Sierra Leone journalist forced into hiding

By Kemo Cham

A radio presenter in Koidu Town in Sierra Leone’s eastern Kono District went into hiding last week in fear of being arrested over allegation of incitement.

Sahr Amadu Komba, Station Manager of the Eastern Radio in Koidu, said he was been pursued for a program he hosted which discussed the cause of a flooding that left the small diamond-rich town isolated and cut off from the main highway that linked it to the capital Freetown.

Heavy downpours last week left a new bypass constructed as an alternative to the main route leading into the town completely cut off due to the flooding. The bypass had been constructed after the main route was made inaccessible due to a controversial mining project sanctioned by the government.

People were stranded on both sides of the makeshift road, and according to reports, several houses were affected along the route.

These were the issues been discussed on a breakfast radio talk show in the town hosted by Komba.

Apparently, the authorities were not happy with the nature of the discussion.

Bridging the gap between the media and judiciary in Sierra Leone

By Kemo Cham

In the small conference room in the offices of the civil society organization Campaign For Good Governance (CGG), a group of journalists were recently discussing their experiences covering the Sierra Leone judiciary. This is part of ongoing efforts to reform one of the world’s most compromised justice systems.

That discussion is part of a project called Access Sierra Leone, an independent initiative funded by the Partnership for Democratic Change in the United States. A major aspect of it is the ‘Bridging the Gap Between the media and the judiciary.

Court reporting is not a fond thing to do as a journalist in Sierra Leone, and the experiences as heard from the narration of these journalists speak it all. They told stories about officials demanding money to access copies of judgments, magistrates asking journalists out of court in select hearings because they did not want them to hear certain revelations.

CPJ gets UN accreditation

By Kemo Cham

After a lengthy waiting, the media rights group the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been granted a consultative status at the United Nations.

The move announced last week followed a tedious process that ended up in voting by the United Nations Economic Social Council (ECOSOC).

With this status CPJ, which is headquartered in New York, will be allowed to access UN bodies and processes, such as the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where accredited NGOs can deliver a counter-narrative to states.

CPJ, an independent nonprofit organization, is dedicated to promoting press freedom worldwide by defending the rights of journalists to report without fear. In existence for over 30 years, it also documents attacks and abuses against journalists everywhere in the world.

“The council’s vote today [Monday July 25] recognizes the important role that CPJ has played and continues to play at the UN by providing expert knowledge and analysis on press freedom related issues,” Joel Simon, Executive Director of CPJ, was quoted in a statement released by the press freedom body.

Sierra Leone declares Canadian journalist wanted

By Kemo Cham

The Sierra Leone government has declared “wanted” a freelance Canadian journalist living and working in the country. The authorities say Nina Devries is wanted over a report for the Qatar-based television network, Al Jazeera, which they deemed as false.

Officials at the Ministry of Information and Communication said last week that Nina was being sought for her report on freedom of expression in the country in which she interviewed popular musician Emmerson Bockarie.

In the report aired by the network two weeks ago, Emmerson decried apparent government censorship against him since the release of his record-breaking album ‘Munku Boss Pan Marches.’

Agibu Jalloh, Outreach Coordinator at the Office of Government Spokesman in the Ministry of Information, said the report which went viral on social media was a fabrication. He told journalists at a press conference that the reporter made up some of the content of her report.

SLAJ condemns ‘disgraceful’ detention of journalist

By Kemo Cham

The Sierra Leone Association of journalists (SLAJ) on Monday reacted angrily to the detention of a journalist on allegation of criminal defamation.

Journalist Sam Lahai, who is based in Kenema, was detained over the week end, reportedly on the orders of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Major (Rtd) Ismail Sengu Koroma. The minister, who alleged that he’d been defamed in an article written by the journalist, has denied ordering his arrest. He said he only reported the matter to the police.

Lahai was arrested under the notorious criminal libel law. He spent two day in detention. By afternoon on Monday he had been released on bail.

SLAJ president Kevin Lewis in an interview Monday morning described the minister’s action as disgraceful. He said it pointed to the urgent need to expunge the criminal libel law from the laws of the country

“I respect the minister but this Act of his is disgraceful,” Lewis told Radio Democracy.

A statement by SLAJ later in the day said it was unacceptable that even as the justice sector was undergoing salient reforms the CID [Criminal Investigation Department of the Sierra Leone Police] continued to detain accused journalists and critical citizens on weekends without investigation.

Sierra Leone mourns popular female journalist

By Kemo Cham

Sierra Leonean journalists are mourning the death of one of the country’s best known female journalists.

Manja Parkinson, better known as Manja Balema Samba, died on Sunday, according to sources.

She was Deputy Station Manager of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation in the southern city of Bo.

In a statement attributed to the management of SLBC and distributed via social media, the Corporation said Mrs Parkinson had for the past few months gone unusually slow with seldom TV appearances. It said she felt embattled by ill health but showed no signs of succombing anytime soon.

“Manjia’s distinctive voice, sense of humour and hard work are reasons why her memory shall never be extinguished from our minds,” the statement said.

Manjia joined the former Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service in 1999. She would later join the United Nations Radio in 2004 and became part of the SLBC when both entities (UN Radio and SLBS) were merged.

Manjia is fairly traveled both within and outside the country, including Europe and the US. She was one of the African journalists who covered the 2012 US Presidential Elections.

CNN African journalist award shortlist revealed

By Kemo Cham

The CNN African Journalist award list has been revealed.

A statement unveiled last week by the organizers indicates that South Africans and Nigerians continue their dominance over the coveted yearly contest organized by the US-based television network, CNN and the South Africa-based Multi Choice company.

The competition honors the best the journalism profession on the continent.

The independent panel of judges worked through about 1600 entries submitted for the 2016 edition from 38 countries.

South Africa and Nigeria has each seven names in the shortlist that also include journalists from Ghana, Mozambiqu, and Kenya.

The organizers say the award is aimed at encouraging excellence in journalism while rewarding the hard working members of the profession.

Nigerian journalist wins BBC World News Komla Dumor award

By Kemo Cham

The BBC last Tuesday named Nigerian broadcaster Didi Akinyelure as winner of its coveted Komla Dumor Award.

The BBC World News Komla Dumor Award was set up in honored of respected Ghanaian journalist Komla Dumor who worked for the BBC until his sudden death in 2014 due to heart attack.

Ms Akinyelure is described as a prime-time news anchor in Nigeria and presenter of business news for the CNBC.

Ms Akinyelure will start a three-month placement at the BBC in London in September.

Agenda 2063: The Media’s role

By Kemo Cham

The media has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the African Union realizes its mega development plan contained in Agenda 2063, outgoing AU Commission chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said over the week end.

Mrs Zuma challenged the African media to hold governments accountable by reporting on the implementation of the project which seeks to fulfill Africa’s longstanding dream of integration. She told a session with the African Editors Forum as part of the 27^th Summit of AU Heads of States in Kigali, Rwanda, that the media can and should give voice to the powerless, bring to the forefront the problems faced by citizens, disseminate warnings about disasters and report on whether government lived up to its policies.

Zuma also said this would require that the media should be credible, responsible and responsive.

The Interview: Media regulator boss talks on Sierra Leone media

Ambassador Alieu Ibrahim Kanu was appointed chairman of the Independent Media Commission of Sierra Leone at the end of 2015. His appointment by President Ernest Bai Koroma only turned out to worsen an already thorny relationship between the media regulator and the independent media which feels the Commission is not operating the way it’s meant to be and blames political interference.

To many within the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) in particular, Kanu’s appointment is a typical demonstration of the existence of political interference in the Commission. He was appointed by the President in violation of the Act that created it, says SLAJ. But Kanu thinks the umbrella journalist body got it all wrong.

These and a horde of other issues in the media industry are what the IMC chairman spoke about in this interview Kemo Cham. He spoke about his plans to improve on professionalism, the Commission’s relations with journalists under his watch, and what seems to be the IMC’s biggest problem, David Tam-Baryoh and his Monologue programme, and a lot more.

The interview was transcribed by Mabinty Kamara.

Please read on.

Politico: Please briefly tell us about your role as chairman of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), vis-a-vis decision making arrangement.

Kanu: The commission as you know was set up in 2000 to regulate the media landscape of Sierra Leone. And me as chairman of the commission, my main role is to provide leadership and policy directions for the IMC.

SLAJ “misdirected” grievance – IMC Chair

By Kemo Cham

The Chairman of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Alieu Kanu, has said the leadership of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) misdirected its dissatisfaction over disagreement on his appointment.

Kanu said SLAJ treated the Commission unfairly and unjustly by displaying a halfhearted attitude towards it following his assumption of office.

IMC is the regulator of the media in the country. It was created by an Act of parliament in 2000 and, among others, it functions as an alternative to the courts system so that it will be the first line of reference in case anyone has a complaint regarding media publications or broadcast.

A lawyer by profession, Kanu assumed office at the Commission under controversial circumstances early last year. SLAJ objected to his appointment by President Ernest Bai Koroma due to disagreement in the procedure followed by the government.

Kanu told Politico in an interview due to be published next week that he understood why the leadership of the umbrella journalist body felt that way but he thought they should have directed their dissatisfaction towards those who appointed him. He said believed he’d done his best to cooperate and work with journalists within the last over 12 months and described his experience as mixed.

“The only bitter experience I have got initially when we came… is that we did not find the leadership of journalists supportive and cooperative and  they ascribed their luckworm towards the IMC as a result of the way the commissioners were appointed,” he said.

Media: Kurt Schork Awards shortlist is out

By Kemo Cham

This award by the Thompson Reuters Foundation has a lot to do with Sierra Leone yet very little, if anything, is known about it here.

First launched in 2002, it was established in honor of American freelance journalist Kurt Schork, who was killed that year while on assignment for Reuters in Sierra Leone.

The awards, which come in two parts, and are unique to the print media, recognise the work of reporters who seek to illuminate the human condition through courageous reporting of conflict, corruption, human rights transgressions and other fundamental issues of the day.

The local reporter category recognises the often over-looked work of journalists in developing nations or countries in transition who write about events in their homeland. The second category is for freelance journalists who travel to the world’s conflict zones, usually at great personal risk, to witness and report the impact and consequences of events.

Such works can encompass war reporting, human rights issues, cross-border troubles, corruption or other controversial matters impacting on people’s lives. Judges look for professionalism, high journalistic standards, and evidence of dedication and courage in obtaining the story.

Liberian government shuts down “critical” radio

By Kemo Cham

Journalists and media rights campaigners have condemned the closure of a radio station by Liberian authorities.

The Monrovia-based Voice FM, considered as critical of the government, was ordered shut down last week Monday by the Justice Ministry through the Civil Law Court in Monrovia, on the request of the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA).

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement called on the Liberian government to reverse the decision.

LTA, which issues radio frequencies and regulates the media in Liberia, claimed that the station failed to register correctly.

The Civil Law Court also ordered owners of the station to appear later this month for a “declaratory judgment.”

New SLAJ executive orientated

By Kemo Cham

The newly elected executive of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists is determined to avoid the pitfalls of its predecessor.

Members of the executive last week convened a one-day orientation session designed to ensure individual executive members were acquainted with their roles and responsibilities. The move was also meant to foster cohesion among executive members so that they work together without ill-feeling fanned by lack of collaboration.

The orientation session was partly a fulfillment of SLAJ president Kelvin Lewis’ pledge to ensure he avoided the infighting that plagued his last administration.

There were reports that executive members did not see eye to eye in the last executive.

18 journalists shortlisted for US embassy fellowship

By Kemo Cham

The US embassy in Freetown last week unveiled a shortlist of 18 journalists as part of a new media fellowship programme announced last month.

The shortlisted journalists were each given the equivalent of US$400 during a brief orientation ceremony at the embassy’s complex at Hill Station on Thursday. The journalists were drawn from both print and the electronic media.

Four members of the editorial team of Politico are among those whose pitches were selected by a special panel of judges appointed by the embassy. Other shortlisted candidates come from Awoko newspaper, the Standard Times, Star Radio, CTN, Sky Radio, Blade newspaper, among others.

Airtel boss assures new owners will honour media awards

By Kemo Cham

Despite the imminent change in ownership of the telco Airtel, all its current agreements will be honored by the new owners, Managing Director of Airtel Sierra Leone, Oladapo Olusope, has said.

He was speaking at the presentation of cheques to journalists who won awards as part of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ) Media Awards competition.

Eight journalists in all won in various categories in the 2015/2016 SLAJ/Airtel Annual Media Awards. They were presented their cheques at a ceremony held at the Association’s Headquarters in Freetown recently. The awardees had been revealed at the awards dinner held in Bo early this month. It’s sponsored by Airtel Sierra Leone, which is one of three subsidiaries of the India-based conglomerate Bharti Airtel sold earlier this year to the French telecom giant Orange.

After the Bo SLAJ triennial

By Kemo Cham

At the end Kelvin Lewis emerged winner of the weekend’s much anticipated Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) presidential race.

The process leading to the elections day on Saturday June 4 had indeed been bruising on the image of the association. The campaigns occasionally assumed an ugly shape and most of the people I had time to talk to had issues mostly with how the supporters’ of Stanley Bangura, Kelvin’s only challenger, carried themselves.

It must however be said that not all of Stanley’s supporters were engaged in the abusive banter. In fact only a fraction of them was. But, obviously, the impact of their actions on his dream to head the association has been far-reaching. I wonder though if Stanley himself sees things this way.

Face-off, Sierra Leone journalists vote

By Kemo Cham

Next week members of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) will gather in Bo, southern Sierra Leone, as part of its Triennial General Meeting. Based on a rotational policy, the last elective congress was held in Kenema, in the east. Before then it was Makeni, north of the country.

This event will be unique for many reasons, but most importantly because the association is set to elect a new leadership, yet again, after three years. The elections are coming at a time when the umbrella journalist body is faced with hordes of issues. The well publicized internal friction at the executive committee has clearly made it difficult for the leadership to pay full attention to its responsibilities.

Incumbent President Kelvin Lewis is going for his second and final term of another three years. He is being challenged by his vice president, Stanley Bangura Jnr.

That the two men are facing each other somehow indicates the level of division within. And that both didn’t mince their words on the issues that set them apart is even more concerning.

Interview: Why Kelvin Lewis for SLAJ President

Sierra Leone journalists vote on 3 June this year for a new executive. Two people are running for presidentK- incumbent Kelvin Lewis and his Vice President Stanley Bangura. Kemo Cham talked to the two presidential contenders who spoke about their plans for the next three years, if elected. They also responded to accusations and made counter-accusations. Here is Mr Lewis: 

Politico:  You have been at the helm of affairs at SLAJ for the last three year. How much of your pre-election plans would you say you have fulfilled? What are these?

Kelvin: I would say l have fulfilled practically all of them. My first task was to bring unity because l inherited an association which seems to be falling apart because of election disagreements and some people had gone and were not associating themselves anymore. So as I went around the country. A lot of people said ‘you are talking about unity can you bring back two people – David Tam Bayoh and Philip Neville, so [that] they can participate in the activities of the association?’

That I have achieved. If anybody was at the world press freedom day, you will see that David Tam Bayoh was one of the participants and of course Philip Neville

Interview: Why Stanley Bangura for SLAJ President

Sierra Leone journalists vote on 3 June this year for a new executive. Two people are running for presidentK- incumbent Kelvin Lewis and his Vice President Stanley Bangura. Kemo Cham talked to the two presidential contenders who spoke about their plans for the next three years, if elected. They also responded to accusations and made counter-accusations. Here is Mr Bangura: 

Politico: Why are you running for president of SLAJ?

Stanley: My decision to run for the presidency is informed by so many things; first among them is the fact that SLAJ needs leadership that can uphold the constitution.

As it is, if you read Article 15 of our constitution, which talks about regional branches; that section talks about the autonomy of the regions, which requires the region to run independently, mobilize their resources, expend them and contribute or pay 25% of whatever they collect from the regions. But what we are seeing now is an attempt to micro-manage the regions. And having served as regional chairman for two consecutive terms, we had a situation where the regions ran themselves and only account during annual general meetings. And now the president is saying all monies should be paid into one account, which implies that if the region needs a chalk they would have to write the headquarters in Freetown for it.

Sierra Leone Govt warns foreign journalists

Mohamed Bangura, Minister of Information and Communication

The Sierra Leone government has announced a new policy aimed at regulating the operation of foreign media practitioners in the country.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said Tuesday henceforth all foreign media practitioners must obtain an accreditation to engage in any work in the country. Information Minister Mohamed Bangura said the move is meant to protect both the image of the country and the visiting media practitioners.

A statement signed by his deputy, Cornelius Deveaux, said the ministry had realized that foreign media practitioners came into the country “under the gist” of carrying out professional journalistic activities without going through the proper channels. It added that these foreign media practitioners, aided by local journalists, go around the place filming and taking pictures of slums and other unpleasant areas without talking to the authorities.

“At the end of the day they produce reports that paint a negative picture of the country, its people and the government, at a time when all efforts are being made to rebrand the country,” the statement reads.

Journalists and other media practitioners wanting to visit Sierra Leone will now be required to first write a letter to the Information Ministry explaining the intent and purpose of their assignment in the country, and accompany such a letter with a photocopy of their passport and two passport-sized photos.

The statement also ordered all foreign media practitioners currently in the country to report to the Deputy Minister within the next 48 hours of the announcement of this message.