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LAC to be Re-Imprisoned & Investigation of Committee Okaying his Release Mounted

By Amin Kef Sesay

Chapter Five of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone  that deals with the Executive branch of the Government confers the power in the President to exercise the Prerogative of Mercy. The President exercises that power twice a year, on New Year and Independence Day and it functions to ameliorate the harshness of sentencing or alleviate miscarriage of justice. Most often an offender may be pardoned or have his sentence commuted.

As enshrined in the constitution, the President may, acting in accordance with the advice of a Committee appointed by Cabinet, over which the Vice President shall preside, grant any person convicted of an offence against the laws of the country a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions.

Against this backdrop, many were taken aback when it was recently learnt that the convicted murderer of onetime popular Disc Jockey, by the name of Sydney Buckle popularly known as DJ Cleff ,Baimba Moiforay (alias LAC) was among prisoners at the Male Correctional Centre on Pa Demba Road in Freetown who were granted the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy on the  1st January 2022.

Baimba Moiforay (alias LAC) was serving a life imprisonment, after conviction and from what was learnt he did not even spend more than five years when he was granted clemency.

Immediately the news breakout, Social Media became awash with a lot of criticisms following LAC’s release. Elder brother of the late Sydney Buckle even approached this medium in a very worried state asking us to propagate the message that with the release of the convicted murderer their family is no longer safe and that Government should do something to guarantee their safety.

There were reports doing the round that upon his release, LAC was all over the place spending money left, right and centre. A Social Media post showed him in a nightclub chilling alongside the notorious musician known as LAJ, who was also recently in conflict with the law. Some were even assuming that LAJ was slowly being lured to become the next victim of LAC’s ritual murder.

His release infuriated many and rights based organizations such as ADvocAid and Purposeful raised their voices against it.

Things took a different twist on the 17th January 2022 when the Government released a Public Notice that His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has revoked the release of LAC and instituted an investigation into the process leading to the granting of pardon to him on the 1st January 2022.

While many have acclaimed this latest move by the Government of Sierra Leone within the realm of trying to mete out justice there is widespread fear that Baimba Moiforay alias LAC may have fled the shores of this country. However, that is yet to be determined. What many are now looking forward to is the outcome of a thorough investigation into how the Committee arrived at the decision to have him pardoned in the first place as many are of the conviction that there was something very fishy.

Orange Brings Live AFCON Games to Communities

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By Foday Moriba Conteh

Orange-SL, in continuation of providing support to the  national team, Leone Stars, which has actually brought smiles on the faces of many in and out of the country, for its outstanding performance in the two games already played, has provided big TV screens placed at strategic locations at the  Lumley roundabout, Rawdon Street, Portee, Waterloo, Bo, Kenema, Kono and Makeni.

Such a move by the telecommunications company has made it possible for the company’s numerous customers as well as others, who because of one reason or the other could not comfortably watch the matches to do so at ease. For some people, they could easily watch the match conveniently from home but they will feel happier doing so in the company of friends during which time analysis of the matches are dome and other related arguments.

According to an official of Orange-SL the provision of the big TV screens at the aforementioned strategic locations is a way by which the well established telecommunications will avail many the opportunity to support Leone Stars. It is a way of complementing an inter alia support provided, with an inclusive package of transportation, accommodation and allowances for set of Sierra Leoneans to watch the AFCON game in Cameroon.

This move taken by Orange has been widely commendable as a step in the right direction that has set the pace for other Mobile Companies to follow.

Many whom this medium sounded their views about this latest move on the part of Orange-SL expressed profound appreciation to the company for making such possible. Majority said it shows that it is a company that cares about what many cherish, in this case football, and as such will go the extra-mile to ensure that expectations are met and dreams fulfilled.

“We have faith in this company because they are always on top of situations as they have again demonstrated with the provision of the big TV screens which is a clear manifestation of a responsible company that is desirous of giving utmost satisfaction to all and sundry,” a cross-section of those this medium came across opined.

Anthony Brewah Booted Out of Office for Gross Incompetence

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By Amin Kef Sesay

In the late evening hours of the 18th January 2022 news break out from State House, Office of the President, that it has pleased his Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio to relieve the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Anthony Yeihwoe Brewah Esq, of his position to be replaced by Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley Esq in the same capacity.

Though the reason or reasons for relieving the former  Attorney-General and Minister of Justice was or were not given, his sacking, according to political analysts could not be unconnected to the granting of clemency under the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy to Baimba Moiforay (alias LAC) on New Year’s Day.

LAC was serving a life sentence imprisonment at the Pa Demba Road Male Correctional Centre for murdering popular Disc Jockey, by the name of Sydney Buckle popularly known as DJ Cleff. He did not even serve more than five years when he was granted clemency.

The then Attorney General and Minister of Justice was a key figure in the Committee of Prerogative of Mercy that recommended LAC’s release and therefore was held culpable for incompetence and misinforming the President on those who were qualified to be pardoned. As a matter of fact there is a picture on Social Media in which the sacked AG is seen romancing with LAC.

As of now President Bio has revoked the clemency granted LAC and ordered full investigation into the way the Committee arrived at the clemency decision.

See more details in subsequent editions.

As LAC’s Pardon Withdrawn…   General Standards For Consideration Of Clemency Outlined

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By Amin Kef Sesay

There are officials that assist the President in the exercise of his power to exercise clemency to convicts. There are also Rules Governing the Processing of Petitions for Executive Clemency.

The Mercy Committee under the direction of the Attorney General receives and reviews all petitions for Executive Clemency. These include:

Pardon after completion of sentence, Commutation of sentence, Remission of fine or restitution and reprieve), Initiates and directs the necessary investigations, and Prepares a report and recommendation for submission to the President in every case.

In addition, the Office of the Attorney General is supposed to act as a liaison with the public during the pendency of a clemency petition, responding to correspondence and answering inquiries about clemency cases and issues. The following sets forth guidance on clemency matters.

The Attorney General can contribute significantly to the clemency process by providing factual information and perspectives about the offense of conviction that may not be reflected in the presentence or background investigation reports or other sources.

As a general matter, in clemency cases the correctness of the underlying conviction is assumed and the question of guilt or innocence is not generally at issue.

In cases involving pardon after completion of sentence, the Attorney General is expected to comment on the petitioner’s post-conviction rehabilitation, particularly any actions that may evidence a desire to atone for the offense, in light of the standards generally applicable in pardon cases.

Similarly, in commutation cases, comments may be sought on developments after sentencing that are relevant to the merits of a request for mercy.

The Attorney General importantly must solicit the views and recommendation of the sentencing judge. I

In general, a pardon is granted on the basis of demonstrated good conduct for a substantial period of time after conviction and service of sentence and seriousness and relative recentness of the offense.

When an offense is very serious, (e.g., a violent crime, major drug trafficking, breach of public trust, or white collar fraud involving substantial sums of money), a suitable length of time should have elapsed in order to avoid denigrating the seriousness of the offense or undermining the deterrent effect of the conviction.

In the case of a prominent individual or notorious crime, the likely effect of a pardon on law enforcement interests or upon the general public should be taken into account. Victim impact may also be a relevant consideration.

However, when an offense is very old and relatively minor, the equities may weigh more heavily in favor of forgiveness, provided the petitioner is otherwise a suitable candidate for pardon.

Acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and atonement. The extent to which a petitioner has accepted responsibility for his or her criminal conduct and made restitution to its victims are important considerations.

A petitioner should be genuinely desirous of forgiveness rather than vindication. While the absence of expressions of remorse should not preclude favorable consideration, a petitioner’s attempt to minimize or rationalize culpability does not advance the case for pardon.

Civil Rights Coalition Calls on Authorities to Revisit Custom Duties Levied on Imported Butter

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By Amin Kef Sesay

The role of Civil Society Organizations cannot be overemphasized when it comes to the fact that they play an important role in society, serving as the voice of the defenseless and voiceless. It has been established that in the absence of these Non-State actors a lot of human rights abuses would have gone unchecked, and the victims left to wallow in their excruciating sufferings, probably without having anywhere they could turn to in order to seek redress. Even where there are redress mechanisms the red- tapisms sometimes  associated with having cases speedily processed are so time-consuming that even, if finally justice is attained, such may have come late not really commensurate to the pain, sufferings and losses already incurred as well as felt. This realistic situation is quite true for individuals as well as entities.

One of the vociferous Civil Society Organizations in this country that have successfully championed just causes with a track record of excellence and positive results  is the Civil Rights Coalition-Sierra Leone with Alphonso Manley as its Executive Director.

In a recent engagement with this news medium, the result oriented Executive Director intimated how  his organization has of late been inundated with bitter complaints by ordinary traders in the country, who have been persistently complaining  that the price at which they are buying packets of butter which is produced by a recently established company in the country, Kissy Industry to be precise, considered to be an Infant industry, is not too different from  that of imported butter which he underscored is totally unfair to these traders and is seriously undermining the sustainability of the production of this important food item that many are used to consume in this country.

“If there had been individuals championing the enhancement of the country’s Local Content Policy then they are some discouraged as they see this as an imbalance in the trade arrangement bordering on butter which by all estimation is completely unfair to say the least,” he averred furthering that such is inimical to sound economic development.

When this medium decided to conduct an in-depth investigation into the matter what really surfaced or was unearthed was that customs officers who are part of the National Revenue Authority at the Queen Elizabeth Quay are really and deliberately undervaluing imported containers having packets of butter as their contents.

Since they are being undervalued the importers are therefore at liberty to peg their prices the same way as those manufactured in-country are priced.

Alphonso Manley said as best practice demands it is expected that since the country now has a reputable company, Kissy Industry, which is producing consumable goods, among which there is butter, then customs duties should be peg in ways that should encourage the infant industry to grow. “ Lamentably this is not the case and such is having a negative toll on the country’s Local Content,” he continued maintaining that the Kissy Industry has provided job opportunities for many Sierra Leoneans , whose positions are currently shakable because if the company decides to fold up in the area of butter production that would not only affect the workers who could be laid off but will inevitably lead to an astronomical rise in the prices of imported butter as the infant company could no longer be interested in continuing to manufacture butter.

He added that unlike importers who have no responsibility to honour  any form or shape of Corporate Social Responsibility, the Kissy Industry rather has that responsibility also maintaining that they could only continue to effectively promote development activities in its area of operations when it is on a sound footing.

Palm oil is what the company uses in producing butter and such is produced by local farmers. He added that since the company procures such a raw material the current status of the butter trade might only negatively affect them if the company decides to stop the manufacturing of its butter product.

It is against such a backdrop that the Civil Rights Coalition is calling on the authorities concerned to seriously look at the situation in order to take the remedial measures to correct the present imbalance. One way, he says, the organization deems such could be accomplished is to revisit the duties levied on imported butter and do the needful by making the necessary arrangements.

He argued that most people misconstrue the word investor to only mean foreigners saying there are viable local investors that could positively impact the country’s economy only if the right business environment is created by the necessary authorities.

Alphonso said anything shorter than that will kill growth and undermine the economy, asserting that the level of what is produced internally has a direct bearing on a country’s currency in exchange, for example the dollar.

He, however, bemoaned that  as the situation now stands the traders are not the only one feeling the crunch but also the general masses, the consumers, who are the ones feeling the heat at the tail end.

NP-SL Ltd Periodic Training of Station Managers & Pump Attendants: A Step in the Right Direction

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By Amin Kef Sesay

It has been proven times without number that a highly skilled staff in any workplace produce excellent results when it comes to the performance of certain assigned tasks vice versa. Regardless of whether members of staff are directly employed by a corporate institution or they are auxiliary staff the fact of the matter is that their levels of performance in terms of contributing to the fulfillment of the organization’s aims and objectives depends on their competency.

Against this realization, competent Managerial teams of corporate institutions prioritize periodic training exercises which can take the forms of sending certain members of staff overseas for advanced studies, conducting workshops, seminars and hands on deck courses. Whatever form it takes the overall objective is geared towards having a highly competent members of staff that are highly knowledgeable in their areas of operation that will deliver tangible results capable of catapulting the organization or entity from one level to another.

One successful indigenous business entity that has harnessed this strategy efficiently and maybe could be a pointer to its meteoric rise is indisputably the National Petroleum-Sierra Leone Limited (NP-SL Ltd), which is an entity that is highly specialized in the marketing of petroleum products including petrol, diesel, gas and highly acclaimed lubricants chief among which is the Castrol Oil.

From time to time the Management of NP-SL Ltd facilitates training s of Station Managers and Pump Attendants with the avowed aim of improving their competencies in the course of performing their duties. Those trainings have been tailored in such ways that the two areas that have been featured are Customer Care and Safety.

As a petroleum marketing company, the various Filling Stations that carry its brand name do interface with members of the public on a regular a basis. It therefore behooves that in the midst of competition the way and manner customers are treated is very key and decisive. Such will determine whether a particular customer should remain a loyal customer or do otherwise. The experience the customer gets at the first instance will definitely create a lasting impression. In the case of NP-SL Ltd, the company has made its mark positively in that direction which led to it earning the reputation, 1st for Customer Care.

But as a forward looking company the Management says it will not rest on its oars basking in its accolade but rather to make improvements, thus from time to time try to improve on the skills of Station Managers and Pump Attendants with regards improving on its customer care portfolio.

Besides, the pump attendants deal with highly calibrated machines which they must be skilful in operating which is why training them how to handle them is very much important.

Petroleum products are indeed highly inflammable and therefore must be treated with caution. Training Station Managers and Pump attendants on how to enhance safety standards, in order to avoid dangerous accidents is highly imperative. It could be that some members of the public may want to do certain untoward things that could undermine safety but if the Station Managers and Pump Attendants are knowledgeable enough they could avert any major conflagration taking place.

Just recently, NP-SL Ltd concluded such a training for Station Managers and Pump Attendants in Freetown after which they certified them and awarded those who did well as against certain set criteria one of which was cleanest Filling Station.

It was the understanding of this medium that the petroleum marketing entity intends to replicate the award of certificates and gifts to Station Managers and Pump Attendants in the provinces soon.

MRCG Releases Media Freedom Review-December 2021 Edition

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By Amin Kef Sesay

 A leading advocate for Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with media guru in the person of Dr. Francis Sowa, has produced an edition of its monthly “Media Freedom Review”.

 It is a publication of  the institution’s  monitoring exercise and reporting on freedom of expression and of the press, internet freedom, digital and online rights, and safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone.

According to MRCG, in December 2021, it followed incidents and activities of the physical assault and detention of a journalist; a newspaper’s letter of complaint of threats and verbal attacks against it; follow up on court matters between an Editor and a lawyer and between a media house and the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA); the status of a complaint before the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL), the invitation of Chairman of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) party and the arrest and detention of Unity Party leader for critical comments on the mid-term census; the arrest and detention of a Pastor for allegedly using obscene and insulting words against President Bio; digital attacks, and insults and intimidations on Facebook against Asmaa James, Hawanatu Konneh Fofanah and an ethnic group.

Within also are the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) alleged  physically assaulted and detention of  Ransford Wright, a staff (camera operator) of the Africa Young Voice (AYV Media) Empire on 13 December 2021. According to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), the staff had gone to the Central Police Station to get the other side of a story he had filmed earlier on the same day of an accident involving an SLP motorcycle, a commercial motorbike (Okada), and a child victim. SLAJ and AYV in their releases condemned the attack and urged the leadership of the SLP to take appropriate action against the alleged perpetrators The SLP Management in a press release dated 14 December 2021 acknowledged the severity of the allegations and instructed an investigation to be conducted.

The Salone Compass Newspaper in a letter dated 14 December 2021 brought to the notice of SLAJ and MRCG ‘scathing verbal attacks and threats to the entire editorial team of Salone Compass from unknown members of the general public through phone calls.’ It pointed that the attacks and threats started on 13 December 2021 after they had published a story with the banner headline “POLICE PLANS MASSIVE ARRETS” which was news reported at the SLP presser on 9 December 2021 at the Police Headquarters.

The newspaper said it was also accused of inciting the public to boycott the mid-term census and that some of the anonymous callers identified themselves as police officers.
In a follow-up on the court matter between the editor of Voice of Salone Newspaper, David Johnson and Sydney Campbell Esq. at the Ross Road Magistrate Court, the matter was resolved in an out of court settlement. Campbell Esq. said, based on the advice of his family, they have peacefully resolved and settled the matter out of court on 2 December 2021. The matter was in connection with a complaint Campbell Esq. had filed in November against the editor on the grounds of ‘insulting statements’ via WhatsApp.

In a follow up on the court matter between Star Radio’s Media One Center and EDSA in connection with an alleged illegal electricity connection by Star Radio, the matter is still in court. The station manager, Abdurahman Kamara, said the matter had received three court hearings and that the police had stopped the frequent unwarranted visits around the media house after he had reported the issue to SLAJ.

In a follow up of the complaint at the Human Rights Commission for Sierra Leone (HRCSL) made by journalist Osman Hardy Jalloh against Magistrate Joseph Toby of Magistrate Court Number 2 in Kenema on his arrest and detention, Deputy Director, Regional Service East of HRCSL, Sylvester Kallon, said they had done the admissibility letter and that they were now looking at the legal instrument that qualifies the matter into human rights violation.

The Inspector General (IG) of Police on 7 December 2021 invited the National Chairman and Leader of the NGC Party, Dr. Dennis Bright to report at the Police Headquarters, Freetown due to an interview he granted Radio Democracy 98.1 FM in connection with the proposed 2021 Mid- term Census which the NGC and the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties (CoPP) objected to. The IG said they were concerned as to the way Dr. Bright put out his messages to the public. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in a closed door, interviewed Dr. Bright in the presence of his lawyers for close to two hours and was later released on the same day.

The 2018 presidential aspirant for the Unity Party, Femi Claudius-Cole on 13 December 2021 was arrested and detained at the CID by police for an alleged negative comment she made on Radio Democracy 98.1 FM in relation to the 2021 mid-term housing and population census. The matter is still at the CID.

The Sierra Leone Police arrested and detained Pastor Septimus Yambasu on 14 December 2021 for allegedly using obscene and insulting words against President Julius Maada Bio. Pastor Yambasu who is a driver of a commercial vehicle reportedly made the statement in his vehicle along the Jui Wilberforce axis and one of his passengers reported the matter to the police. He was charged for insulting conduct contrary to Section 3 (1) of the Public Order Act of 1965. The matter is at the Pademba Road Magistrate Court No 1 in Freetown. Pastor Yambasu was initially refused bail, but was later granted bail during the second court sitting. The matter is still in court.

Alhaji Amadu Bah, a popular artist known as LAJ in a Facebook live video circulated on social media platforms verbally attacked and insulted Asmaa James, Station Manager of Radio Democracy 98.1 FM on 13 December 2021, as a result of a report aired by Radio Democracy on a bench warrant ordered by a Magistrate for LAJ. SLAJ on 13 December 2021 accompanied Asmaa James to the Cyber Unit of the SLP and filed a formal complaint against LAJ for verbally attacking and insulting her personality. SLAJ, MRCG, Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) and other groups condemned the actions of LAJ.

In an open letter on Facebook dated 13 December 2021, LAJ apologized to Asmaa James and the women of Sierra Leone as he expressed regrets and took full responsibility for his actions. On 22 December 2021, Asmaa James in her Facebook post said she had forgiven LAJ and let go of the matter after some moments of prayers and fasting.

Hawanatu Konneh Fofanah in a Facebook post on 25 December 2021 said she and her husband had made an official complaint at the CID against an anonymous individual who attacked her personality on Facebook stating that they would stop the bullying of women on the internet. On 30 December 2021, she again posted

on her Facebook page that she had suffered too much of cyber-attack and bullying on social media. She said she had been insulted alongside her parents and that her life had been threatened.

The SLP arrested and detained Tazmo Sliz, an entertainer in Makeni, Northern Sierra Leone on 18 December 2021 for allegedly insulting and attacking the Fullah Ethnic group in a Facebook live video. The matter is under police investigation.
The details of the cases and issues will be published in the MRCG Bi-Annual Press Freedom Report for December 2021 to May 2022.

The MRCG’s freedom of expression and of the press, internet freedom, digital and online rights, and safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone initiative is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the United States of America.

The MRCG says it seeks to strengthen democratic dialogue and accountability, consolidate peace and ensure development through professional, independent and sustainable media, based on the right to freedom of expression and of the Press.

Diabetes: The “Ticking Time Bomb” for Africa! Are we sitting on it?

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Dr. Manal Ghazzzawi, Author

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health catastrophe that affects how the body processes sugar due to either lack of the hormone insulin or issues that make the body resistant to the action of insulin. Insulin is the hormone in our body that stores excess glucose to glycogen and helps the cells of our body absorb glucose for energy.

DM leads to devastating complications like stroke, heart issues, amputation, blindness etc, if left untreated or unattended to.

People with diabetes who lead a normal life have a full-time job to ensure their sugar level remains stable. But in as much as such affected persons try endlessly to prevent sugar levels from escalating, they must also work so hard to prevent sugar levels not to go too low to prevent complications like coma.

People in Africa face lots of difficulties in terms of accessibility to diabetes care. Marginalized communities are unaware of DM and its consequences and they must pay out of pocket for their drugs and continuity of care.

In a country like Sierra Leone, most tertiary and secondary facilities are clustered in the city, leaving villagers accessing health care at community health centres which lack the necessary expertise to manage and prevent DM. Unfortunately, many Africans are diagnosed late after complications have already set in.

There are about 4 types of DM: Type 1, which is insulin dependent DM; Type 2, which is non-insulin dependent DM; Type 3, which is DM affecting women during pregnancy; and Type 4, which is DM due to drugs and other diseases affecting the pancreas.

Burden of DM in the Africa region

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the Africa region represents the highest proportion with undiagnosed DM, with 60% of its adults having it without knowing about their condition.

Below is a concise representation of types 1 & 2 diabetes in Africa and projections of prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes by 2030/2045, as well as projected Government health expenditure by 2030/2045.

In summary, it is estimated in 2019 that 19 million people were living with diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and this figure was expected to skyrocket to 47 million by 2045. Among those with undiagnosed DM, 12 million people have diabetes unknowing to them and 366,200 people in Africa die because of DM.

The 8th edition of the Diabetes Atlas report estimates that 77% of all diabetes related deaths worldwide occur in SSA, in people under 60 years of age (IDF atlas 2017).

This information is quite a bit alarming, but the good news is, diabetes is a preventable disease if we adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours.

A systematic analysis on prevalence and sub-regional distribution of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus among adults in African countries reveal that West Africa has the highest burden of undiagnosed DM. Nigeria represents the top five countries in Africa with high prevalence of DM.

In Sierra Leone, inadequate data makes it difficult to ascertain national prevalence of DM.

It is inevitable that uncontrolled endemic and epidemic diseases affecting a nation can extremely place health expenditure burden on Governments, especially with our fragile health system in Africa.

According to IDF 2019, Government expenditure on health due to diabetes is US$10 billion and is projected to increase up to US$17 billion by 2045.

What could be the cause for the time-ticking-diabetes-bomb that awaits us?

DM is characterized as one of the leading non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Africa. DM itself leads to increased risk of leading causes of communicable diseases like Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Tuberculosis (TB), viral hepatitis, pneumonia and Covid-19 infections (Davies K et al., 2020).

Plausible reasons for the increasing prevalence of DM in Africa are due to common chronic communicable diseases on the continent, which cause inflammatory conditions, leading to organ dysfunction and damage. Even some drugs used to treat, for instance, HIV and TB, could also lead to DM (Davies K et al., 2020).

In addition, obesity appears to be a major issue among urban women aged 15–49 years, as demonstrated from the results of demographic and health survey from 24 African countries (Neupane S et.al, 2016). These women have high risk of developing gestational diabetes in the future, which in turn predisposes their poor babies to diabetes at adulthood or even childhood.

A study was conducted by me in 2017, to assess the risk of developing DM among adults in Freetown. A population size of 1013 was randomly selected, and the prevalence of participants to be at high risk of developing Type 2 DM (T2DM) was 17.8%. Though more rigorous and extensive research is needed to ascertain this, the study highlighted that age, gender, occupation, high waist circumference, hypertension and family history are associated risk factors that yielded statistical significance.

Body Mass Index (BMI) categorization by gender shows that more females (77%) had higher BMI compared to males (53%). Also, more females (19.2%) compared to males (8.1%) were found to have a high waist circumference (WC) which denotes central obesity. This study conforms to a systemic review and metanalysis conducted by Davies A et.al, in Nigeria, which demonstrated that there were 21 million and 12 million overweight and obese persons respectively, in the Nigerian population aged 15 years or more in 2020, and more females were over-weight and in the obese category compared to males.

Previous studies have established that West African Lineage is associated with greater BMI and total body fat. Many studies have shown distinct evidence to confirm that obesity is a major risk factor for T2DM.

Obesity is on the increase in Africa, due to adoption of westernized culture, urbanization, growth in economy, sedentary lifestyle, and introduction of processed foods (Searcey & Richtel 2017).

It is indeed poignant that improved standards of living are driving us to make poor health life choices. In Sierra Leone or in some regions in Africa, obesity is a sign of affluence, dignity, and respect (Janzon E et al., 2015).

Despite this fact, let us not forget that diabetes respects no socioeconomic status or boundaries in general. In a country like Sierra Leone, which probably other countries in the region can relate, people can hardly afford to buy fruits and vegetables. Healthy foods are not produced abundantly in our country, and the poor will continue to be deprived from eating healthy foods that could prevent the occurrence of diabetes. We are highly dependent on importation of most of our food items, even salt and sugar. It has reached a point where imported foods can be cheaper that home grown foods.

Poverty, which is our biggest killer, forces us to eat unhealthy foods to fill our stomach. Adoption of the Mediterranean diet, which mainly consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fish have been shown to prevent diabetes.

People with diabetes can prolong their health with the proper diet involving these kind of food stuffs.

Regular physical activity is undeniably relevant in the prevention and management of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends 150 minutes of regular physical activity per week to prevent and manage DM.

Our road networks in Africa could be a turn off for citizens to be engaged in walking and jogging. That needs to be changed, citizens of African countries have every right to be able to exercise conveniently whenever and wherever they find themselves. People living in the rural setting walk miles to reach their farm or place of work, whereas in the urban setting we just rely on transportation. The latter provides such a convenience to people in the urban setting combined with the chair we sit in the whole day at work, highly encouraging us not to be active.

Among other factors that is causing high disease burden and undiagnosed cases in Africa are lack of motivation needed for health workers to provide service; shortage of health work force, brain drain, lack of organized structure for chronic disease care, fewer tertiary care hospitals, lack of awareness of prevalent diseases among the population and inappropriate health care information systems.

 

Strategies to mitigate the epidemic in Africa

Without leadership, governance, financing, health workforce, health information systems, supply chains, and service delivery, we will continue to suffer from diabetes and many chronic diseases. Because diabetes is a lifelong disease and is associated with acute and chronic complications that could cause multiple organ damage, it requires several multi-faceted approaches to reduce the burden of the disease from a public health point of view.

Interventions to target obesity include nutrition labelling; marketing restrictions of unhealthy foods and beverages to kids; fruit and vegetable subsidies; physical activity policies and social marketing campaigns. WHO member States around the world, including South Africa, have committed to halt the rise of obesity and diabetes, reduce premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025 and one-third by 2030. The latter target is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

How many countries in Africa are really committed to keep that ambitious promise? Many countries in Africa will be hesitant to execute laws that would prevent DM due to political reasons. In Sierra Leone, selling of alcohol occurs in the streets so freely that it can easily be accessed by kids. There are foreign companies that manufacture high percentage of alcohol beverages with no one to hold them accountable. Alcohol overuse and substance abuse is a rising pandemic that also needs to be addressed. Chronic alcohol use is an associated risk factor for the development of diabetes. Studies have shown a genetic predisposition to increased risk of DM among heavy alcohol users (Jang et al 2019).

As we know, diabetes was known as the disease of the rich. Though it is still affecting people living in developed countries, many strategies are being put in place to help protect their citizens. The political will is there. In Africa, some of our presidents themselves are obese, they are diabetic or are at high risk of developing T2DM. Politicians of African countries, including the Health Ministers themselves, will rather fly to the most sophisticated countries to seek medical care. They themselves do not trust their health systems which they are supposed to fix, leaving their own citizens vulnerable and deprived of the basic health care they need.

With the exception of a few, the health system of Africa is highly fragile. In Sierra Leone, for example, we keep on putting the blame for our poor health system on the [1991-2200 civil war, Ebola and now Covid-19 pandemic.

If we do not finance our health system to achieve universal health coverage, life expectancy of Africans will remain low, with the potential of holding back economic growth.

Many people are pushed to extreme poverty when they must pay out of pocket for diseases other than TB, HIV.

A multipronged urgent control measure is needed to diagnose people at risk of developing diabetes to prevent subsequent complications of the disease that is affecting quality of life of people globally.

This is the time to take action towards strengthening our health system in Africa. We need to create a donor-independent health system; otherwise emerging and reemerging infectious diseases will continue to claim our lives, further exposing our fragile health system. Sadly, this is a reality which we cannot ignore. Diversion of resources towards communicable diseases, away from non-communicable diseases, and provision of essential health services, further leads to more morbidity and mortality. Africa needs to wake up!

Manal Ghazzzawi is a Doctor of Pharmacy, a public health specialist and a consultant clinical pharmacist. She is a health entrepreneur, CEO of Citiglobe Pharmacies Ltd, and a laureate for women in Africa Entrepreneurs 2020. She has won many awards as the most outstanding pharmacist in Sierra Leone.

NCRA Engages Stakeholders on National Validation of Draft Data Protection Policy, Bill & Regulation

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By Mary Kabay

 The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) has on Tuesday 18th January 2022 held a meeting with stake holders bordering on the Validation Process of the Reviewed Draft of the National Civil Rights Act 2016 and the Proposed Data Protection Policy, Bill and Regulation at the New Brookfields Hotel on Jomo Kenyatta Road in Freetown.

Present were the Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority, Mohamed Massaquoi, the National Representative  of the United Nations Development Programme, Pa Lamin Beyai,the Irish Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Claire Buckley,  Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Panda Noah and the Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swarray.

Moderator was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, Edward Kwame Yankson.  In his opening statement he explained the importance of data security and how the enactment of the law could be valuable to the right and security of individuals in as much they have to be protected physically stating that there is therefore  the need for digital protection.

He continued that it is worthy to note that there is a strong global campaign to address cybercrime and data protection gaps saying whilst the Budapest Convention of 2001 speaks to cybercrime, the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (an EU Data Protection Regulation) has increasingly set international standards for data protection.

He continued that the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (dubbed the Malabo Convention 2014), notes among other things the absence of specific legal rules that protect consumers, intellectual property rights, personal data and information systems.

Clearly, Sierra Leone, he said, falls within the category of States with no specific legislation guaranteeing personal data protection were as several African countries have made statutory advances such as:- Rwanda (Data Protection Bill approved by the House of Deputies on May6, 2021), Kenya (Data Protection Act 2019), Zambia (Data Protection Act 2021), Ghana (Data Protection Act 2012) and Nigeria (Data Protection Regulation 2019)

He informed how the UK also has the Data Protection Act of 2018
According to him, Cluster 3.5 of the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2019-2023) provides for the transformation of Sierra Leone into an inclusive digital economy and society with a digitally empowered citizenry supporting sustainable economic development, democracy, national security, and good governance.

“Currently Sierra Leone is witnessing an encouraging growth in the provision and access to online services amongst all age brackets leading to the collection of huge sensitive and non-essential data on citizens, customers and businesses,” he revealed.

On his part, the Director General of NCRA in explaining the importance of any draft legislation said such cannot be over emphasized disclosing that in keeping with that standard, a highly participatory nationwide consultations on the draft Data Protection Policy, Bill and Regulation were conducted in October 2021, during which a total of 388 participants from 70 institutions attended, including MDAs,

CSOs, NGOs, Traditional Leaders and the Private Sector who made valuable professional contributions harnessed from their Development Partners that includes the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

He also added that similar stakeholder engagements had commenced in 2019; a basis that attracted further stakeholder interest for the development of a standard set out procedures to be followed by NCRA and other institutions to collect 971 data from individuals.

The Director General said what they will finally role out  will inform individuals of their rights to consent to the sharing of their personal data or information for processing, transmitting etc, set out the standards to be maintained in the safekeeping of personal and sensitive data which will, according to him, increase the guard against the risk of identity theft since personal data are stored in the system.

“The security safeguards will be standards established in the Data Protection Law which should be maintained by not just the NCRA but all other Data Controllers and Data Processors,” he informed.

He ended up by stating that while the NCRA and by extension the Government of Sierra Leone is throwing its full support behind the validation exercise, the Authority’s commitment to ensuring that the personal and sensitive data of citizens and non-citizens who are resident in Sierra Leone are secured is paramount while they look forward to a Data Protection Law that will further enhance their work.

On behalf of the Board of Authority, Management and Staff of the NCRA, he implored all attendees to effectively participate in the Validation exercise and to ensure that a Data Protection Policy, Law and Regulation are established which will reflect opinions, protect and regulate all personal and sensitive data.

The Irish Ambassador to Sierra Leone thanked the Government of Sierra Leone through the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) for leading the consultations on the Data Protection Bill and Regulations across the country.

She stated that to compliment efforts of other development partners, especially the EU, Ireland and UNDP they have worked together since 2019 to support the capacity strengthening of the NCRA in order for the institution to deliver on its mandate.

“As part of our commitment to pursue joined-up and coherent efforts that strengthen effective, just and inclusive institutions – especially those institutions that deliver credible and inclusive elections and guarantee human rights, our support to the NCRA focuses on four main areas:
Support the development, review and harmonization of laws relating to CRVS, enhance the interoperability of NCRA database with other institutions, support public awareness and CRVS, especially its link with voter registration and Support the capacity of NCRA staff to deliver efficient and effective CRVS services,” she disclosed.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon Panda Noah in his statement reiterated the importance of the validation process of the draft data protection policy. He mentioned four strategic areas that data collection draws attention to which are food, development, education and health. He also added that managing data in the country must be efficient and effective as it goes and must be secured to enhance public trust.

Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swarray stressed on bringing Sierra Leone in the line with international practice as well as global standards in terms of data collection, how it is secured and consumed by individuals.

He said it is one of the Government’s thematic areas to maintain data collection and cyber security revealing how his Ministry is ready to work with development partners and the NCRA to ensure that accurate data is generated for consumption in the country.

Climaxing the event was when the legal luminary, Lawyer Augustine Sengbe Marrah handled the feedback on presentations of the draft data protection policy bill and regulation and the validation of the draft data protection regulation by the stakeholders.

The Impressive Story of an Ebola Orphan: Musu Dumbuya

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By Millicent Senava Mannah

 In the wake of the Ebola outbreak in the country that decimated the lives of many there were survivors left behind who became the main focus, at that material time, of various organizations that decided to come to their plight by rendering various forms of assistances.

Lamentably, a large percentage of the survivors were women and children with some among the latter becoming orphans since they lost their parents.

After a year or two some organizations withdrew their supports, leaving the survivors including the aforementioned children in helpless conditions. They were left to suffer in a society where individuals were wickedly stigmatized for having contracted such a deadly disease but however survived.

Musu Dumbuya a 24 year old woman lost sixteen members of her family including her parents in 2014 and by then she was just 18 years old. As the eldest of her three siblings she automatically became their bread winner.

“It was really difficult to take care of myself and my younger siblings after we lost our parents and fourteen other members of our family. The remaining members of our family rejected us and didn’t show any concern towards our situation,” she bemoaned.

One would ask how someone of her age by then could responsible for herself and siblings when even some grown up men are running away from such a responsibility. Imagine the cost of living in the country and how prices are increasing on a daily basis!

Musu ,like any other young girl, had dreams and aspirations and what she wanted to become in life. But all those dreams crashed when she lost her parents.

“I wanted to become a soldier when I grow up but that dream died after losing both my parents to the deadly Ebola disease. As a result of that I went into early marriage for the sake of my siblings and I survived the odds,” Musu narrated her ordeal with her a broad smile on her face.

As she was narrating my heart was bleeding with tears in my eyes for her, with the thoughts that if only someone or an organization would have stepped up earlier to render support to them, such a big dream wouldn’t have crashed.

She told me that she offered herself as a sacrificial lamb for her siblings giving up her own dream for them to fulfill their own. She is hoping that her brother who is now in SS2 will soon enlist into the Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) after sitting to the WASSCE and become the soldier she wanted to be.

Fortunately for her, Caritas-Freetown, a Non Governmental Organization, through a Project it implemented for Ebola Survivors to recover, supported her and other survivors with small capitals or seed monies to set up scale businesses for them to have their source of livelihoods. Though one may say it was somehow a bit late, however, it was still a timely intervention.

“Out of the business I was, at some points in time, able to pay the school fees of my siblings and take care of other basic needs.  And I was able to save for a period of six months in order to give back to the organization as the Project demanded,” she stated. However, at the end of the Project Caritas Freetown decided to give back to all the targeted beneficiaries their profits to be ploughed back into their businesses as of way of extending them.

Musu is seen as a really focused minded individual despite her age. The organization helped fifty of them and she emerged as the one who saved the highest to the organization and their savings were given back to them by the organization.

The young ambitious lady said she would go back and increase her business with the money she received. She is determined to succeed and to fill the vacuum their parents left in the lives of her siblings.

There are many people like Musu out there who are suffering and seeking for help.

I am calling on the Government, organizations and individuals that are in the capacity to render their supports to such people we are living with in our communities. If even you can touch the life of one, you will be remembered for it and God will bless you.

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