By Africa24 correspondent

People at Moeba community in the east of Freetown are still griped with deep fears few days after a civil countrywide sit-down protest in Sierra Leone.

“You can only see few of us at Moeba coming down the mountain to sell down town after Monday’s protests,” says one Mohamed Kanu, who resides at Mamba ridge area at Moeba.

The hilly community which sits on Sierra Leone’s Mount Sugar Loaf was put on a siege of panic and fear after, reports say, some government army officers and police went on a rampage, allegedly leaving four dead by gun shots.

This was confirmed by Mohamed Kanu on Thursday 14, two days after the terrifying incident at that little business community.

“They shot a man at a popular night club; one shot dead at Boro pit area; two shot dead around  Kankalay school,’’ Kanu, a resident at Moeba confirmed.

“The man who is well known as White boy has escaped out of the country; he was the one walking with officers, pointing at people to who’re believed to belong to a specific political party,”

White boy, he continued, always acts like a crazy man, even before that shooting incident happened on September 11.

Since most people have lost their lives by police latest shootings in the country in connection to civilian demonstrations, Kanu, wishes Sierra Leoneans heed calls on stopping protests actions from not happening in the country. The lastest protests are triggered against the defiance on the country’s hardship caused by inflation due to bad governance and corruption and lack of respect for human rights.

“What, I think, we must do is to stop this strike action and focus on what we are doing to get a living,” he advised.

Another trader who is a resident in the community expresses a similar view like Kanu.

The stationery seller who conducts her business along the footpath around PWD, a popular roundabout which is just a metre away, from the foot of the hills of Moeba community in Freetown, refuses to make any comment about politics.

Joked with whether he hates or likes to wear green or red, Sierra Leone’s colours of the two dominant political parties, SLPP & APC, she replied: “My brother let’s forget about politics; you have right to wear any of these colours but let’s skip that topic….”

The protests on Monday September 11, 2023, saw streets of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown empty with people. No business could go on. The protest was believed to be linked to the rising costs of a litre of fuel in the country after it skyrockets from Le 21,000 to Le 30,000 on July 29, 2023.

The high cost on the petroleum products and the current inflation in Sierra Leone has caused prices on goods, services and foodstuffs to become ever expensive.

Since the Monday protests happened many petty traders have yet to sum up courage to return to their normal business activities in the country due to deep fears and panic.

A stop on a similar countrywide sit-down strike or demonstration which often leads to loss of many innocent people’s lives is becoming a popular concern being expressed by some Sierra Leoneans.