By Karim Rogers
Since President Julius Maada Bio came to power in 2018 to date, there have been repeated allegations of human rights abuses and the lack of free speech in Sierra Leone despite his government has removed Part 5 of the obnoxious Public Order Act, 1965 which it has replaced with the more draconian Cybersecurity and Crime Act.
The Cyber Security and Crime Act, which replaced certain provisions of the Public Order Act, 1965, has been criticized for threatening press freedom. Under this law, citizens are now fearful of arbitrary arrest as it appears that only opposition politicians (as in the case of Alhaji Hon. Ibrahim Kemoh Sesay) and anti-government activists and social media influencers who have been charged under this new law.
Quite recently, Hawa Hunt, a Sierra Leone with dual Canadian citizenship was arrested, detained, and charged for criticizing and “using abusive language on President Julius Maada Bio and his wife Fatima.
Her detention generated so much attention leading to the resignation of Sierra Leone’s Honorary Consul in Canada, David Pratt. In his resignation letter, Pratt noted that, “I believe very strongly that Sierra Leone needs to have a higher regard for human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of speech, than has been on display recently. Under the circumstances, I feel I can no longer continue as the honorary consul for Sierra Leone and hereby tender my resignation”.
Not too long ago, a popular and critical journalist, Thomas Josephus Dixon who is the Chief Editor of the Salone Times Newspaper and Publisher of New Age Newspaper, experienced challenges faced by the lack of free speech in Sierra Leone. He faced a barrage of attacks on social media and in person after criticizing a statement made by the First Lady. His office was targeted, and a bag containing important documents mysteriously disappeared. Despite reporting the incident to the police, no resolution has been reached. He also described a chilling encounter with the Inspector General of Police, who allegedly sent him a threatening message after he criticized the arbitrary use of bail. Fearing arrest, he went into hiding, an experience that left him psychologically traumatized and reluctant to appear on national TV.
Added to these, Global Hunger Index reports have rated Sierra Leone as among the countries with alarming problems of hunger and mental health issues. Sierra Leone has a level of hunger that has been described as very serious. Mental health conditions are a serious issue in Sierra Leone, a country that has suffered from a brutal 11-year civil war and other challenges. The estimations show that 30% of the over seven million Sierra Leoneans have chronic mental health problems. However, this may be an underestimate, as many cases are unreported. These two compounding problems are exacerbating the woes of people in the country.
This brings me to the issue of one Moualim Nabe, a Sierra Leonean immigrant living in the United States of America. He migrated to the US from Sierra Leone at the age of three. He has lived all his life in the US and schooled there.
Moualim Nabe has an ambitious future and a positive spirit for society. He has brighter hopes of what he wants to be in the future and makes his contributions to the American society.
But with the current worsening situation in Sierra Leone, any attempt by Moualim Nabe to return to Sierra Leone will be counter-productive for him and his well being. This might lead him to develop mental health issues and subsequently go into depression and die in the process.
Moualim Nabe has no direct relatives in Sierra Leone; he has lost touch with everything happening in the country.
It could be recalled that in August 2022, hundreds of citizens took to the streets of the capital, Freetown, and some parts of the country protesting against what many claimed to be “President Bio’s autocratic rule”. It was alleged that 21 protesters were extra-judicially executed by security personnel whilst six police officers were reportedly killed by the protesters. This incident signaled another dark chapter in Sierra Leone’s history of what some human rights activists claimed was “state impunity and abuse of human rights”.
Also, human rights abuse and the lack of freedom of speech were seen in the case of one of Sierra Leone’s popular musicians, Alhaji Amadu Bah, professional known as LAJ. He was arrested and locked up at the notorious “Benghazi” (a detention centre which is said to be run by the paramilitary OSD), where his dreadlocks were reportedly forcefully shaved. He was charged to court, tried and convicted but later pardoned.
The above cases are just few examples of the state of affairs in Sierra Leone. Recently, a group of musicians from the Kenema stronghold of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) says in what seems to be an anti-government song that anybody who survives the prevailing situation in present day Sierra Leone ought to be called a “Superman”!