Segbwema Member of Parliament Arrested

Honorable Robin Fallay Constituency  7, Segbwema MP
Detained in Kenema police station and refused bail

News from Sierra Leone being monitored by the Segbwema blog indicates that Honorable Robin Fallay, the Sierra Leone People's Party member of parliament for Kailahun constituency 7, which includes the township of Segbwema, was arrested yesterday at approximately 8.00pm GMT Sierra Leone time and detained at the Kenema police station. The arrest stemmed from allegations of voter registration malpractice.

Hon. Fallay together with the principal of Holy Ghost Secondary school and a teacher are accused of falsifying birth record with the intention of registering underage voters in the constituency. They were remanded in custody and refused bail.

Further reports indicate that earlier today the alleged underage voters, who were also arrested were arraigned in a Kenema magistrate court where they denied the involvement of honorable Fallay in the conduct for which they were accused and were granted bail. The matter was adjourned to April 3rd 2012.

Top SLPP officials went to the Kenema police station to secure the release of the Segbwema MP, led by Ambassador Patrick Foya, but were unable to secure his release and he was to remain in custody till the next day, in appalling jail conditions. The SLPP top brass in Kenema are looking at arranging some legal representation for the MP and co-accused.

John Benjamin SLPP Chairman
Working feverishly to secure MP's release

Reports from Freetown also indicate that the SLPP chairman John O. Benjamin, who also happens to have hailed from Segbwema, and other top officials were working fervently to secure the release of Honorable Fallay.

It is interesting note that in recent weeks credible reports indicating that ruling All people's Congress APC party were engaged in massive underage voter registration in the north of the country which is their political base and ferrying nonresidential people to register them to vote in the southeast have been outrightly dismissed by the government as lies and negative propaganda without any investigation or arrests.

It is also interesting to note that the APC  administration is now finding it increasingly easy to arrest opposition members of parliament and hold them without bail, depriving them of their basic civil right of presumption of innocence before guilt and diminishing their status and the status of their constituents in the eyes of their fellow Sierra Leoneans.

Credible reports indicate there there is much uneasiness in Kenema and Segbwema over the arrest and continued detention of the popular MP, but top SLPP officials in the area are urging their supporters to remain calm and not give the ruling party the excuse of using such incidents to interfere in voters registration in areas that have historically been the base of the opposition.

Updates will continue to be provided as calls come in from the area.

Segbwema Blogger