By Kemo Cham
There have been an outpouring of commendations for Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio after he appended his signature to a piece of legislation that officially repealed the Criminal Libel law, bringing to an end 55 years of struggle by free speech campaigners.
President Bio publicly signed the amended law at a ceremony at State House in Freetown on Wednesday, in the presence of representatives of leading organizations and individuals who spent the last over five decades campaigning against Part Five of Public Order Act (POA), which critics said had stifled free speech and held back the development of the media landscape.
“I have always argued that the repeal will unshackle free speech, expand democratic spaces, and consolidate our democracy,” the president said at the ceremony in the conference hall of the presidential office.
“It will open up the space for the growth of the media industry in the country. Professionalism will be enhanced and the best and brightest and more women, especially, will be encouraged to work their trade,” the president added in his statement.
Bio, in his statement, recalled recently meeting the leadership of the Independent Media Commission (IMC) and the Ministry of Information and Communications to discuss possible support to 130 registered newspapers, 165 registered radio stations, and 42 registered television stations.
The historic day also marked a fulfilment of a major campaign promise of the president.
The law to repeal the obnoxious section of the POA was passed by parliament back in July this year. President Bio needed to sign it for it to become law.
Wednesday’s event was hailed by free speech promoters, particularly journalists, among them major critics of the president.
Journalist turned opposition politician, David Tam-Baryoh, praised the government for the action, noting that he was happy that with what has happened he is no longer likely to go through what he experienced in the last nearly three decades.
Baryoh was detained under almost every regime that governed Sierra Leone between the early 90s and 2018, starting the NPRC military regime in 1993. He was detained under the Ahmad Tejan-Kabba SLPP administration for his reports on both radio and newspaper, and between 2007 and 2018 he was detained by the Ernest Bai Koroma administration for similar reasons.
“I am happy that we have got this now… They have done a good job,” the veteran journalist told Politico.
“The media is free, the media is safe, the media is asked now to act responsibly and I think this is time everybody is going to think progressively,” he added.
Fellow broadcaster and publisher, and also a staunch critic of the president, Philip Neville, said Bio’s action represented victory for his presidency.
Neville said he suffered severely in the hands of powerful politicians who “abused the rights of journalists” like him by ordering his arrest and detention anytime he offended them by his work.
Mr Neville recalled that he was so frequent a visitor at the Pa Demba Road Maximum security prison that he was jokingly referred to as a customer.
“I became used to it. But I am happy [that] today it [the criminal libel law] has been removed. We say thank you to President Bio; he has won. He said it and he meant it and he executed it, so President Bio has won,” Neville said.
Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, said history was made on Tuesday 23rd July when Members of Parliament, in an “exemplary demonstration of patriotism,” repealed the Act that criminalised libel and sedition.
“Decades-long thirst for good governance and accountability and freedom by the media, and by extension, the citizens were accomplished by a quest for action by the President,” Swaray said.
He added: “I salute the parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle who jumped on the movement of the president for taking the bold step to repeal this old and obnoxious law. I, therefore, implore media owners, publishers, and practitioners to guard against the unfortunate invasion of their profession by imposters.”
Reports indicate that the development also propelled the country’s international ranking in free speech, including the Global Expression Report 2019-2020 and Article 19. Sierra Leone is now ranked among the top five countries in Africa for facilitating and supporting freedom of expression.
“It is acclamation well-deserved and a moment of inspiration to aspire to do more. And that is why we are here,” President Bio remarked in response to the country’s new ranking.
Civil society activist, Lawyer Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, has been a leading campaigner against the criminal libel law. He said at the State House event that the act of the president to repeal it raised his hope for the future of journalism. He suggested that the day the president signed the document be set aside for an annual commemoration as a national day of press freedom.
The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), another leading force behind the campaign, hailed the president and his administration for fulfilment their promise.
SLAJ President Ahmed Sahid Nasralla singled out President Bio “for mustering the courage of a soldier to expunge the law that hindered the growth of journalism in the country.”
Nasralla also said that the occasion was the end of a long journey in terms of legislative reforms but also the beginning of a long journey for professional journalism and democratic good governance.
The UK government has been a major funder of efforts to repeal the criminal libel law. British High Commissioner, Simon Mustard, was at State House to witness the signing ceremony. He said with the move Sierra Leone had taken a “significant step forward” in enhancing Human Rights, calling for celebration of the day.
“President Bio made a manifesto pledge to repeal the criminal libel law in 2018, as he set out his vision to promote Sierra Leone on the global stage, as a country open for business and investment. Experience from around the world shows that an independent media encourages greater investment, from home and overseas, as it gives investors access to accurate data and information,” Mustard said.
He added: “It also allows greater participation by the people in political and economic debate, which can inform and influence policymaking.”
Meanwhile, President Bio has promised a review of the current state of cases related to the now defunct criminal libel law.
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