By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
A parent of the Kargbo Family of Bongay Street in Rokupr Town, Magbema Chiefdom in the Northwestern district of Kambia has said that they’re worried as a family, about the whereabouts of their son Mohamed Kargbo whom they have not heard from since for several weeks now.
According to 48-year-old mother, her son Kargbo had left their residence on August 1, 2022 for Makeni city in the North East region to meet a friend named Mahmoud Osman Kamara who had urged him to come over for enquiry about a university scholarship opportunity for descendants of Kambia District, who’ve attained their university entry requirements but have not been able to gain admission at the university due to their family hardship and other destitute challenges.
She further said that, they as a modest Kargbo family were in constant communication with their son after he left home, "Mohamed even informed us of his safe arrival in Makeni, and did also spoke to his friend Mahmoud Osman Kamara (now deceased), a final year student who was studying Accounting and Finance at the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology, Makeni Campus.
“Few days later we became concerned about our son’s safety after seeing on social media the corpse of his friend Mahmoud Osman, on the early morning of the August 10 insurrection with clips showing that he was being shot and killed by an unknown police gunman.
“We wasted no time after coming across the devastating News on WhatsApp, and immediately placed a call to reach out to our son to confirm whether the News about his friend's alleged death was ture, and to also enquire about his own safety, but he picked the call he was just crying amidst a noisy and seemingly riotous background, until he eventually ended the call abruptly.
“We had to also reach out to other descendants of Kambia District that were also residing in the northeastern city of Makeni to verify the News of Mahamoud’s death and to also assess the present situation of safety in the city, and some of the descendants were really helpful. They told us that the widely shared News about Mahamoud’s death was true. “He has been shot and killed by the police during the riot and some of the people who were at the scene have been arrested by the police, while they are still chasing some people including your son that wanted to take charge of the remains of the late EBKUST-MUC student.
According to the Police, those arrested were transferred to the Police Headquarters in Freetown for further questioning over allegations of them fueling the bloody violent citizens' protest over the high cost of living as against some of the country's 1965 Public Order Act constitutional directives, Police media has since announced.
Kargbo’s Mother also explained that she had to even travelled to Makeni on August 11 this year, and visited the Regional Police Headquarters in the North East Region to enquire for his son but “I was told by the Police that they’ve no record matching details of my son, and in fact all suspects that were arrested during the August 10 protest in Makeni have been transferred to Freetown,” she maintained.
Devastated after a fruitless journeying search of his 19-year-old son, the mother said her mind is worried, saying: “I’ve this feeling that my son’s life is in danger because I've tried to call him repeatedly but his mobile number is since then not reachable.
“I had to travel back home heartbroken and explained everything to his father and other family members that the whereabouts of Mohamed and his safety is on the dark. We are more worried now that radio reports say many of the suspects that were arrested during the protests in Makeni, as well as in Freetown, Kamakwie and Lungi are reportedly dead and most corpse remain unclaimed at the Connaught Hospital Mortuary in Freetown.
“Honestly, I have decided to talk to you as the last family resort with our hopes high that you and other pressmen will help to spotlight our family concern as the voice of the voiceless, by way of pleading from everybody to help us know the whereabouts of our son who is just 19-year-older. Please I’m kindly using this platform to request from members of the public to help us with any information they may have about our son whose safety and healthy wellbeing remain our deepest concerns,” she ended with tears running down her cheeks.
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