AWE Media Sierra Leone

‘Let us be selfish for once’ Dear Colleagues, Happy New Year 2021 to all of you. The year 2020 has been a difficult one for our country, as with the rest of the world. Every sector was affected, including the media. We struggled, but in the thick of this COVID-19 crisis we demonstrated our usual resilience and we were able to record some remarkable achievements. Thanks to Mercury International, Africell and Orange who still continue to support majority of the media through regular advertising. COVID-19 RESPONSE Like with the Ebola outbreak in 2014, we were proactive in supporting the Government of Sierra Leone in the fight against the virus. Even before we recorded the index COVID-19 case we swiftly formed the SLAJ Corona Virus Response Committee to coordinate our response and to interface with both the ministries of Information and Communications, and Health and Sanitation. During the three days lockdown in April 2020 (and in May) we coordinated a national radio simulcast program to b...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Since independence, politics has gradually infiltrated every facet of society in Sierra Leone as bad governance has a rich history emanating from post-colonial administrators whose political activities pioneered regionalism, nepotism, favoritism and sectionalism that is experienced in modern politics of the country.   This deeply entrenched menace has eaten every fabric of society thereby affecting the lives of the ordinary citizens as party politics has undermined the positive sense of national identity needed to build a strong and unified independent nation. The Media Reform Coordinating Group-Sierra Leone (MRCG-SL) with support from Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF) towards this piece to uncover some of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified as root causes for the underdevelopment, political divide, hatred, nepotism and tribalism ravaging the people of Sierra Leone.  This is further to shed light on the latest ...

Freetown | 18th Dec. 2020 Opening Courtesies... Mr. President, it is the season of Christmas and that time of the year when we get to socially interact with you. It is also that time of the year when as little boys we used to go around the community singing carols and playing funny games. But the world has changed, and that tradition is slowly fading. Yet, even during this COVID pandemic which has prescribed a "new normal" in the way we live, dress, and work, we have seen how Mr. President has arranged his choir men and women to sing to us carols of their achievements, packaged in well-designed project albums under different record labels. In this 2020, dubbed ‘the year of accelerated delivery’ by the Government’s Strategic Communications Unit, - the leading Choir group - our President has launched some 30 project albums ranging from Social Investment Fund and Insurance Scheme for Health Workers to Sexual Offences Model Court and Garbage Trucks. In the last three months alon...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The 2019 UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) puts Sierra Leone in the low human development category—positioning the country at 182 out of 189 countries and territories.   This means that a bulk of the population live below the poverty belt despite efforts made by successive governments to transform the lives of citizens for the better.  The lack of basic infrastructure such as electricity, clean water supply, health care, schools, roads, housing, sanitation, income generating facilities, etc. have negatively impacted the lives of many Sierra Leoneans especially those in rural communities. Findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as stated in paragraph 249 that: “Even before the start of the civil war, public service delivery had ground to a halt in much of the country.  The war devastated public infrastructure and almost totally emasculated government’s ability to deliver service to the people. Most Sierra Leoneans do not have access to clean w...

By: Hawa Dauda  Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in West Africa with a population of approximately seven million. It has beautiful beaches, natural resources, sixteen tribes and rich cultures. Despite these unique attributes the country is facing lots of challenges, ranging from poor health facilities and malnutrition to lack of basic necessities and amenities.  Especially for those living in the slum and other deprived communities as a way to give back to his country, Leone Stars right back, Mustapha Dumbuya is set to give a little bit of joy to deprived communities this Christmas season. According to Dumbuya, he grew up not too far from the Kroo Bay area in a country rich with rivers and rain fall but challenged with numerous atrocities. "Those living in developed countries take these issues for granted but here in Sierra Leone malaria, child mortality and malnutrition have plagued us for decades. I have witnessed families struggling   for basic human necessities, he...

By: Ibrahim Jalloh – (Jallomy) Reports monitored in Freetown and other parts of Sierra Leone suggest that the planned and trumpeted demonstration in Sierra Leone today, December 01, is a complete stillbirth! Nor Sierra Leoneans have graduated from the tricks and antics of Political megalomaniacs. The Political moment is sour for many who find it difficult to accept and submit to the reality of democratic transition in Sierra Leone. The culture of Political denial and resistance to change is thinning out. Change is permanent and those who dare to stand the tide of change will be swept along. What is more disturbing and insulting is when significant Unknowns in foreign lands call for their compatriots to go out and riot while they ensconced in their comfort zones in faraway lands. We cannot fall for that deception anymore.

By: Sahr J. Bangah The presiding magistrate, Magistrate Peter Brima Gogra has committed to high court a case of raped involving a seventy five (75) years old woman; name withheld who was allegedly raped by a twenty years old bike rider Sheku Mansaray at Majofunia village in Falaba District, northern Sierra Leone. According to court evidence, it was revealed in court that the complainant suffered from deaf and dumbed since childhood and it was recalled that on the 12th August 2020, the complainant was in her house alone when the accused came and took advantage of the surrounding situation and forcefully had sexual intercourse with the seventy five years old woman. It was also revealed in court that the accused Sheku Mansaray did not only have sex with the victim but squeezed the her throat and forcefully put his cloth in her mouth not to shout for help wherein she sustained wound in her mouth. Four witnesses testified in court with collaborative evidence that that they met the victim cr...