By Joseph Momoh, Daily Scope
The Freetown City Council (FCC) has suspended its practice of collecting corpses from the streets following an inquiry from the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA) regarding the Council’s legal authority for such actions.
In support of Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr’s statement, the FCC provided data indicating that it retrieved 220 corpses from Freetown’s streets between January 1 and October 8, 2025. However, the Council’s decision to halt these operations was prompted by questions about the legal framework governing these actions.
In correspondence dated October 20, addressed to Permanent Secretary Bai M. Thuray, the FCC included a spreadsheet detailing the date, location, gender, and burial disposition for each of the 220 cases. Of the deceased, 50 were claimed by relatives, while the FCC conducted pauper’s burials for the remaining 170.
The MLGCA sought verification of the Mayor’s public assertions linking an increase in street deaths to the use of “kush,” a synthetic drug. Although the FCC did not provide the requested post-mortem data, it offered to assist the Ministry in coordinating with a pathologist to locate remains.
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr reported a troubling rise in street deaths, noting that annual collections from 2020 to 2023 averaged fewer than 50—an alarming increase to nearly daily occurrences this year. In a September letter, she described the situation as “neither natural nor acceptable,” emphasizing that the majority of the deceased are young males.
The suspension of the retrieval service stems from the MLGCA’s inquiry into the FCC’s “source of authority” for these actions. The Council acknowledged that while this function is not explicitly defined in the Local Government Act 2022, it has traditionally provided burials for the destitute.
In light of the situation, the FCC has requested that the MLGCA’s Permanent Secretary provide guidance on the appropriate authority to notify regarding future corpse reports.
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