12th June, 2015
Sierra Leone Parliament on Friday in Freetown, ratified the extension, by 90 days, of the state of emergency which was declared in the country in the wake of the Ebola epidemic in 2015.
Leonard Fofana, the ruling party’s Deputy Majority Leader, who moved the motion, said the recent Ebola surge in the north of the country necessitates the continued imposition of the state of emergency.
He said the move was to enable government and its partners to eradicate the virus.
However, opposition MP, Umar Tarawally, countered that the situation which warranted the imposition of the state of emergency has changed.
He, however, acknowledged that there were pockets of the disease in some parts of the country.
Tarawally said Ebola was on the wane, and that it was, therefore, not necessary to extend the state of emergency as it was creating difficulties for ordinary citizens.
The House ratified the extension by a simple majority.
The enforcement of the state of emergency by the police and the government has been widely criticized by civil society groups and opposition political parties.
They see it as an attempt to silence the opposition.