Fact-Check Story
On 22nd November 2022, a post was reported on the LLP connection Whatsapp group. It reads “Over Ten APC members of Parliament have been arrested in the House of Parliament, including Honorable Abdul Kargbo, Hon Hassan Prince and Hon. Aron. Thursday November 24th 2022 the People’s Power
Fact-Checkers Comments
Reports of the arrest of 10 APC MPs is false, Parliament says that Police are investigating 3 members of Parliament from the opposition APC party and a driver over the week’s fracas. The MPs include Hon. Aaron Aruna Koroma of Constitutency 048, Hon. Lahai Marah of Constituency 042, Hon. Abdul Karim Koroma Consittuency 059
By AbdulAziz Samura & Tamba Tengbeh
After the controversy over the laying of the order paper for the proportional representation rules and regulations for the June 2023 general elections , videos and reports circulated the social media on the disagreement between the Members of Parliament from the main opposition All People Congress party and the Members of the Parliament from the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party in the well of parliament.
On 22th November, 2022 a post was reported on the LLP connection WhatsApp group, it reads,” Over Ten APC members of Parliament have been arrested in the House of Parliament, including Honorable Abdul Kargbo, Hon. Hassan Prince and Hon. Aron. Thursday November 24 2022 the People’s Power. “
In order to verify the report, a report was released by the Sierra Leone Parliament on Friday 25th November on incident that unfolded on the 23rd November ,2022. The report stated that the 23rd November incident was an attacked-on Parliament by MPs and some strangers in the Speaker’s gallery. As a result of the attack, the setting of 23rd November was disrupted, person injured, and properties destroyed.
The report reportedly said that footages were captured through the CCTV and four persons were identified as perpetrators of the violent and disruption, who are Hon. Aaron Aruna Koroma of constituency 048, Hon. Lahai Marah of constituency 042, Hon. Abdul Karim Koroma constituency 059; the three identified Members of Parliament are representing the All-People Congress Party including the driver of Hon. Kellie of Lungi.
“Invitations have already been issued for the said perpetrators to be interviewed by the Police, Mr Speaker, the Inspector General of Police has requested through the Clerk office to release the above MPs for further investigation.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has visited Parliament and compiled inventory of properties destroyed during the 23rd November attack according to the report released by
The Parliamentary Administration in the report released pointed out that over 380,000 of properties were destroyed during the incident.
The Deputy Leader of Government Business, Hon.Bashiru Silikie said the Deputy Minister of Justice went to the well to lay the statutory instrument on the proportional representation instrument, but the process was disrupted by Members of Parliament from the main opposition APC party.
Hon Abdul Kargbo of constituency 077 said, when a statutory instrument is laid it can only be annulled by two-thirds majority, and they wanted to avoid that, so, the Members of Parliament were pushing for negotiation before the instrument is tabled in the well of parliament in order to eschew conflicting issues with the country’s 1991 constitution.
Abdul Fatorma the Executive Director of the Campaign for Human Rights Development International—CHRDI said Members of Parliament should be advocate for the people through their oversight function reflecting on the current economic hardship facing citizen rather engaging in such an un-parliamentary act.
He noted that if a citizen switched to a TV or radio, seeing Members of Parliament who should be speaking on their behaving in a disorderly manner they would be break down completely.
“If they who should make law are behaving in disorderly manner how would they perform their oversight function effectively to ensure that people complied with the laws of the country,” he explained.
It could be recalled that similar events have occurred in Parliament, the November 23rd is not the first, on 25th April, 2018, there was another fracas in Parliament. Again, on April 19th, 2021 a similar feud at the Freetown International Conference when parliament was maintenance.
The incident was received with mixed feelings from members of the public across the country especially when this the third time the such incident is occurring.