News

By Francis H. Murray

Campaigners in Sierra Leone have called for reforms of the prison system, with particular focus on the Pademba Road Correctional Center, following the release of a report on the deadly prison riot in April.

The report done by the Sierra Leone Correctional Services (SLCS), which was released last week, revealed that a total of 31 people died as a result of the riot. One of the dead is said to be a corrections officer.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

President Julius Maada Bio has called on parents and guidance to support government’s effort in the fight against rape, early marriage and other forms of violence against women and girls in Sierra Leone. 

By Mabinty M. Kamara

There are high hopes among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) owners across Sierra Leone over the ongoing emergency cash transfer scheme being implemented by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), but not all expectations are meant to be met.

The Emergency Cash Transfer is a project supported by the World Bank to help cushion the economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on vulnerable groups of people, including small businesses.

By Kemo Cham

Security forces and officials enforcing Covid-19 measures in Sierra Leone will soon have legal basis to prosecute violators, when a set of comprehensive measures prepared by the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NACOVERC) is published.

Officials say the set of rules and regulations, termed Enhanced Measures of Covid-19, have already been gazetted and it is expected to be published anytime from now, at which point it becomes law.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

Lumley Police Station in Freetown is investigating allegations of assault brought against one Mariama Massaquoi by Dorotha Koroma after a fight at the residence of the Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED), Dr. Robert Chakanda. Both women are said to be lovers of the minister, who is married but does not live with his wife. One of the fighting women is estranged while the marital status of the other is unknown.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

The Sierra Leone Motor Drivers and General Transport Workers Union (SLMDGTWU) and the Sierra Leone Roads Safety Authority (SLRSA) are at loggerheads over the production of passenger manifest.

Last Friday SLRSA in a press statement accused the Drivers Union president, Alpha Amadu Bah, of forging the manifest and making it available to drivers, instead of using the one produced by the Authority.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

A new paper by the governance think tank, Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) has called on the media and Civil Society (CSOs) to push for political reforms within Sierra Leone’s two biggest political parties: Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and All Peoples Congress (APC).

The paper titled: “Uniting Bo and Makeni: Politics and the Prospect for National Cohesion in Sierra Leone,” looks at the cause of political division and the benefits to different political actors in the country.