Sierra Leone’s Police have confirmed that 25 people were killed on Wednesday 10th August after violent protests erupted in parts of the country including the capital, Freetown.

According to the force, six of their officers and 21 civilians were killed during the unrest in Freetown and the eastern part of the country in Makeni and Kamakwie. As investigations continue, the Police reports that it has arrested 130 people with further arrests expected in the coming days. 

Guinea’s National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (Le Front National de la défense de la Constitution, FNDC) has lifted the one-week suspension of protests which had been implemented in response to calls by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) whilst diplomatic channels were being pursued.

Freetown based rapper LAJ, aka Alhaji Amadou Bah was arrested and detained on Sunday 12th June on his way to watch the Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau match in Guinea’s capital Conakry. He has since been in Police detention and had not been charged at the time of writing this article.

On Friday 1st July, 2022, the new re-denominated leone was officially unveiled by His Excellency Dr Julius Maada Bio. The event was witnessed by top Business Managers, Unions, Interreligious Council, the World Bank and all Banking Institutions in the Country.

Less than a year since Guinea’s Junta led by Col Mamadi Doumboya took over the country in a military coup in September, 2021, protests returned to the streets of Conakry on Wednesday 6 July 2022, following the arrests of the leaders of the Front National for the Defence of the Constitution on Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday 19/4/22, two more houses in a Kekero village which borders Falaba District and Sando Chiefdom were burnt with no lives lost.

Reports from the area stated that on Monday 18/4/2022, fifteen cows were shot and killed by armed men marauding the areas.