Africa news

The streets are jam-packed; business open markets are filled with people from all over; wares and willbarrows cause roadblock; swarm of people are on bus stops or vehicles take off points in this period of national curfew.

The curfew which comes every night at 9:00 and ends at 6:00 in the morning is not only disrupting businesses but it is also troubling those living in Freetown and its outskirts.

What the night movement restriction on people – curfew- has also caused is the “disturbance of movement” in the city, causing traffic jam of people and vehicles.

People now rush at rush hours between 4:00 pm and 7 pm every day to be able to catch up vehicles to go home.

If they waste time in places they are doing business daily mainly in the heart beat of commercial businesses in the capital, they’ll not be able to get vehicles on time in order to get them to their various resting places or abodes.

So they would have to be moving in a rush in a crowded manner, sometimes even in a rowdy way, to onboard private transport vehicles.

This disturbing phenomenon has added on to the usual crowding nature known for Christmas festive seasons in Freetown, which normally starts from December 1st to 31st December before New Year’s Day, which is 1st of January.

Between these periods, every year in Sierra Leone and in other countries in the world as well, people often flock in the streets and in the markets, in entertainment places to either do business or catch some fun as Christmas approaches and when a New Year clocks in.

Cinemas, bars, night clubs are expected to open for business.

Those who are sociable could pay some bucks to enter these places.

Church services are many at this period of the season. In Sierra Leone, these periods between 1st of Decemeber and 1st of January are always busier times as the streets would fill with scores of people.

It is a period of celebration, joy, fun and worship as Decemeber, 25 marks the birth of Jesus Christ.

The day before Christmas Boxing Day and on the days after, are usually holiday periods for Sierra Leoneans. These are times people would love to visit their loved ones in upcountry and it is the period of harvest season. The locals in Sierra Leone and residents in Freetown and urban places place huge respect on December festive season usually considered as harvest season. It is also in this period in which cultural festive shows such as secret societies are often held in the rural areas since rice is in abundance to feed boys and girls initiated into these cultural secret societies.

It used to be the period of rice abundance and local foods of all kinds like cassava, potatoes, yams, plantains, groundnuts, cucumber, pumpkin, etc. But this year’s seems to be on a boring note as hardship and frustration persist in the face of curfew night order in Serra Leone.

And since the curfew was declared and is still in force there have been a stalled in progress on festive seasons’ celebrations.

The curfew proclamation followed after an attempted coup with sporadic attacks at an army amoury at Wilberforce in Freetown on Monday 27 November, 2023 against the sitting government of Sierra Leone People’s Party.

Night clubs, entertainment shows have been forced by the government to close down as they could not go on at night hours.

The curfew situation in the country has also led to an increase on traffic congestion of vehicles and traffic jam among people.

A resident in Freetown was heard talking on Monday about the night curfew in the country:

“I have to off early to get a vehicle to go home; I now have no choice but to leave my business at the time when I expect more sales in the evening,” Ramatu Kamara grumbled.