By Amin Kef (Ranger)
The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) on the 3rd May, 2023 joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2023.
President of SLAJ, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, dilated on the successes, challenges, and future of Press freedom in respective countries, maintaining how in Sierra Leone, the environment is relatively free, safe, and conducive to being a journalist furthering that there is no journalist that is in detention or in prison for doing his or her work.
The SLAJ President went on to state that to assess the level or degree of Press Freedom in the country, it is but fitting to look at it contextually underscoring how the biggest achievement in terms of legislation in the last three years was the historic repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2020.
He justified that assertion by pointing out that since the repeal there has been a drastic decrease in arbitrary arrests and detention of journalists by the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) for publications that are critical of the Government or high-placed public officials or politicians.
Arguably, he stated that because of the repeal also, Sierra Leone scored progressively in the World Press Freedom Index of 2021 and 2022 moving about 29 places up the world rankings.
He, however, lamented that Sierra Leone dropped 28 places down from 46 in 2022 to 74 in the 2023 global ranking justifying that the drop may have to do with the enactment in the following year of the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021, which many people, including journalists, perceived as taking back most of the freedom gained through the repeal of the criminal libel law.
“This year’s ranking shows a drop in almost all the indicators including security, legislative, and economic,” he further bemoaned.
He maintained that though SLAJ contributed to the passing of the cyber law by submitting a position paper that supported the legislation to promote responsible use of cyberspace and guard against serious virtual crimes like money laundering, illicit financing, terrorism, cyber bullying, etc, however, the Association raised concerns that certain sections in the Act, especially Section 44, have the potential to undermine press freedom and the freedom of expression of ordinary citizens.
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla maintained that since the passing of the Act, there have been several arrests and detentions of citizens and journalists under the law but none of those cases was actually tested by a trial that was concluded adding that SLAJ continues to raise those concerns as the country approaches the June 24 elections.
He revealed that there is also the Civil Defamation Act of 1961 which can be used by aggrieved persons or entities to seek redress in a court of law if they don’t want to complain to the IMC.
“We have raised the concern that the law is not only archaic but also gives a Judge in a civil libel suit immense discretionary powers to determine the fine if a journalist or a media house is guilty of libel,” he pointed out.
According to him, the media in Sierra Leone is largely independent but mostly polarized along the two main political parties- the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the main opposition party All People’s Congress (APC) stating how Politicians are by law not allowed to own media houses but they bankroll many of the media houses and are the actual beneficial owners attributing such mainly to the poverty of the media.
He said majority of the media in Sierra Leone are owned by journalists themselves and they are mostly one-man businesses even though they are registered as companies limited by guarantee with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Naming the lack of financial resources and inadequate management systems, he said, such make it difficult, if not impossible, for sustaining or growing media businesses and thus become vulnerable to politicians and big businesses that have the resources.
In his estimation, there is a worrying trend with many journalists openly identifying with political parties and their top candidates in the hope that when these parties assume power they will be compensated with lucrative appointments.
He said such a trend is undermining independent and public interest journalism which a struggling country like Sierra Leone is in dire need of adding that while SLAJ does not condemn any journalist for supporting a political party, because they have the right to do so, SLAJ will continue to encourage media practitioners to do so with responsibility and professionalism, and to be aware of the great personal risk that comes with that.
He argued that the economic situation of the media is becoming unbearable day by day as prices of raw materials used by the print media especially continue to spike unchecked, and advertising which is the life-blood of the media is hard to come these days as the small private sector continues to shrink.
Nasralla said Media houses are literally struggling to survive maintaining that some have downsized operations and laid off some staff.
He said if not for the sustained advert support from Mercury International, Africell and Orange, and some banks- especially Rokel Commercial Bank and Sierra Leone Commercial Bank- most of the media houses would have closed down.
The SLAJ President said ironically, the Government has always been the biggest advertiser and at the same time the biggest debtor to the media adding that media houses that are pro-government are the ones generally benefitting from Government advertisements.
He touched on the National Media Viability and Investment Conference that was held to promote public interest media and investment in the media in Sierra Leone saying the country Sierra Leone is now a beneficiary of a grant of 100 thousand US dollars from the International Fund for Public Interest Media to set up structures for a local National Fund for Public Interest Media to which the government has pledged to commit counterpart funding.
In the area of the welfare of journalists, salary and conditions of service he said they are still unsatisfactory for most journalists and media workers. He, however, revealed that with the passing of the new IMC Act in 2020 it is now a statutory obligation for media employers to pay their staff above the minimum wage, and their social security contributions. He said SLAJ is continuing to engage with the Sierra Leone Reporters Union to address their welfare concerns.
He said the Social media continues to threaten the existence of legacy media as well as the peace and stability of the country. Nasralla disclosed that assessment studies of the information landscape show that the spread of disinformation, fake news, and hate speech on social media and offline to local communities by word of mouth through influencers and trusted voices is largely responsible for violent incidents in the country in the last two to three years, including the infamous August 10th violent protests that claimed the lives of innocent civilians and police officers.
According to him, in light of the forthcoming public elections, SLAJ has positioned itself to not only play a central role but to also set the agenda for the elections.
He said with support from a number of partners: NDI, NED, Irish Aid, FCDO, EU through IDEA International, UNDP, and the ECSL, SLAJ is doing the following: Training of journalists across the country on conflict and gender-sensitive reporting to ensure journalists help to minimize political tension and promote women politicians during the elections.
He mentioned training of journalists on the Proportional Representation system to enable them sensitize the public and politicians about the new system, combating disinformation, fake news, and hate speech during the elections to ensure citizens have increased access to accurate, credible, and reliable information during the elections, embarking on media literacy to help citizens understand how news is produced in a professional manner and how to consume news in a bid to limit the spread of problematic content and that SLAJ is leading a Committee of 11 Member Organisations – the National Political Debates Committee (NPDC)- to organize the presidential debate for the leading political parties to promote dialogue among candidates and issue-based conversations around the elections.
He revealed that in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day 2023 SLAJ and the MRCG, with the support of the EU, will launch the Media Manifesto 2023 with the theme: ‘The MEDIA WE WANT’ on the 26th of May 2023 saying the leaders of political parties contesting the June 24 elections are expected to commit to the media manifesto as part of their parties’ manifestos.
The President of SLAJ used the opportunity to remember all journalists who have lost their lives and those who are in incarceration in trying to bring information to the public.
APC & SLPP: After Elections, There Is Life
By Amin Kef (Ranger)
Sierra Leone has held regular multiparty elections since the end of its civil war in 2002. However, opposition parties have faced Police violence and restrictions on Assembly.
Civic groups are constrained by onerous regulations and Government corruption remains pervasive. Other long-standing concerns include gender-based violence and female genital mutilation (FGM).
In November, the government of President Julius Maada Bio suspended Auditor General Lara Taylor-Pearce. Taylor-Pearce that year reported that no specific reason for her suspension was given, while civil society groups criticized the Bio administration’s move. Taylor-Pearce till date remains suspended.
Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty in July and President Bio signed the subsequent law banning the practice in October. Some 99 people facing the death penalty as of July that same year reportedly benefited from the change.
The president is elected by popular vote for up to two five-year terms. In the March 2018 presidential election, Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) defeated Samura Kamara of the All People’s Congress (APC) and succeeded his predecessor Ernest Bai Koroma.
Bio won nearly 52 percent of the vote in the second round. Allegations of violence and voter intimidation marred the campaign period. Nevertheless, international observers determined that the election was credible, praising the National Election Commission (NEC) for effectively fulfilling its duties despite budget constraints, logistical challenges, and pressure from the government, which disbursed election funds late and occasionally threatened to withhold resources.
In the unicameral Parliament, 132 members are popularly elected and 14 seats are reserved for indirectly elected paramount chiefs. Parliamentary elections are held every five years, concurrently with presidential elections.
During the 2018 polls, the APC retained its majority, winning 68 seats, while the SLPP increased its share to 49 seats. The remaining 15 seats were won by smaller parties and independents. Despite some procedural errors, international observers considered the elections credible.
In April 2018, APC members of Parliament (MPs) staged a walkout over the SLPP’s efforts to prevent a group of APC lawmakers from attending the body’s first post-electoral session.
In May 2019, the High Court ruled in favor of an SLPP petition alleging APC electoral fraud in the 2018 vote. Ten MPs were removed from office and nine seats were immediately given to SLPP runners-up, giving that party a slender effective majority.
The electoral laws and framework are generally deemed to be fair. NEC commissioners are selected by the president, though the parliament must approve appointments.
European Union electoral observers reported that the NEC was “competent and impartial” in administering the 2018 elections. In November 2021, however, the APC criticized the NEC’s handling of a local contest held in Koinadugu the month before; it alleged that NEC staff engaged in fraud that benefited the SLPP.
During the 2018 campaign period, the major political parties interpreted a constitutional citizenship provision to exclude people with dual citizenship from standing for office. However, a September 2021 Supreme Court ruling declared that dual citizens can vote and seek office.
Although people have the right to organize in different political parties, opposition parties and leaders have faced intimidation and harassment from APC and SLPP governments.
In December 2021, Unity Party chairwoman Femi Claudius-Cole was detained over comments she made regarding the midterm census, though she was released after several days. APC politician Diana Konomanyi was also detained, though she was more quickly released without charge.
The APC and SLPP are the country’s main political parties. Seventeen parties officially registered for the 2018 elections but only four won parliamentary seats. In 2017, several high-profile figures left the SLPP to form the National Grand Coalition.
While candidate nomination fees are subsidized, the costs of running for office and a rule requiring public-sector personnel to resign 12 months ahead of an election serve as barriers to entry for many candidates, giving an advantage to larger parties and those with greater resources.
Be all of that as it may, the two contending parties – SLPP and APC must realize that Sierra Leone is bigger than either of them and that the June 24, 2023 elections must not be a do or die affair because after elections there is life.