By Kemo Cham
The first national symposium on the Seditious Criminal Libel law in Sierra Leone went underway on Tuesday with chorus of calls for speedy action to repeal it.
The law is part of the notorious 51-year-old Public Order Act designed to ensure law and order but which many say has been used to limit civil liberties.
Campaigners are particularly concerned with Part V of the Act which deals with defamation. They say it has been used to stifle freedom of expression and has discouraged the growth of the media industry because of its criminalisation of libel.
An accused person faces jail term of up to three years, plus fine.
Campaigners want the law to be replaced with a civil law.
The symposium held at the Miatta Conference Centre in the west end of Freetown was designed to allow stakeholders discuss the possible alternatives. Journalists, civil society activists, diplomats, and even politicians, were unanimous in their condemnation of the law, which some described as a bad piece of legislation which should be repealed.
The symposium was organised by the Ministry of Information and Communication in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).
The criminal libel laws do not only target journalists but everybody, SLAJ President Kelvin Lewis declared in a statement during the official opening presided over by Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Bangura, and attended by representatives of the embassy of Ireland and the High Commission of UK.
The two European governments funded the symposium.
The UK government hired two media consultants who designed the format of the deliberation which climaxed with a workshop at the British Council on Tower Hill.
A change in the law is an important aspect of the country’s development agenda, said UK High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Guy Warrington, in a speech delivered on his behalf.
The Criminal Libel Law was enacted in 1965. Analysts say it was targeted at the All People’s Congress who were opponents of the Sierra Leone People’s Party-led government at the time, among them journalists. But the APC themselves came to power and retained for 24 years, a law they had vehemently condemned in opposition.
Under this law the truth is not necessarily a defence, which, according to many activists, makes it the worst law in the country’s law books.
It is thought that about 40 journalists have fallen foul of the law within the last 25 years, while it has served as a disincentive for investment in the media. Under the law, the proprietor, reporter, vendor, printer, can be arrested alongside the editor.
Media rights campaigners say the law has contributed hugely to preventing the development of the media because investors are afraid to invest, while well trained practitioners are reluctant to join the field because of the poor working condition associated with it.
It has also notably prevented women from holding key positions in the field for fear of being arrested or jailed, noted Ransford Wright, Coordinator of the Media Reform Coordinating Group.
It is the fear of going to jail that is breeding a subtle culture of intimidation, he said as part of a comprehensive presentation on the law.
Opposition politicians also experienced a fair share of the unfriendly nature of the law. That is why President Ernest Bai Koroma, as an opposition leader in 2007, promised to repeal the law if elected. That was about nine years ago and the President has barely 18 months before he leaves office.
He has already been criticised for failing to fulfil his promise.
But Information Minister Mohamed Bangura assured that there would be a new law by the end of Koroma’s term.
“Our government is committed to repealing this act and we are going to repeal it, as long as I remain the minister of Information and Communication”, he vowed.
Inspector General of Police, Alieu Francis Munu, said the police had no intension of standing in the way of a review of the law, hence necessary safeguards needed to be put in place to protect the citizens.
Efforts to have this law reformed have been on for about four decades. Even the post-war Truth and Reconciliation Commission report recommended a review of the law, whose implementation was cited among factors that led to the civil war.
Copyright (C) Politico 2016
