Prezo Koroma and others released from prison

The Secretary General of the Sierra Leone DJs Union, Prezo Koroma and others have been released from detention. Koroma, Don Creek, Rahim Senior Cole and others were serving a 36-month prison sentence after they were arrested and arraigned in court before Magistrate Mark Ngegba over disorderly conduct and disorderly behaviour at the OSD headquarters in Freetown.

Reports were that the group of 12 had gone to visit famous Sierra Leonean rapper, Alhaji Amadu Bah aka LAJ, who was detained a few days earlier and was being investigated for a felony offence. Most of them, while in detention had their hair shaved, including LAJ’s who had long dreadlocks.

The Sierra Leone Police in a press release said that they had done so in accordance with a “Standard Operating Procedure” at the holding facility. The then Police Inspector General, Ambrose Sovula, told the BBC that the rapper wanted to use his hair to strangle himself, so it had to be cut off.

Popular Lawyer Alfred Kamanda, following up on LAJ’s case at the request of the rapper’s dad, reported that there were several inhumane treatments to all the detainees, including beating, pepper spraying and other abuses.

Several rights groups, including the Sierra Leone Bar Association, condemned the acts and urged the Sierra Leone Police to stick to human rights conventions in their treatment of suspects in their custody.

LAJ and his brother, Ishmail Bah, still remain in incarceration. The rapper has also not been sentenced either. Since he was arrested in June 2022, he has appeared in court severally, and his case is now at the high court after it was committed for trial by Magistrate Mark Ngegba. There have been a couple of reports via the rapper’s Facebook page that his case continues to be adjourned as witnesses don’t show up in court. The most recent was on February 6th.

The rapper would appear in court on March 3, 2023, and seems pretty much hopeful that he would be released.