TAPPITA, Nimba – Residents of Tappita are accusing police assigned in the area of manhandling them during the enforcement of the state of emergency announced by President George Manneh Weah.

Nimba is one of the four counties under an additional stay home order, which requires individuals to only venture out of their homes for essential trips to access food and health supplies. Tappita also hosts the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Regional Referral Hospital, where health authorities confirmed a Coronavirus death.

Residents of Tappita’s Kola Tree community accused the commander of the police in the city of leading a team of officers to attack them at their homes. In one incident, Loretha G. Paye said she and others at her home were within the confines of their property eating when Augustine Gbalea, the commander, arrived on the scene with other men.

“When he arrived at our house, he kicked the table on which our market was sitting and pushed my mother who was trying to prevent the bag of rice from wasting,” Paye said. “When I asked him why he had to waste my market, he ordered his men to beat on me.”

Paye said she was severely flogged by the aide of the commander and some items were confiscated.

“Another officer who was in uniform took my three packs of Vita [seasoning cubes] and my money while they were flogging me,” she said.

Alberta Paye, the mother of Loretha Paye, said her daughter was attacked by the police for no reason. Additionally, her market, which she depends on for survival, was destroyed. During this state of emergency where market women are limited to when they can sell, the elder Paye said she and her daughter would no longer be able to provide for the family.

“I am not married; it is these things that I can sell to feed my family,” Alberta Paye said. “I do not even know how I will feed my children again.”

Alberta Paye shows the stick used by the police to beat her daughter. Photo: Enoch Dahn

Reacting to the allegation, Gbalea said it was false and meant to tarnish his reputation. Describing the Kola Tree community as a breeding ground for criminals, Gbalea said police patrolling the area had noticed that there were large crowds gathered in various places in the community.

As this was against the president’s mandate, Gbalea said his team engaged the crowds to return to their respective homes, but were met with resistance. Provoked by residents, Gbalea said he ordered his men to disperse the crowd, although he did not detail how this was done.

“Kola Tree as per our record is a high criminal breeding area. You find all the ghettos and the bad guys,” he said. “We saw them in huge gathering to places we considered to be ghettos, markets were all outside and so we moved there to warn them.”

However, the Tappita police commander said his men were attacked by community members when they began dispersing the crowd.

Gbalea dismissed any claims of police brutality and said those allegations seek to weaken the security sector and discourage the police from enforcing the president’s mandate.

Claims of police brutality have characterized the state of emergency, as there have been reports police attacking seemingly law-abiding citizens and confiscating personal property. This has even prompted a major civil society group to demand that the government hold civil rights violators accountable during the state of emergency.

Featured photo by Jerry Myers