt to bring sanity to the region is his failure to arrest the killers. The excuse is that they are police officers and under the new maxim ORDER FROM ABOVE they cannot be prosecuted. The rule of law did not say police officers or public servants that include Ministers are above the law by any standard. If Minister Karamoh Kabba cannot apprehend the killers and bring them to justice I see no reason why police officers should be prosecuted in the future for unlawful killing of innocent people. This act of barbarism directed at innocent citizens must stop. Today it is the two youths unlawfully killed; tomorrow or in the future it could be anyone else. The two officers responsible should be put on trial let the law decide whether they are guilty or not. It is not for Karamoh Kabba to tell us the two officers cannot stand trial while shielding them under ORDER FROM ABOVE.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:17:43 +0000
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