News

By Francis H. Murray

Presiding Judge in the ongoing treason trial of former Defense Minister Alfred Paolo Conteh and two others, Justice Momoh Jah Stevens, has dismissed the ‘‘no case” submission of the defense for the first and second accused persons before the high court in Freetown.

By Newman Anthony Levey In Bo.

Residents of Gherihun Village in Baoma Chiefdom, southern Sierra Leone, have protested the alleged planned return of three Section Chiefs whom they accused of involvement in ritual murders.

The villagers took to the streets last Friday, June 12, in anticipation of an impending visit by the Resident Minister East, Mohamed Ali, whom they believe is working towards reinstating the chiefs.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sierra Leone has provided the Sierra Leone government with 32 brand new motorbikes to boost the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bikes were handed to the Ministry of Social Welfare which is expected to use them to provide Psychosocial Support Services as part of the response effort, according to news release from the UN children’s agency.

By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo

In a bid to boost local farmers in crop production, the charity BRAC Sierra Leone, through a European Union (EU) sponsored project, has supported rural farmers with Le281, 000, 000 worth of implements and seedlings.

Over 200 farmers in four districts in the South and Eastern regions of the country: Bo, Pujehun, Kenema and Kailahun, benefitted from the gesture.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

The Supreme Court of Sierra Leone is expected to commence hearing in a landmark case this week on Islamic marriage.

Women’s rights campaigner and lawyer, Fatmata Sorie, is championing the case which is seeking clarity specifically on divorce in marriages conducted under Islamic law.

By Kemo Cham

The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr David Sengeh, has urged Sierra Leoneans to emulate his family and put their fate in the government’s Covid-19 response system.

Dr Sengeh made the call as he revealed that he and his family had gone into self-isolation after his wife tested positive for the virus. It followed confirmation of a positive test result for his 70-year father, Paul Sengeh, whom the family had visited in hospital.

Paul was said to be responding to treatment at the 34 Military Hospital.

By Mabinty M. Kamara

Residents across Freetown are calling on the Sierra Leone government to review the 10-hour curfew imposed as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19, which they say has had a counterproductive effect on their livelihoods.

The 9pm to 7am curfew was declared in April, after the country recorded its index case of the disease.