By Umaru Fofana
One by one they came. Ten of them. Well dressed. Each walking like a cat. Accompanied by music. First dressed as casual. Then in their national dress. And then in their dinner wear. They were resplendent.
On each occasion they walked up to an elevated podium drenched in a thick AFRICELL brand, with nice chairs for them to sit on in the end. You do not expect this to happen to prisoners. But yes it did.
By Umaru Fofana
It is a bit encouraging that Sierra Leone’s two main political parties are busy with some regular consultations with their members along the lines of democratisation within their ranks. Or so we are made to believe.
By Umaru Fofana
This week something that could and should have passed off uneventfully led to an unnecessary flurry of furore that became, probably, the biggest threat to press freedom since President Julius Maada Bio came to power in April 2018.
By Umaru Fofana
Alimamy, not his real name, is blind. He begs on the street of central Freetown, the Sierra Leone capital. He moves around with a walking stick in his right hand, and a girl said to be his daughter on whose right shoulder he lays his left hand. She must be around 10 years old. He is probably in his late 50s.
By Umaru Fofana
A cabinet reshuffle, as we know it, is no longer in vogue. Unless where there is a change of government, reshuffle happens now when there is a huge policy shift of government in which case those who are sceptical about or opposed to such would be required to leave government. Especially in a presidential system, cabinet reshuffle is a rarity these days. Generally appointees would rather resign or be asked to do so if their conduct or performance has become unsatisfactory or their position untenable.
By Umaru Fofana
It was just passed midnight. Our get-together in our hotel had ended, climaxing two days of humanitarian work in Kambia. So we decided to drive around the northern Sierra Leonean town, that late.
During the day we had been to some remote communities in the district, where we saw many people struggling for the most basic things in life. Thankfully we did not see any signs of child malnutrition even if some of the kids walked and ran around barefoot and semi-naked.
By Umaru Fofana
A secondary school in Kono District, which I cannot name, had electricity when such was a dream even for college campuses in the country. The students’ hostels, chemistry and physics laboratories, staff room and other offices, even staff quarters, etc. were all assured of electricity for a certain number of hours, daily. Then one day, the campus was left in pitch darkness, ostensibly forever. That was decades ago. And here is why:
Supported by: Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)
