News

By Kemo Cham

The Sierra Leone government has announced the disbursement of the final instalment of payment of retirement benefits to ex-officials who served in the administration of former President Ernest Bai Koroma.

The government in a statement issued through the Ministry of Finance on Monday said the money meant for the former president, his vice president and cabinet ministers, among others, represented the remaining 50 percent of what they were owed as end of service benefits and gratuities.

By Umaru Fofana

The Senegalese authorities last week dismantled what they refer to as a human trafficking ring just outside the capital, Dakar.

All 87 people nabbed in the operation are Sierra Leoneans – 72 of them young women who were said to be being trafficked to an unnamed Gulf country.

By Francis H. Murray

The ongoing trial of former defense minister Alfred Paolo Conteh and two others for treason and other offences could end today at the High Court in Freetown with both the prosecution and defense due to address the jury this morning.

During the course of the trial Justice Momoh Jah Stevens dismissed a ‘‘no case’’ submission on behalf of the first accused on the grounds that treason was a serious offence hence prudent to hear both sides of the case.

By Prince J Musa in Kenema

Bo and Kenema are set for massive electricity network expansion in preparation for the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) project. Last week the Minister of Energy, Kanja Sesay led a team to deliver 16 truckloads of wooden electrical poles for both districts. The Minister said the project was part of President Julius Maada Bio’s promise to end the challenge of electricity across the country.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

US president Donald J Trump has named David Reimer as the United States new Ambassador to Sierra Leone, replacing Maria Brewer who has been here since October 2017.

The new ambassador is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service in the US.

According to the White House website, Reimer was nominated on the 10^th of June this year. Last week his name was submitted to the Senate for approval.

By Francis H. Murray

The Judiciary of Sierra Leone has announced that all magistrate courts will reopen to the public on Wednesday 1 July. The courts were closed in April after a remand prisoner tested positive for coronavirus. The Office of the Chief Justice made the announcement in a statement released last week.

The reopening comes with a number of measures aimed at minimizing the possibility of transmitting COVID-19 within court precincts. Some of the measures include allowing a lot fewer people to attend court cases than before.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

Officials at the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation have cautioned against the use of corticosteroid Dexamethasone as prevent against COVID-19. The warning comes as the drug continues to look promising, by curing critically ill COVID-19 patients.

A study by Oxford Recovery Trial in the UK showed that the drug was effective in increasing the chance of recovery for patients who were critically ill; those on ventilators and other oxygen devices.