The decision of the government of Sierra Leone to relocate a job training centre it formerly promised the youths in Koinadugu District, has claimed at least two lives. The youth, who thought of developing themselves via the centre, were denied and their attempt to help the authorities understand their grievances was met with fatal forces. This highlights the situation of the unmet needs and failed promises of African leaders.

On Tuesday, security forces shot of the country two demonstrators dead in northern Sierra Leone. The duo, a secondary school student and a street seller, were part of the youths from Koinadugu, who protested against the government’s decision to choose another district, Tonkolili, for the youth development project. According to the accounts of the leader of Koinadugu District Youth Council, Mohamed Marrah, the protest was non-violent and related to the transfer of a training facility designed to improve job prospects in the rural community.

“They were unarmed and singing songs to get the authorities to reconsider the action. Suddenly, we heard shots and two people in the crowd just went limp.

“We protested for our rights but the police reacted violently by firing tear gas canisters and live bullets into the crowed which killed two of our people and left many others seriously injured,” Mohamed told AFP.

In December 2014, President Ernest Koroma promised to build a vocational institute in Koinadugu, to train the skills of young people and prepare them for entrepreneurship. The construction of this structure ought to have commenced since January 2015, but it did not. Responding to the claims that the protest by the youths was peaceful, the Police said “the anti-government demonstrators had attacked and burnt down the office of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) and his own residence.”

Even as violence is a bad approach to making grievances known, President Koroma needs to understand it will be very difficult for him to be absolved from the death of the two young people. Just as it was wrong for the Police to have fired live bullets to disperse the protesters, the ugly event could have been averted if Koroma had not failed on his words. It is certain that these people were murdered in their quest for development.