AWE Media Sierra Leone

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson David Moinina Sengeh (PhD), the chief minister and chief innovation officer of Sierra Leone has boldly corrected a false claim he made regarding President Julius Maada Bio’s recent election as  the new chairperson of the Economic Commission of West African States - (ECOWAS) . Minister Sengeh’s retraction publicly corrects his previous incorrect claim that resident Bio “is the first Sierra Leonean President to serve as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of ECOWAS” made in his congratulatory messages  posted across three of his widely followed social media handles: Facebook ,  LinkedIn and X . The post follows President Bio’s election as ECOWAS Chair on Sunday, June 22, 2025 during 67th Ordinary Session of Heads of States, succeeding Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Chief Minister’s claim drew public doubt and was quickly fact-checked by one of our 2025 Kwame KariKari OSINT Fact-Checking Fellowship fellows to set the records ...

By: Paul Kamara Every Nation Polytechnic in Bo, over the weekend officially welcomed 703 new students during its matriculation ceremony held at the New Harvest Ministries Central Church House of Gathering, Old Railway Quarters off Prince Williams Street in Bo city, Southern province of Sierra Leone The mammoth gathering attracted Deans of Faculties and Heads of Departments, Administrative and Academic Staff, the newly admitted students, Families, Friends and other Well-wishers, the press among others. Welcoming all present, Madam Cynthia Esther Kpakra (Lecturer) warmly welcomed everyone for gracing the ceremony. She wasted no time in welcoming all freshmen and women into the college family. She congratulated all the newly admitted students, describing them as the chosen ones among thousands of applicants. She called on them to consider them as very lucky noting that many are called but few are chosen hence must consider themselves as the chosen few. "Today is a new dawn f...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson One of the two elected female Bombali Member of Parliaments in Sierra Leone, Honorable Marie Kamara has outlined her ambitious plan to empower women in her district and throughout the nation, with a focus on agriculture. She revealed her plan in an interview with AWE-Media.SL (https://arwilsonsentertainment.blogspot.com) after her swearing into Sierra Leone’s sixth parliament on Tuesday in which she expressed her gratitude for being elected as one of the second female MPs from Bombali, out of a total of eight elected to represent the region in the parliament. Honorable Marie Kamara reaffirms her commitment to fulfilling her campaign promise to continue to empower women, vowing to beat her track record of advocating for women's rights in her community. While, her previous efforts have focused on ending brutality, violence, teenage pregnancy, and early marriages, Honorable Marie however, recognizes that “more work needs to be done to support women in...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The Deputy National Chairman of the All People's Congress (APC) Party, Ambassador Osman Foday Yansaneh, has defended his party's decision to retract their stance on non-political engagement in governance. He defended his party during an interview with AWE-Media.SL (https://arwilsonsentertainment.blogspot.com) within the halls of parliament on Tuesday, after the swearing-in ceremony of the 52 other APC Members of Parliament into Sierra Leone's sixth parliament. Mr. Yansaneh expressed that the APC's actions were justified and aimed at benefitting the country. "As a party, we have brought our elected Members of Parliament (MPs) to the forefront of parliament to fulfil their roles as representatives of the people," emphasized Mr. Yansaneh. "There exists a social contract between the MPs and the constituents, with the district bulk system of representation being a significant aspect. The APC will ensure that the MPs prioritize t...

By: Amadu Wurie Timbo The Girls Connect Mentorship Program in Sierra Leone (GCSL) recently achieved a significant milestone with its 2nd annual mentorship conference held at the Bombali District Council Hall in Makeni, on October 28, 2023. GCSL’s Mentorship Program in Sierra Leone appears to be making a positive impact on the lives of young girls by providing them with mentorship, guidance, and inspiration to achieve their dreams and become future leaders. The year’s event theme is "Empowering Girls in this Digital Generation to Lead Tomorrow’s World," brought together 80 young girls from schools in the Northern Region of Sierra Leone who had the opportunity to be mentored by accomplished women in Makeni and beyond. A panel discussion was conducted featuring many highly placed women of society including Dr. Manseray C. Kamara, a Medical Officer from Makeni Referral Hospital and Lecturer at the School of Clinical Sciences. In her session she emphasized the significant...

By: Amadu Wurie Timbo The Sports for Empowerment Foundation Sierra Leone has embarked on a transformative journey with its Nationwide Grassroots Coaches Education and Management Training. This drive, which began on October 14, 2023, with broader aims to enhance the skills of coaches and also seeks to empower young athletes with the tools they need to succeed both on and off the field. Led by a team of dedicated professionals, including Harry Varley, KAA Gent's Head scout in Africa, who came with a twofold mission; Seeking to identify promising talent for his Belgian club and as well as with the core focus to build a solid foundation for the future of Sierra Leone's sports, with a primary emphasis on grassroots coaching and youth player development. Since they arrived in Sierra Leone on October 13, the foundation's team has travelled to some parts of the country, conducting training sessions in key locations such as Lungi, Bo, Kenema, Kamakwie, and Kono, with plans to ext...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The 2023 Liberia presidential election will see incumbent President George Manneh "Upon" Weah, who is running as the presidential candidate for the Coalition for Change (CDC), and former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, representing the Unity Party (UP), facing each other in a run-off election. Both candidates emerged as the top two contenders in the general election held on October 10, 2023, but neither secured the required 50% plus one vote threshold to be declared the outright winner. The final results of the October 10 polls that was announced on Tuesday evening by Mrs. Davidetta Browne Lansanah, Chairperson of NEC Liberia indicated that the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) received the highest number of votes, with 804,087 votes (43.83%), followed closely by the Unity Party (UP) with 796,961 votes (43.44%). However, since neither candidate obtained the required 50% plus one vote to win outright, a run-off election was declared. Durin...

By: Alhaji Manika Kamara Fatmata Maria Kamara, staff at the Makeni Government Hospital Library, is optimistic that the introduction of passenger trains by ARISE will help to reduce road crashes on the highways while driving to and from the provinces and help save lives. Fatmata was sharing her thoughts on the possible re-introduction of passenger trains that will be plying across various districts if the Government of Sierra Leone honors it agreement with ARISE for the development, expansion, and management of the Pepel Port and Rail.  She said the passenger train will help to ameliorate the suffering of the masses, especially as the pump price continues to increase. She said with the passenger train, people will have to pay less, and the fear of road accidents will be minimized. She appealed to the government and investors to ensure provisions are made for the masses to have access based on affordable train tickets. Ahmad Wurie Jalloh, a businessman, explained that he only s...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Augustine Gbla, a veteran forward for the Makeni Veterans Football Club, has gained the attention of football scouts due to his impressive performance in a recent match against Koidu Community. During the early morning friendly encounter which took place at the Koidu mini stadium on October 15, Gbla scored four goals (a haul) for his team in a 10-goal thriller. Gbla who’s known for his unique dribbling skills, speed, and shooting power, did evidently display the same amazing tricks during the weekend match. Although he entered the game as a second-half substitute, Gbla wasted no time to quickly help his team to equalize, and eventually put them in front, scoring four goals successively, with his last goal coming in the 77th minute. However, Koidu Community rebounded and took a 5-4 lead in the 83rd minute. It was only a last-minute goal by Morlai Kamara that allowed Makeni Veterans to salvage a draw in the high-scoring match, which ended 5-5. After the gam...

Liaison Officer of Multinational Maritime Coordinating Centre ‘Zone F’ appraised journalists of the transnational maritime security crimes incurred despite the blessings endowed within the zone during a visit made by media experts as part of the Maritime Security Reporting Course in Accra, Ghana funded by the Danish Government. Flight Lieutenant Eyram Kwami, Liaison Officer of Multinational Maritime Coordinating Centre Zone F said the area which spammed from the Eastern Maritime border of Ghana to the West Maritime border of Guinea served as a transit point for goods from Americans, Europe and the Southern Africa; adding that it provided lots of fishing activities for the coastal nations within the six countries in the ‘Zone F’ region namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso as one of the landlocked countries in the Gulf of Guinea. Lieutenant Kwami added that despite the endowments within the ‘Zone F’ region, the area claimed transnational ma...

From the lusty jungles of 'mama Salone' to the bustling views of Accra, Ghana, was marked by calm and anxiety on the desk of the flight. My journey from Freetown International Airport to Katoka International Airport in Accra was full of adventure and wonder. I boarded my flight with Asky Airlines, ready for a new experience. The flight was smooth and scenic with an amazing bilingual crew captain and members and their cutting-edge performance to enhance safety and unrivalled comfort that push back the limit of the sky. EXPERIENCE I was poised to have the popular belief as to when boarding a flight for the very first time which many had presented as a rollercoaster adventure or fear of flying 'aerophobia'. I recognized that the air was safe but scary. Maybe it is because the fear of flying is commonly accompanied by shame and the fear of appearing crazy to others in an event of a panic in situations like taking off the tarmac, descending and landing which bring a fract...

In a bid of achieving comprehensive approach and sustainable development of the blue economy, Kofi Annan International Peace building Training Centre (KAIPTC) with fund from the Danish Government as part of a five-year project engaged media practitioners on maritime security reporting within the Gulf of Guinea during a week capacity building course on Monday in Ghana, Accra. Air Commodore George Arko-Dadzie, Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC said maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea within the Gulf of Guinea which stretches from Senegal to Angola continued to grapple with a number of maritime crimes like illegal fishing, human trafficking, marine pollution, toxic waste dumping, illicit arms and drugs trading. He furthered that these activities exploited the region’s inadequate maritime control, which resulted from insufficient law enforcement capacity, underdeveloped legislation and limited policy implementation in the maritime domains. He said the United Nations Office on Drugs and C...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) Sierra Leone, in collaboration with its international partner Minority Rights Group International and with support from the European Union, has initiated a three-day intensive retreat in the Southern regional city of Bo. This retreat is focused on educating and empowering activists and journalists in Sierra Leone to understand and effectively report on Minority Rights Issues (MRI). The retreat began on Monday, September 11 and is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, September 13, as stated by project officer Patricia Sankoh. The activists and journalists in this retreat are a select group of journalists and activists who have been actively engaged in reporting and advocating for MRI-related issues in various communities across Sierra Leone's six regions. The retreat is being jointly facilitated by Victor Massaquoi, a communications, social, and governance expert with a Ph.D., and Madam Mary Antoinette Elogoma B...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Sierra Leone back-to-back Premier League champion’s coach Alhaji “Abedi” Foray remains confident his side is well prepared to fight to beat LISCR in Liberia and progress to the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League next round. In their first leg, Foray’s side was forced to a 1-1 draw at their 6,000 capacity Southern Area stadium in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone by their resilient Mano River Union (MRU) neighbours LISCR last weekend. But Foray has confidence his charges will pay off at the Liberian SKD Sports complex against the host in their continental champions cup preliminary qualifier return leg match. “We regretted sharing the spoils at home especially when we took the lead just two minutes on, but we’ve put that result behind our back, and are now well prepared and ready to fight for a win on Sunday and make Sierra Leone proud,” Foray said. “LISCR fought back from a 1-0 defeat, equalized and forced us to a 1-1 draw in our home. Now is our turn to rebound in...