Around Mother Africa Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #478)

attended tfhe Lagos Conference of the Monrovia group and which Guinea had boycotted. I was handed over to the Security Police but when they finally established my identity they entertained me and later took me to a hotel where I stayed. Unfortunately on this occasion I could not meet President Sekou Toure as Menon 'Soapy' Williams, the American Minister of African Affairs, was visiting the country. Their security precautions were impressive. The day after my arrival the hotel manager directed me to the offices of the ruling party, the Democratic Party. On the way there I asked three youngsters, the eldest whom I reckoned to be about 15, whether I was on the right road to the offices. "Are you a stranger here?" the eldest inquired. "Yes, I am", I said. "Where is your passport?" he asked. "With the Security Police",I replied. "Where do you come from?" he persisted. "Ethiopia", I told him. "What is the purpose of your visit?" he went on. I was now impatient and asked whether of not they were prepared to help me and started walking away. My interrogator then pointed to a building directly opposite us and said, "Do you see that building? You go and enquire there." On the front of the building appeared the words "Surete Polis" (check spelling). I went down the street as directed by the manager and reached the offices of the Democratic Party. My 3 friends were shadowing me all the way and left only when an official warmly welcomed me. The flight from Guinea to Sierra Leone took no more than 30 minutes but the journey from the Sierra Leone airport to Freetown, the capital, lasted more than an hour involving travelling by bus