TRACE: Lack of political will, even the dead suffer

By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay 

Hi folks, this is not TRACE’S intention to come back to this topic about the cemeteries but a statement made by no less a person than President Ernest Koroma, made TRACE to write this piece.

TRACE had that the president called for the protection of the cemeteries? The question on the lips of many is, why now?

It is with deep mixed feelings that TRACE is writing this piece, considering the level of information TRACE gave to the Freetown City Council as a local government and the central government as a whole about the massive encroachment that is going on in the cemeteries especially the Circular Road cemetery were corpses were uprooted just to mount radio station.

TRACE was shocked when the news break about the 72 graves that were opened at Kissy Road, Circular Road cemeteries among others and nothing came out of it.

The perpetrators deemed it fit to strike again, this time is Aberdeen Cemetery. Now the government wants to speak about protection of the cemeteries.

This is what TRACE saw years ago. That is why TRACE was calling on the attention of the authorities to act but it turned out to be the mastermind of the crimes because they allowed people to construct dwelling houses and use the cemeteries for all sorts of things.

The cemeteries in Freetown now have radio stations, garages and also dwelling houses among others. The authorities just sit and watch without taking any action.

It is so heartrending to have a government that only cares for their own interest, not the interest of the ordinary man. The government can’t take proper care for it citizens when they alive not to talk about when they are dead. Some of them will be rejoicing forgetting that they too will one day leave this earth and face the Almighty.

If the political will was there, even the dead will get justice, but some of the politicians knew what is going on as the country is fast approaching general elections, that is why they some of them give deaf ears to all the atrocity that are committed in the graves.

It is the right for the dead to rest in peace not peace’s, whether they are going to heaven or hell they need to have peaceable rest in their homes whiles they are waiting.

All the graves that were opened are people that have no connection to government or politics. Imagine it was one of the top politicians or one elderly state man grave that was opened, you should have had all sort of statement and commitment but when it is just an ordinary citizens they can’t say much.

To jug your memory, TRACE has reproduced one of series about the cemeteries in Freetown and how reluctantly Freetown City Council has acted. 

Only In Sierra Leone… Killing The Dead Twice All Because Of A Radio Station (Published 3 years ago)

“May his or her soul and the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace”

These are the last words those that are used to say when paying a last respect to loved ones that depart from this earth. These words have become an irony in Freetown these days as men are now chasing the dead even in their resting place all for a piece of land.

TRACE was on the spot visit in the hill side bypass road to see the progress made so far in that road and to assess the road work.

Upon that visit, TRACE moved on the second phase of the work which started after Berry Street junction. When TRACE made that move, TRACE was shocked when he turned to the left hand side of that road which covers the Circular Road cemetery central of Freetown.

TRACE discovered that both ends of the cemetery have been occupied by encroachers. One of the buildings is a dwelling house while the other is proposed to be a radio station allegedly owned by one of All People Congress Party Member.

TRACE stood for about twenty minutes filled in astonishment and at the same time thinking about the trend things are going on in the country more in the area of land.

As TRACE was trying to grapple with these thoughts, a funeral procession made its way into the cemetery. Those that went to pay their last respect to their loved one, when they saw what TRACE had seen became very angry about the situation. This situation did not go down well with many and they quickly pointed finger at the Freetown City Council as the one that is responsible for such an ugly act to occur.

TRACE was prompted to move down the graveside to really see whether what was happening in that cemetery was true.   TRACE moved round the building and discovered that, that area where the construction is going on was already occupied by graves.

An eye witness in that community said that some graves were uprooted to do the construction. This he said can be simply be collaborated by the other graves that surrounded the building and some families members have begun to search for their relative graves which were located where the structure was going on. TRACE saw some graves that were much closer to the building on both sides and at the back of the building.

As TRACE was moving round the building, TRACE came to the realization that most of those that are in authority when they want to unseat someone in there offices always pretend and go through the back door to stab that person. What was clearly shown in that cemetery was that the station which is purported to be named ‘Radio Tempo’ moved through the back door of the cemetery thinking that wise people like TRACE will not see them to stab the Freetown City Council as in previous days.

TRACE was told that the encroachers started with a garage for people not to know their real intention suddenly they began to build a little dwelling place pretending to use it as a resting place for the day. 

TRACE can authoritatively state that the Sierra Leone Road Authority (SLRA) compensated all those that occupied the hill side bypass road including those that grabbed the Circular Road Cemetery land before the commencement of the road construction. It was a surprise to many to see some of them started claiming other areas of the cemetery such as what is going on now.

“We are deeply worried about what will happen in the next five years for the dead,” said a 65 year old Pa Conteh.

As TRACE stated above, beside the dwelling houses and “Radio Tempo” office structure that is going on, the cemetery is also used as a market center and garage. Some of the areas the previous administration of the Freetown City Council fenced has begun to collapse due to the encroachment. 

Freetown is expanding rapidly and most of the new areas that are rising, none has ever thought of leaving land for cemetery. For them to even think of a market, health and community center nobody thought of such they only focused on how they can encroach up to the dead forgetting that they too will one day die.

TRACE was thinking that the disgruntled boys who call themselves Friends of the dead are the only people that are terrorizing the dead but this situation is far beyond even Friends of the dead. One of them told TRACE that they will not go to such extend. The one you call highly educated people are now acting than the uneducated ones. They even did the worse by uprooting corpses while Friends of the dead will only take from the dead at times their dresses or their caskets but they have never asked the dead to leave their land for them to occupy it.

TRACE was told that APC is determined to ensure that the station comes on air again by all means and for them to do such they only need to disguise the management setup to that of a private owned. No wonder these boys have the guts to invade the land of the dead.

This has manifested itself and now proven to be true. That shocking wave that was slammed on some people that were trying to pay their last respect to their loved one at the Circular Road Cemetery still remain in their minds because what is happening under the APC is very much strange. If they do not invade the forest, they will encroach on cemeteries. If they do not give light they will closed the tap.

“When Freetown City Council was denied license from the Independent Media Commission to operate a radio station, they publicly sold all the equipment but in the case of the APC radio they still hanged on to it. Probably that is the equipment they have sold to one of their cronies who has erected the structure at the Circular road cemetery to operate a radio station.

Senior Officers at the FCC condemn such act and said they did not aware of it and they did not give permission for them to do such.  

TRACE’s bible tells him that the Lord Jesus Christ said let the dead bury the dead but here in Freetown the living are chasing the dead. If you remove them from their resting place where do you want them to go?  They are not refugees. Some of the people you are disturbing now are just waiting to go to heaven or hell. They have so much to think about where they are resting, and then you tend to disturb them again after a stressful days and years in the world. Serious measures need to be put in place to ensure that the dead are respected in this country and it is the responsibility of the Freetown City Council to do such. TRACE will not rest this piece until something is done to respect the dead and the dead be allowed to rest peacefully. How dare you kill the dead twice? From dust which they were created and to that dust they now return.  Think how you will be treated when you die, which land you will be buried, think, life is short, harm no one even the dead.