Beaten, Threatened and Forced to Flee: The Story of an APC Activist
For Mohamed Ibrahim Sesay, political activism began as a young man seeking to participate in the political life of his community. His involvement with the All People’s Congress (APC) started in 2007 after he was introduced to Counsellor Kemokoh Conteh, who was then serving as councillor for Constituency 108 in Waterloo. Sesay subsequently became involved in campaigning for Conteh ahead of the 2012 elections. After Conteh won the parliamentary seat, Sesay was appointed deputy youth chairperson for Constituency 108, placing him at the centre of APC grassroots activities in the area.
His family and associates say that his political involvement later exposed him to violence and intimidation. In March 2018, following the parliamentary elections and a dispute surrounding Conteh’s position, APC supporters organised a peaceful demonstration outside the SLPP office in Waterloo. According to relatives, members of the opposing political camp became violent during the demonstration and attacked members of the APC campaign team. Sesay was among those caught in the violence and was allegedly struck in the back with the butt of a gun. His family said the injury left him experiencing occasional back pain.
Isatu Sesay, a family relative, said the 2018 incident changed the atmosphere around the family. She said the concern was not limited to Sesay’s injuries, as people associated with the opposing political camp were allegedly monitoring his home in Waterloo. With his wife pregnant and a young son in the household, the family became increasingly worried that the political confrontation could escalate into further violence. The fear eventually contributed to Sesay leaving Sierra Leone for Guinea in June 2019.
His brother, Abubakarr Kargbo, said Mohamed later returned to Sierra Leone after spending time in Guinea, believing that conditions had become sufficiently calm for him to come home and attend to his family. After his return, however, he resumed his political activities and worked as a campaign adviser to Kemokoh Conteh ahead of the June 2023 general elections. The narrative records that political tensions had intensified during this period, particularly between supporters of the governing SLPP and the opposition APC.
The political environment surrounding the elections became increasingly contentious. The APC subsequently called for a nationwide demonstration on August 10, 2022. A nationwide curfew was imposed, while security forces launched a search for people suspected of organising or participating in the demonstration.
It was during this period that Sesay allegedly suffered his most serious encounter with the security authorities. According to family sources, he was apprehended by military personnel and police at Freetown Park in Waterloo and beaten until he lost consciousness. He was subsequently left on the road and rescued by a member of the public, who took him to Bottom Mango Government Hospital in Waterloo. While receiving treatment, he was allegedly informed that some of his colleagues and associates had been arrested while others had been killed.
Osman Kanu, a friend of Sesay, said the reported beating caused serious concern among those close to him. According to Kanu, the continuing search for people associated with the August 10 demonstration made it difficult for Sesay to remain openly in Waterloo. The account states that he left the hospital before completing his treatment and went into hiding with the assistance of APC supporters. He was subsequently advised to leave Sierra Leone again, and on August 12, 2022, he travelled from Waterloo to Pamalap in Kambia District before crossing the border into Guinea.
According to family sources, the danger did not end with Sesay’s departure. His wife and two kids are presently nowhere to be seen, the sources said, explaining that Sesay’s wife disappeared with the kids after fearing for her own safety following her husband’s decision to flee to save his life. The family said her whereabouts remain unknown, adding another layer of uncertainty to a situation that has already separated the family.
The events occurred against a backdrop of heightened political tensions in Sierra Leone following the change of government in 2018. The SLPP won the presidency in 2018 after defeating the APC, ending the APC’s period in government. Political competition remained intense in the years that followed, with disagreements over elections, governance and relations between the governing party and the opposition. The European Union Election Observation Mission described the environment surrounding the 2023 elections as highly polarised and volatile, and reported that politically motivated attacks and, in some cases, disproportionate use of force by security agencies reduced the space for political participation in several districts.
For his family and friends, the years between 2018 and 2023 therefore represented a period in which political involvement allegedly carried serious personal consequences for Sesay. From the reported assault in Waterloo in 2018, through his return and renewed political activities before the 2023 elections, to the alleged beating and subsequent flight from Sierra Leone in August 2022, his story reflects the experience of an opposition activist caught amid a deeply polarised political environment.
The European Union’s final assessment of the 2023 elections subsequently called for measures to protect political candidates and for perpetrators of election-related violence to be held accountable. For Sesay’s family, however, the consequences were more personal: a husband and father forced into hiding, a wife and kids whose whereabouts are reportedly unknown, and a family left to live with continuing uncertainty over their safety and future.
