The only community Radio in Pujehun District, Radio Wanjei has been off the air for the last two days after the District Council Chairman Sadiq Sillah forcefully removed the station’s microphones from inside the continuity studio.
Independent Media Commission Chairman, Rod Mac-Johnson told Politico that his Commission "has been informed about the incident and that he will raise the matter with Sillah."
He added that: "We have our desk officer in Bo who has been instructed to make a strong representation to Mr. Sillah and the other parties involved while the complaints committee of the IMC looks into the details of how this happened."
According to a report filed by the IMC desk officer in Bo, Khalil Kallon, the District Council Chairman who represents the opposition SLPP and other political parties officials in the district reached an agreement with radio Wanjei for them to do a joint program "to sensitise voters to go out in their numbers and register since the last phase of the registration process was coming to an end."
Sillah said when they arrived at the station to do the program at 8:30pm, the presenters changed the broadcast time to 9:00pm. He accused the radio staff of being "disrespectful to him and the other political party heads in the district."
According to the IMC report, the Chairman "did not take kindly to that and therefore entered the studio and removed the two microphones."
Station Manager, Melvin Rogers, who is currently out of Pujehun, agreed that his staff changed the program’s broadcast time because the station "had another activity" at that agreed time.
A handful of Pujehun residents we spoke to expressed dismay that the station has been off air for 48 hours. They called for broadcasts to start "without further delay."
The Chairman of the Complaints Committee of the IMC, Mohamed Samoura condemned the action of the district council chairman as "totally wrong." He urged Sillah to "immediately return the microphones for the station to resume broadcast" while his committee looks into the issues including the contractual agreement which is at the heart of the incident.
