Inaugural Insanity

Last week I went to Freetown with Radio Maria for the presidential inauguration. Ernest Bai Koroma was elected in September, bringing the All People's Congress back to power after 10 years as the opposition party.

It was crazy. I had no real reason to be there, but I just strolled right onto the field at the National Stadium and acted like I knew what I was doing. Sometimes it helps to be white. Radio Maria had a broadcasting unit in a car parked on the field near the stands, so I was close to the action.

The stadium holds 30,000 people -- but there must have been at least 50,000 there. I mean people were desperate to catch a glimpse of this man. They covered every inch of the place, including hundreds who climbed the four light towers to get a better view. People shoved their way in at every entrance, which caused huge fights all over the place. It was a bit chaotic. Sadly, the police stood on the field near us, just watching and laughing as people pounded each other and some were even tossed over the railing to the ground 15 feet below. I guess 11 years of civil war tends to give people violent tendencies...

It was the hottest day of my life -- six hours in the sun, mostly waiting for foreign heads of state to arrive from the airport. I heard that about 30 people died, presumably from heat exhaustion and dehydration. When the presidential motorcade finally rolled in, it was worth the wait. Check it out:

It was a very historic day for Sierra Leone, and I was happy to witness it. Everyone has a lot of hope for President Koroma (who is from Makeni). He vowed in his speech to tackle the huge problem of corruption in this country. They say it's so bad that the most corrupt agency in the nation is the Anti-Corruption Commission itself. Ah, perfect irony.

You can read more about the inauguration here.