By George M. O. Williams
Sierra Leone — Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has formally responded to a government inquiry into alleged Kush-related deaths across the capital, revealing a troubling surge in unclaimed corpses and calling for urgent national action.
In a letter dated October 20, 2025, addressed to the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, the Mayor submitted a detailed spreadsheet documenting 220 corpses collected by the Freetown City Council (FCC) between January 1 and October 8, 2025. The data includes dates, locations, gender, and burial status, noting that 170 bodies were buried by the Council while 50 were claimed by relatives.
The Council confirmed that photographs were taken for all cases, though images of bodies later claimed by families remain confidential to protect privacy.
The Mayor’s letter highlighted a sharp rise in street deaths over the past two years. “Between 2020 and 2023, the number of corpses collected annually was less than 50. In the past two years, we have seen a dramatic increase,” the letter stated.
While many of the deceased were young men, the Council emphasized that links to the synthetic drug Kush remain anecdotal and require government-led verification through post-mortem investigations.
This latest correspondence follows an earlier letter dated September 17, 2025, in which the Mayor alerted the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Local Government to the growing number of unexplained deaths. By August 13, FCC had collected 142 corpses—136 males and 6 females—with 32 more recovered less than a month later, 31 of whom were male.
“The frequency with which corpses are being collected from the streets by Freetown City Council is neither natural nor acceptable and constitutes a matter of urgent public concern,” the Mayor wrote.
In response to questions about the legal authority under which FCC conducted body retrievals, the Council announced it would suspend corpse collection until the Ministry clarifies which agency is officially responsible. “Please provide contact details of who we should report to when a corpse is found,” the letter concluded.
The Mayor’s appeal underscores the need for a coordinated government response to address the alarming rise in street deaths and the suspected impact of synthetic drugs on Sierra Leone’s youth.