Opposition leader and presidential candidate for the Sierra Leone Peoples Party has threatened to expose President Ernest Bai Koroma and members of his government’s “shady deals” in and outside the country if they continue to “harass” them “unfairly”. He was responding to allegations that he siphoned hundreds of thousands of US dollars when he was deputy military leader of Sierra Leone,... 

Official documents leaked to the press have raised a lot of questions over the main opposition challenger for November’s presidential election. They allege that Julius Maada Bio, when he was Deputy head of state in the National Provisional Ruling Council military junta, siphoned into his private bank accounts monies made from the sale of Sierra Leonean passports to Hong Kong citizens who wanted to... 

We are introducing a new column in our newspaper called IN THEIR OWN WORDS. It takes stock of how public officials, and those aspiring to so become, prevaricate, contradict, fluff and sometimes lie blatantly on issues they must be honest and consistent about. Here we go:  As a nation we appear to have reached a conclusion in the hot debate about the extent to which the Sierra Leone Police should be... 

SOJA MAN PULL EASTER DEBUL FOR DE PA Sojas were on the streets on Easter Monday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ – not bad. We can thus say that Christianity is taking hold in the military, can we? We felt very bad to hear them, not ‘singing thy praise O native land…’ but singing the praise of De Pa. It’s so disturbing to see soldiers doing this. We accept they are human beings... 

Alas the flashpoint failed to flash. The politically volatile district of Kono did not spark during the recent political rally there by the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party. This is a place where political skirmishes have been commonplace especially in the last nearly four years dating back to the local council elections in 2008 with the opposition mostly at the receiving end. We are pleased... 

By Umaru Fofana Sierra Leone’s security forces – especially its military and the police – have come a very long way since the bloody civil war days. Considering where we were just a few years ago, it is a huge transformation even if there still exist some teething issues to be addressed. With specific reference to the army, they have been fantastic owing to the huge assistance Britain, Nigeria... 

Sierra Leone is to deploy a battalion of troops to Somalia in June. The militant group Al-Shabab have warned them not to step foot on the soil of their country threatening dire consequences. So should or shouldn’t Sierra Leone send troops to the war-torn country? Following are two articles arguing for and against the deployment. Further down you will read an argument by Tanu Jalloh in favour... 

By Ishmael Bayoh  I am compelled to write this piece after close observations of how some people are using the name and influence of our musicians in their so called campaign against violence as we approach the November 17th, 2012 multi-tier elections. Musicians can definitely play a pivotal role in campaigns and by the way, Artistes for Peace are doing such campaigns. This campaign is totally different... 

By Ishmael Bayoh K-One shamed on stage Hip Hop artiste, K-One was shamed on stage while performing as a guest artiste at the Kao Denero launching on Atlantic Beach, April 7. The rapper was part of black Leo at its initial stage but he had said he left the group because of the beef with Dry Yai Crew. While he was performing, group of boys in blue went on stage and took the mic from him. K-one was stunned... 

Professor Ernest Haynes Wright (Popularly called Mofi Wright) as I knew Him By Dr. Thomas B. R. Yormah, Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone I first met Professor Ernest Haynes Wright (popularly known by his pet name Mofi Wright) in October 1970, when I came to enrol in the Faculty of Pure & Applied Sciences at Fourah Bay College; he was then... 

By Sallieu T. Kamara Once considered a powerhouse in political and diplomatic circles in Sierra Leone and abroad, Dr Chernor Abass Bundu is today an embattled man, fighting desperately to save his skin. The recent re-opening of the passport case against him by the Government of Sierra Leone may have come as a very unpleasant surprise to him. But there is a fundamental lesson Abass Bundu and everyone...