By George M.O. Williams
Freetown, September 24, 2025: The Freetown City Council (FCC) has raised urgent concerns over a disturbing rise in the number of corpses being discovered on the streets of the capital, many of which are reportedly linked to the abuse of the synthetic drug known as kush.
In a letter dated September 17, 2025, addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Morie Lengor Esq., Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr described the situation as “alarming” and called for immediate government intervention. According to the Mayor, FCC recorded 142 bodies between January and August 13, 2025—136 males and 6 females. In the following four weeks alone, an additional 32 bodies were collected, with 31 males and one female.
The letter emphasized that the majority of the deceased are young people, and the frequency of such deaths is “neither natural nor acceptable.” Mayor Aki-Sawyerr revealed that FCC has been forced to establish a dedicated burial team equipped with gloves, masks, disinfectants, body bags, and a fueled vehicle—an unbudgeted expense that is straining the council’s already limited resources.
“This phenomenon cannot be met with silence,” the Mayor stated. “It demands a coordinated and urgent inquiry into the underlying causes of these deaths and the implementation of decisive measures to curb the growing loss of young lives in our city.”
FCC warned that if the government fails to act swiftly, the council may be forced to suspend corpse collection services. “Freetown City Council cannot continue to collect and bury our youth in silence,” the letter concluded.
The appeal underscores the broader societal and moral imperative to confront the kush epidemic and its devastating impact on Sierra Leone’s youth.