By Hassan I. Conteh
Waterloo-Freetown Highway is decongested over wild rumours among residents that ECOWAS elections-mediators are coming into the country.
The road was cleared of for ease of vehicular movements on the early morning of Monday 16, Oct, 2023.
Some Operations Support Division (OSDs ), armed officers, helped to decongest the busy road by 9a.m.
It lasted for two hours with people spreading rumours that a delegation of ECOWAS officials are entering the country.
”We understand SLPP and APC elections negotiation will start today, 16 October…fresh elections are to be conducted December this year,” says a resident in Waterloo.
People in Waterloo in that morning started asking why was traffic cleared of, giving way to one way access for vehicles to move on.
After an hour, the situation became calm as a convoy of government officials quietly passed by unnoticed to other people in Waterloo.
On Monday, however; it turned out to be just the usual panic atomosphere people create in Sierra Leone in which others would spread ”fake news”or rumours that result to unnecessary panic among citizens.
”A typical Sierra Leonean is quick to get panic even when he/she is not sure of something or gets a clue of what is about to happen,” says a man.
An elderly man shared his account contrary to what some residents rumoured about the coming into the country of a convoy of ECOWAS elections mediators.
”A convoy of government officials has passed just now…but we don’t know if there were other special dignitaries among,” he explained.
The rumours are related to a possible dialogue between the ruling government , Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and All People’s Congress (APC) on June 24 elections allegations of rigging and lack of transparent results being announced by Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL).
The peace talks which are said to start Monday October 16, 2023 are believed to bring a lasting solution to the current political stalemate in the country.
It may give way for opposition MPs to drop off their ‘boycott’ stance not to participate in SLPP’s government activities.
Opposition MPs in Sierra Leone have refused to attend parliament since end of June this year.