Angry residents resist Ebola suspect

Several residents of Beh-wein Community in Bardersville Township have fought over an Ebola suspect taken to the community from the Old Road by a commercial driver accompanied by an unidentified man believed to be a police officer.

The angry residents unsuccessfully struggled with the Taxi driver and his accomplice on Monday in getting the victim out of the community.

The suspected Ebola patient identified as Carrar King, was seen lying in an unfinished building while a lady believed to be his wife stood by. But the lady fled the area on Tuesday morning, abandoning the victim.

Mr. King was driven to the Beh-wein Community in a Taxicab with license plate number 6400 from Old Road where he was allegedly pressurized by residents to leave after they suspected him to be infected with the virus.

But community members in Beh-wein say the patient’s wife escaped early Tuesday morning after they had already given her some food to prepare for her ailing husband. Community Chairman Samson K. Kweh, and some elders told this paper that they were finding means to contact the National Ebola Taskforce on the situation that poses serious risk to the community.

They said several youths had besieged the vehicle which dropped the patient, resisting his presence in the community. But community leaders said the driver and purported officer threw the victim out of the vehicle and drove away. Community residents have begun expressing fear that scores of protesting youth, who surrounded the victim are potentially at risk, as the actual health status of the patient remains unknown.

“While we were in our houses, an unknown car with four persons inside: the driver, the patient and wife and a man who claim to be a police officer from the Congo Town Depot #3 brought in a suspected Ebola patient and resident of the community decided to oppose it. While fighting over the patient, the taxi driver and the police man managed to escape, leaving the man and his wife here,” Town Chief Kolvert Zangar narrated.    

Community chairman Samson K. Kweh, narrated that at about 8:30pm Monday night he received a call from the town chief, informing him about a taxicab marked TX 6400, entering the community with some suspected Ebola patients. Chairman Kweh continued that he ordered that the car be impounded, but the driver escaped, leaving the patient in the community.

He said the patient’s wife had told him that residents of Old Road asked her husband to leave over Ebola suspicion. As of press time Tuesday, the victim was said to have been taken away by the response unit. But Chairman Kweh has however promised to identify those youth, who protested against the victim, for observation in 21 days.