The 2018 end of year presidential cocktail for the media was fantastic. Yes it was. There was a massive turnout of journalists from across the country with some unusually frank speeches, with important announcements and nice music from the Ballanta Dance Band.
For those of us who have spent the best part of our adult life in journalism, we looked like strangers among the many young minds who joined the profession in the last decade. The President, Vice President, the First Lady and staff of State House Communications Unit mixed freely, photos taken, business cards exchanged in addition to the broad smiles, all in the Christmas mood. Right?
The event was the first ever presidential cocktail for the media. I wasn’t in this business under Siaka Stevens and JS Momoh but Aljahi Kabbah had too much to do throughout his tenure to care about media cocktails. And certainly, Koroma did not have a lot of official face-to-face meetings with the media.
In fact, his Advisory Note Number 8 prepared by one of his advisers at the time, IB Kargbo called for regular meetings with the media but such was largely ignored after one such event following Koroma’s return from a meeting in China.
JM Bio says this cocktail will now be an annual affair. We’ll see.
Once again JM Bio has committed his Government to the repeal of the obnoxious Criminal and Seditious Libel provisions in the Public Order Act of 1965. He says his Government is one that says and does things. So the repeal would take place “within the shortest possible time”. Ordinarily this should be enough for the media to celebrate. But just before he spoke at the cocktail, the President of SLAJ, Kelvin Lewis told the gathering about the same REPEAL promise saying “we don’t want another 10 years of promises.” This was indeed an open reference to the last Government of EB Koroma.
When Ernest Bai Koroma announced his Turn Around Agenda going into the 2007 elections many Sierra Leoneans were prepared to give him a chance. The document looked impressive with ideas that were not exactly new or transformative but Koroma was a new broom promising to sweep the country clean of corruption and opening up the space for all Sierra Leoneans to play their part in moving the post-war country forward.
Koroma’s message of change resonated across the country.
By this time the Government of Alhaji Tejan Kabbah looked exhausted and bereft of ideas of even how to trumpet their own achievements including ending the war and restoring vital democratic institutions between 2000 and 2005. Many of those institutions were targeted at guaranteeing civil liberties and demystifying politics.
One of those manifesto commitments that suggested this was no deja-vu was Koroma’s promise to “use the mass media to serve as a medium to educate the public on State matters and how these matters impinge on their daily lives, be committed to greater freedom, and democracy and we would enhance the role of a free, unfettered and responsible press”.
He said he would achieve that by “reviewing the 1965 Public Order Act, assisting the fourth estate in building itself up in terms of capacity, professionalism and ensure its independence, improving public trust, confidence and interest through information sharing. Whilst in office the bottlenecks and obstacles that stifle this free flow will be removed”.
By the end of his 10th year in office, I am sure Koroma looked back at these lines quoted above from his manifesto of 2007 and hoped nobody called his attention to them in his retirement. Those repressive sections of the 1965 Public Order Act are still in place.
His best opportunity to kill this anachronistic colonial relic came via suggested constitutional provisions contained in chapter 12 of his own Constitutional Review Committee report. He rejected that without a wink in his government’s white paper on that report. A month or so before the release of that White Paper, his Attorney General travelled to Bo and addressed a SLAJ congress. He left the meeting with many journalists openly satisfied that at last Criminal and Seditious libel would be gone long time ago from our law books.
The media enjoyed a reasonable degree of Freedom but the Government was never shy to arrest, detain and prosecute any journalist who shaved too close to Koroma’s skin. I have a list of such cases including the famous ones of the Observer newspaper Editor, Jonathan Leigh and broadcaster David Tam-Baryoh, a friend of Koroma who dared asked critical questions about the deal to buy public service buses from China and speculate about the management of funds to fight the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease which killed thousands of Sierra Leoneans. The entire editorial board of Politico newspaper was dragged before a Court Martial trying fourteen (14) soldiers accused of mutiny.
Their sin was publishing an editorial raising questions about the pace of the trial which had lasted more than two years with the officers locked up at Pademba road maximum security jail. They mentioned the case of a soldier who lost his wife while in jail and had his request to physically bury her denied to bring the plight of those soldiers to light. Despite the best efforts of their brilliant lawyer, Roland Wright, in a heated courtroom battle with a state prosecutor, the young lady who wrote the article was jailed.
The rest were told to go home and sin no more. The government quickly pulled back under local and international pressure and released Phedalia Allie after 24 hours. A few weeks later all the soldiers were cleared. If journalists are too scared to raise such issues to force the authorities to respect the rights of their own citizens, why are they in the business then?
Koroma’s government also scrapped the Kabbah era budgetary allocations for the running of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists. It happened under the watch of I B Kargbo a former SLAJ President while he was the Minister of Information. Nobody in SLAJ believed that was possible. Koroma encouraged a kind of divide and rule in the media. In essence, the trick worked because he enjoyed the longest honeymoon with the media compared to any other political leader in the world.
So here we are now into President JM Bio’s New Direction and we are dealing with the same issues. We have another manifesto commitment that is wide ranging and stronger than that of 2007. Bio says he will REPEAL not REVIEW the criminal and seditious libel provisions in the 1965 Public Order Act, restore budgetary allocations to SLAJ and rebuild the State broadcaster. The President wants the country to believe he can deliver on these promises. There is nothing wrong about believing in something. Bio won the presidency because he believed. Scratch the surface a bit and you will find out that even some of his closest friends then and now did not believe that much.
People close to several rounds of negotiations between this Government and the leadership of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists told me that substantial progress has been made toward the repeal of part five of the Public Order Act of 1965. But as we have just celebrated the first anniversary of the new Government, it is very important to acknowledge that effort and also to state that “substantial progress” is definitely not the final thing. I also know from speaking to those sources that there has been a lull in completing the documentation and bringing the issue to the cabinet table. So discussions are still at a point where anything could go wrong and push the repeal effort back to where it started. JM Bio says it will be done “within the shortest possible time.” We’ll see.
I was part of last minute efforts by at least two Ministers in the last Government to get the Koroma cabinet to discuss and approve the same repeal proposals. After one of the last meetings I attended along President Kelvin Lewis and a few other colleagues, a Minister told me as we left the room that he wasn’t sure there was enough support in cabinet to get the proposals through. I didn’t say this to the colleagues who attended that meeting at the time. I went home regretting I attended the meeting at all.
So the New Direction was quick out of the blocks with this issue but as they say, it is not over until it is over.
For the first time in history an accreditation system is being worked out for the whole media to have access to the presidency. This has always been the exclusive preserve of the state media. In my days in the newsroom of the SLBS, I constantly had to deal with requests from colleagues in the private media to come over to our office to get copies of government statements and other news materials relating to State House. Social media was an elaborate dream. State House Communications Unit is doing a great job by attempting to release news stories about the work of the President in a timely manner. Their website is also being updated regularly. That’s fine.
The truth however is that most media organizations would prefer to have their own reporters covering the presidency and reporting according to their own house style. This will save the time it now takes for some media houses to change angles and points of emphasis in news items released by SHCU. No matter how well written they may be. Why the State House corps is still not operational at the end of the first quarter of 2019 is something I find hard to understand.
In 2019, the promised subvention to SLAJ should come through. When the money was first given to the organization by the Government of Alhaji Tejan Kabbah there were complaints in certain quarters of SLAJ that it was a bribe targeted at bringing the media under the control of the Government. I was among those who disagreed with this position for the following reasons: firstly, SLAJ has no control over the editorial policy of any media organization and has largely refrained from undertaking any serious peer review drive on the daily news output of their member organizations.
Secondly, state subsidy to the independent media is not strange. It is widely practiced throughout Francophone West Africa, a region which has some of the most developed, powerful and critical newspapers in the continent. Thirdly, the money actually goes to SLAJ to fund the running of the Secretariat like paying the yearly rent, staff salaries and basic office supplies. So the benefit to individual SLAJ members is indirect and cannot influence editorials.
In the New Direction so far, some sections of the media have still not left their partisan trenches. In fact they are reinforcing their positions. The point is, it is in the interest of the opposition to keep pushing and in typical Sierra Leone style everything is politicized with a barrage of fake news.
The media machinery that helped bring JM Bio to power must quickly discover that this is time to govern. So while it may gratify the base to continue kicking the defeated APC, they may have very little time left to engage the rest of the population on the real issues facing the country and for which the people threw the APC out.
Many journalists in the so-called traditional media are covering the new Parliament having members from four political parties and some independents and a completely changed political landscape in the same way they covered the Koroma years. For them small parties and independents are completely missing in action. Reporting is still around Green and Red. How wrong!

This year’s theme for World Press Freedom Day is, “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in times of Disinformation.” The World Press Freedom Day is annually observed on May 3 to inform the international community of nations that Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression are fundamental Human Rights.
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General conference.
Since then May 3, the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day It is an opportunity to:
* Celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;
* Assess the state of the press throughout the world;
* Defend the media from attacks on their independence;
* And to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Plethora of journalists have been arrested and detained unlawfully and at some point killed for reporting on issues of public interest and social injustice. Reporting on crimes, politics and corruption should no longer be a matter of life and death as it is evident in Sierra Leone and some other parts of the world. The media play a crucial role in covering the devastating effects of maladministration and provide citizens with germane information that enable them to stand up against those vices in society.
An independent and free media is a solid cornerstone for democracy, a vital pillar of national integration and consolidate democratic good governance. It is a public watchdog on the abuse of power by politicians, surreptitious dealings and corruption. Therefore, to unearth these vices in our society and body politics, the press should be free from draconian and obsolete colonial leftover laws that impede its fundamental functions of informing, educating and entertaining, as espoused by the French philosopher Louis Althusser.
Press freedom is a fundamental Human Right that is recognized and protected in Sierra Leone and beyond. It is the democratic and constitutional right of the media to hold the government and it officials accountable to the citizens. In that vein, the mass media is expected to function independently without external censorship and any kind of unlawful imposition of a legislation that runs contrary with the spirit of the National Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No.6 of 1991.
This year’s theme is explicitly coined for media and non-media practitioners to know that, the mass media is a tool that promote and enhance a functioning and sustainable democracy. The mass media in Sierra Leone have tried to promote democratic tenets in Sierra Leone. It is crystal clear during the March 2018 general elections; the media played outstanding role in ensuring we have a free, fair and transparent elections. They have a responsibility to report political happenings; but they should not misinform citizens because that will render them to make shortsighted and sentimental decisions.
Journalism is a sacred profession like any other profession you can think of. Because you can read and write do not guarantee you a place in the profession, if you do not abreast yourself with it ethical principles. People should stop seeing Journalism as a waiting ground for greener pastures job, rather they should see it as life ending career. The world has journeyed to the information and communication era that is characterized by massive development in technology and the unending quest to know. In that backdrop, professional journalists should take the front seat.
If this profession is left in the hands of quack journalists who lack the passion and desire to report daily happenings then the world is heading for doom. May 3 is marked for the brave souls of those dedicated and altruistic journalists for them to continue to rest in jollification. Let us celebrate and remind our current soldiers in the news business that they have done well but a lot is left to be done. Part 5 of the Public Order Act No.46 of 1965 should be repealed as promised. Politicians should not have a shade to lean on. Journalists should continue to report responsibly as expected.

In his statement marking 2019 World Press Freedom Day, the President of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Kelvin Lewis stated that the global theme for the World Press Freedom Day 2019 as prescribed by UNESCO the foremost UN institution for promoting free expression is “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation” is timely.
He added however that in Sierra Leone, the most pressing issue is the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law, which is largely being resisted because of criticisms on the quality of journalism in the country.
He added that even in church, pastors preach about the truth and that the Holy Bible says in John chapter 8 verse 32 that: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
The SLAJ President maintained that there are numerous cases negatively affecting journalists. He highlighted cases like the case of David Tam-Baryoh during the Ebola emergency; the case of David Tam Baryoh and Transport Minister Balogun Koroma; Jonathan Leigh and Momoh Konte; Jonathan Leigh and former Information Minister Alpha Khan, and many more as instances that demonstrate the fact that journalists in Sierra Leone have a bad deal with the Government.
On his own part, the Chairman, Independent Media Commission (IMC), George .S. Khoryama said that as far as the IMC is concerned, World Press Freedom Day is a moment of retrospection of how much the media has achieved in its role in terms of providing the public not only information for the sake of information, but equally so an impartial, objective and meaningful information that could trigger sustainable national development, unity and patriotism.
He added that ‘it is a day for us as media practitioners to ask ourselves whether we have fulfilled the sacred obligation of professionalism in terms of balanced and accurate reporting, fairness, excellence and above all satisfying our consciences that indeed we are good journalists.’
He went on to say that: ‘the Criminal Libel Law continues to roar from the pages of our national constitution and from the law courts in this country and could be portrayed to that of the sword of Damocles that is hanging over journalists.’
He further said that the Criminal Libel Law should be removed from the books of law in this country when it no longer exists in law books of the very colonialists who had introduced it here in the first place. He said: ‘This is a historical misfortune and it should be removed.’
He added that a free press and freedom of expression must work not allow people in authority to wrap themselves up in “reason of state” or “national security” in order to muzzle the wholesome functioning of the free press.
He maintained that the right to free press and to freedom of expression is guaranteed under almost all international conventions including international law and human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the European Convention on Human Rights, the American Convention of Human Rights of 1969 and the African Charter on Human Rights and People’s Rights of 1987.

On Friday 3rd May 2019, during a ceremony held at the Office of the First Lady, the Founder, Chairman and President of World Peace and Diplomacy Organization, Dr. G. B. Singh, officially awarded the organization’s highest and most prestigious award: ‘The World Peace Ambassador’, to the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Mrs. Fatima Bio, in recognition of her relentless work in bridging the gap created by social, racial and gender discrimination in Sierra Leone and the world at large.
Speaking on the importance of the award, Dr. G. B. Singh said that the award is presented to the First Lady on nomination and recommendations of the Board of Trustees of the organization. According to him, there are different categories of awards given to various individuals across the globe, which includes an award for Youth Ambassador for Peace among others.
But this award, he added, has only been given to four (4) individuals in Africa, with Sierra Leone’s First Lady being the latest recipient.
Receiving the award, First Lady, Fatima Bio expressed her appreciation for being considered for such a prestigious award. She went on to say that she is humbled and proud to be a recipient of such an award.
However, she maintained that her work is not motivated by the desire for publicity; but rather she has been doing similar things prior to her assuming her current position. She further disclosed that while she does not crave for publicity; her present disposition dictates otherwise and that she could not help but carry on her job.
“What I do, I do selflessly and not for publicity…,” she stressed. She also expressed her appreciation to the organization for considering Sierra Leone, adding that it is gratifying to know that there are people out there who follow her on her work inside and outside of the country.
She assured the Founder and President that she will not relent and will continue to do the work she is doing for humanity and for Sierra Leone. She expressed her satisfaction for having the space to continue her work; adding that her platform has been enlarged by the opportunity given to her by her husband.
World Peace and Diplomacy Organization was formed in 2011 by its founder Dr. G. B. Singh and is geared towards encouraging individuals and institutions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Whilst recognizing that it could not preach peace and advocate for all the other issues in the SDG, it has therefore embarked on making Ambassadors who will carry on the message and the good work to meet these goals by 2030.
The ceremony was climaxed by the adorning of the First Lady with a shawl around her neck and a gold medal award of ‘World Peace Ambassador’. A question and answer session formed part of the closing ceremonies.

The Editor of Sierra Express Media, Ibrahim Alusine Kamara, and four other journalists including the Executive Editor of Standard Times and CEO of Star TV, Philip Neville, General Editor, Mustapha Sesay, Copy Editor, Clifford Kabia of Standard Times Newspaper and Managing Editor of Future Newspaper, Moisa Keikura, will today, Monday, May 6th, 2019, appear at the Pademba Road Magistrate Court for alleged defamatory publications made against one Gabriel Tommy, the head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
According to the Statement of Offence as stated in the criminal summon, the above journalists on diverse dates conspired with other persons unknown to injure by wrongful acts otherwise than by fraud contrary to law, knowingly published defamatory libel contrary to section 26 of the Public Order Act No. 46 of 1965, defamatory libel contrary to section 27 of the Public Order Act no. 46 of 1965 among others charges.
One of the Particulars of Offence states that Moisa Keikura and Ibrahim Alusine Kamara on the 16th of April, 2019 in Volume 8 No. 59 of the Future Newspaper maliciously published a defamatory matter against complainant in written words to wit: ‘’ In US$ 500, 000 Theft Fraud Case… CID BOSS ALLEGEDLY COMPROMISED’’.
Below is the alleged defamatory article which was first published by Sierra Express Media and later published on Future Newspaper for which a court action has been taken by complainant:
‘’In US$ 500,000Theft & Passport Fraud Cases…
CID BOSS ALLEGEDLY COMPROMISED
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara
The head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Sierra Leone, Supt. Gabriel Tommy, is accused of being compromised by one Randa Skeiky, a suspect in a US$ 500,000 theft and Passport Fraud cases which the CID has been investigating for the past seven months.
The theft case, according to investigation mounted by this medium, was reported to the CID Boss in early September, 2018 by the complainant, Alie Abess, but till date, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has done little or nothing to give justice to whom it dues.
Our investigations further reveal that Gabriel Tommy on the 13th of September, 2018, allegedly authorized the escape of the accused (Randa Skeiky) from the country after the complainant had informed him that she was at the airport trying to flee the country.
Reports state that a search was conducted on the accused and about seventeen thousand dollars, three thousand pounds and a ring made with gold and diamond worth over ten to fifteen thousand dollars were discovered but Police files at the Lungi International Airport only recorded the sums of five thousand dollars, two thousand pounds and the ring respectively.
The CID Boss, rather than acting on the complainant’s allegation, which already had gained some significant grounds as a result of the discoveries made during the police search on the suspect by preventing her from leaving the country, instead gave instructions to the police at the Lungi Airport to allow her leave.
His decision to allow the suspect to leave even after the said seventeen thousand dollars and three thousand pounds discoveries were made during the search carried out on the suspect; an amount which by law, is not permitted to travel with, has now raised serious eyebrows from members of the public who now see such the CID Boss’ action as one driven by ulterior motive.
Upon the accused’s return, our investigation revealed , the CID Boss was informed by the complainant for action to be taken but he gave deaf ears to the information on the excuse that there was no airport manifest to substantiate the coming of the accused in the country. The complainant, our investigation further revealed, had to go all out to get the airport and airline manifests just so that the CID would take action.
When the accused was finally arrested, investigation furthered, the CID Boss on three separate occasions, released her unconditionally. As this medium puts this piece together, the accused, Randa Skeiky, is walking free on the streets of the country galvanizing support from political authorities to protect her from facing justice for her crime.
This medium also learnt that because the suspect was allowed to travel out of the country, she was able to galvanize enough support which she had used in coming up with a fabricated audio recording purported to have been sent to her by the complainant.
The CID Boss, instead of investigating the authenticity of the audio recording, as professionalism demands, has taken it as truth hook, line and sinker which he is now using as a yardstick to deny justice to whom it rightfully belongs.
It was further understood that even the passport fraud case was only picked up when the matter was sent for advice.
Many Sierra Leoneans are now questioning the integrity and proffesionalism of the CID Boss, who many believe, is now doing everything possible to protect the suspect from facing justice for her crimes.
When this medium contacted Gabriel Tommy for his response to the above allegations, he sent the following message: ‘’Thanks IB, but no comment. Abess is exposed to several remedies to address his grievance: the ACC, Ombudsman, CDIID, Human Rights, IPCB, The courts, Legal Aid etc. etc. However, in case he did not know, you can advise him, thanks. ‘’
With such response coming from him, many citizens now believe that the CID Boss has being compromised.

The Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Commission for Social Action on May 3rd at the NACSA head office on Charlotte Street in Freetown to effectively collaborate in the implementation of the Social Safety Net project. The ACC is particularly in charge of the grievance mechanism and within the shortest time, resources have been made available to members of the public by NACSA and the ACC’s role is to make sure that there is transparency and accountability. The ACC will look into the grievances that may come up within communities.
The Commissioner of NACSA, Abubakar Kokofele clearly said that the MOU is about the Social Safety Net that they have been implementing jointly with the ACC since 2014. Prior to now, the implementation of this project had started long ago between the same two parties but had not got a clear MOU signed and as a result, no good product had been yielded. This MOU will clearly show the roles and duties of both parties so that it can get increase quality of services.
The roles of NACSA in the MOU as outlined by Mr. Kokofele are to receive funding from sponsors and to implement the project which will be done by an independent, reliable body and it is going to be done by the ACC. They are also going to hire the services of other institutions like banks and Statistics Sierra Leone to help facilitate the project to better the lives of Sierra Leoneans. “We are also going to incorporate the community stakeholders so that we can get a first experience,” Commissioner Kokofele added. NACSA is very much equal to this task and they have received additional funding of 30 million dollars.
According to the ACC boss, most of the communities are so far away from the central where the distributions are going to be done and they want to make sure this project is successful and the issues that arise out of them are dealt with. The MOU clearly distinguishes the issues, the roles and the equal partnership relationship between the ACC and NACSA and both parties are happy it’s now in black and white. They now know the roles and duties of both parties without interference.
The MOU contains several issues like financial provision as to how the ACC receives support from NACSA, financial management provision as to how to manage the resources, procurement and also the budget approval systems. The MOU also defines the relationship between the two parties in terms of reporting the outcomes of everything. The ACC boss also emphasized that this project is being supported by World Bank highlighting how the MOU is very timely enough to improve the lives of the most deprived communities in the rural parts of the country.

Former child soldier turned humanitarian; Ishmael Alfred Charles has come out strongly to commend the Rokel Commercial Bank over the bank’s decision to support his humanitarian work.

“Rokel had now given us the opportunity to install our donation boxes in all their branches across the country and we are very thankful. It is only people with compassionate hearts can act so promptly without protocols to help save the lives of sick and needy children,” said Ishmael Alfred Charles, a popular child health advocate who is the Programme Manager of Healy Foundation.

Charles, who has gained both national and international recognition for his remarkable successes in mobilizing resources for children indeed of specialist medical care abroad described the Rokel Commercial Bank as a “True Compassionate Sierra Leonean Bank” which has, unlike other financial institutions not ignored his request for financial assistance or other forms of collaboration for helping children with life threatening ailments like the famous Baby Marian and Baby Mariama who were both flown to India for emergency surgeries.

Charles said another thing that touched him most was the humility of the Managing Director, Dr. Walton Gilpin, whom he said was always available to see them amidst his very busy schedules. According to the young humanitarian it is not the case with some heads of financial institutions in the country.

“It is but worthy to deal with a bank that is compassionate for they will not only take care of your resources but care for the wellbeing if need be. So, bank with Rokel,” he maintained.

The revolutionary mobile application – the Rokel Simkorpor is breaking new grounds and changing lives by taking real time banking to the door steps of customers. Government workers in some remote parts of the country like Bonthe Island are now assured of receiving their monthly salaries without having to spend a huge chunk of their salaries on transport fares to access banking services in distant towns or cities. The Bank is set to launch its new customized Simkorpr kiosks at strategic locations across the country.
The Bank has considerably improved customer service, strengthened its corporate social responsibility, improved training opportunities for staff and is upgrading the IT infrastructure.

A concerned constitutionalist, with regards the many complaints made against the Minister of Lands, Dr. Denis Sandy has stated that the fundamental role of any Government is the protection and promotion of the rights and liberties of its citizens, foremost amongst these is the right to own property.
For example, one Madam Yvette Auber Shears is an aggrieved Sierra Leonean who firmly believes that the Minister of Lands behaved outside the scope of the law and outside the remit of his powers of a Minister in taking armed security personnel to take over land for which she says she has documents showing ownership inherited from her parents.
What irks Madam Auber most is that Dr. Sandy woefully failed to ask the family to show evidence of their ownership of the said parcel of land before expropriating it to the State.
This and many other complaints have come from the Krios who dwell in the Western Area about Dr. Sandy setting aside ancient ownership rights with utter impunity.
The point being made is that His Excellency, President Bio, should be fully aware that the most prized possession that anybody can hand over to his or her children is land, especially one on which a house or houses stand.
If Dr. Sandy is, allegedly, without recourse to legality is going about dispossessing people of their lands, that is breeding ground for discontent against the President and his party by an influential section of the populace that has political implications when it comes to elections.
As such, it is high time that President Bio opens his ears to the complaints from the Krios that Dr. Sandy is infringing on their rights to own inherited lands, considering that unlike the provincials, they are highly educated with amongst them intellectuals that are lawyers, etc.
Land ownership runs down the line from generation to generation, except abrogated through sale or legal forfeiture to the State for public use, etc.
For example, through inheritance, the Queen of England and her family are the largest landowners in the city of London inherited from their ancestors.
In which light, whilst nobody quarrels with Dr. Sandy over his right to protect and where evidence is available, retrieve State lands, at the same time people have ancient title deeds to lands in the Western Area that date to even as far back as the possession of Freetown as a Crown Colony in 1787 and the return of the captives from Nova Scotia, Jamaica and England after Lord Mansfield declared slavery illegal in British territories.
Both President Bio and Dr. Sandy as Lands Minister are thereby called upon to have a careful rethink about the issue of ownership of land in the Western Area.