By Nasratu Kargbo
The first president of the Sierra Leone Association of Women in Journalism (SLAWIJ) insists she’s still in charge and accuses a faction within the organisation which announced her ouster weeks ago, of fraud and deceit.
In a press release dated 10th August 2023, Millicent Kargbo said the association had been dealing with an incident of fraud by the directors of the organisation and some of their members.
In what is a widening of the rift within the association, the statement comes a few weeks after the other faction announced the formation of a new board, who said that they’d terminated the tenure of the interim executive led by Mrs Kargbo for what they described as various acts of misconduct.
She said that move, triggered by a statement issued by Ms. Yeama Thompson claiming SLAWIJ’s executive had been dissolved, was a surprise to them, stating that no such changes had happened in their association.
Mrs Kargbo furthers that Ms Thompson, Mrs. Mariama Khai-Fornah and some other members have been deceiving the staff at the Corporate Affairs Commission into believing that there has been a change in the executive following a unanimous decision of the membership and directors of the association.
“We have found out that they have filed fake resolutions that did not only seek to change the leadership but the name and the identity of the association; a brand that we have fought very hard to build over the last few years” the release reads.
The initial statement by Ms Thompson alleged that the Board had terminated the life of Mrs Kargbo’s executive because they had overstayed their six-month mandate after which an AGM should have been held.
In an interview with Politico, the Interim Director of Media at the parallel SLAWIJ executive, Princess Gibson, could not say much in relation to the counter statement, except to admit that they had seen it and would take a position on the issue later.
SLAWIJ itself splintered from the Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL).
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