The ongoing battle against the deadly drug Kush has taken a tense political turn between the Freetown City Council (FCC) and the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, following revelations by Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr that 220 bodies believed to be victims of Kush consumption had been collected from the streets of Freetown.
The Ministry, describing the Mayor’s statement as alarming, responded with a formal letter dated 9th October 2025, demanding that the FCC provide detailed evidence to substantiate the claim. The Ministry requested a comprehensive list of the deceased, including:
• Dates and locations where the bodies were recovered,
• Medical or post-mortem reports confirming Kush as the cause of death, and
• The legal authority under which FCC carried out the retrieval and investigation of the bodies.
In response, the FCC provided a spreadsheet documenting the corpses collected, their dates and locations of recovery, and the cemeteries where they were buried. The Council also followed up with a detailed letter from Mayor Aki-Sawyerr defending the Council’s position and outlining the growing crisis.
According to the Mayor’s letter, “On 17th September 2025, I wrote to the Minister of Internal Affairs, with the Minister of Local Government in copy, drawing attention to the alarming increase in corpses found on Freetown’s streets—many of which are, anecdotally, linked to the consumption of Kush.”
She noted that although the Local Government Act of 2022 does not explicitly assign this responsibility to councils, the FCC has historically provided paupers’ burials for destitute individuals who die on the streets. However, she stressed that since 2022, the number of such deaths has risen sharply, describing the situation as “neither natural nor acceptable and a matter of urgent public concern.”
The Mayor revealed that as of 13th August 2025, 142 corpses had been collected by the FCC—136 males and 6 females. Within less than a month, by 11th September 2025, an additional 32 bodies were recovered, bringing the total to 174. She emphasized that “the overwhelming majority of these corpses are young people, and the situation is deeply troubling.”
Responding to the Ministry’s queries regarding the Council’s authority, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr stated:
“In light of the concerns raised about the source of authority under which the Freetown City Council conducted such retrievals, the Council will no longer collect corpses sighted on the streets.”
This statement has sparked widespread public debate and backlash. Many Sierra Leoneans have accused the Ministry of politicizing the fight against Kush, instead of collaborating with the FCC to tackle the crisis.
“Instead of working with the FCC to combat the Kush menace, the Ministry is treating them as an enemy by asking for data,” one citizen told Voice of Salone Newspaper.
Another citizen argued, “No serious or sincere person fighting against Kush would question the Mayor’s data as if the deaths are not real.”
However, others defended the Ministry’s actions, noting that the request for evidence was simply a matter of due diligence and clarity, not opposition.
Meanwhile, social media has been flooded with heated debates, with many criticizing the Ministry’s handling of the situation and questioning whether bureaucracy is hindering urgent action against a growing public health emergency
