Sixty-Two Remanded Following Violent Pendembu Unrest
Violent disturbances broke out in Pendembu on Friday, October 16, 2026, reportedly involving the burning of three houses, widespread property theft, and the unauthorized exhumation and removal of a late Paramount Chief's body from his grave site.
In response, joint security personnel from the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) launched security operations across the area and enforced a 12-hour overnight curfew from Saturday evening to Sunday morning to restore order.
Eastern Region Police Commander ACP Joe Kamanda Bongay confirmed that security forces successfully retrieved the late chief's body and transferred it to the Government Hospital mortuary in Kenema pending a formal reburial.
During the operations, security forces arrested 62 male suspects, who were subsequently transferred to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department East in Kenema for questioning, while police addressed the public via local radio regarding substance abuse and its potential connection to the violence.
All 62 accused persons have since appeared before Magistrate Hadiru Daboh at Court No. 1 in the Kenema Judicial District across two separate criminal matters.
On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the first group of 17 defendants was charged with housebreaking, larceny, and malicious damage, and remanded pending committal proceedings to the High Court.
On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the remaining 45 defendants appeared on charges of riotous conduct under the Public Order Act of 1965 and were remanded for summary proceedings, with prosecutors S.I. Davies and S.I. Watta Bakarr led the case alongside Defence Counsel S. B. E. Sesay, Esq.
Comments