By Abubakarr Bah
Many leaders before him criminalised free speech and used the seditious libel law to jail journalists, civil society activists and political opponents. His predecessor, Ernest Bai Koroma, promised during the 2007 elections that if he was elected President of Sierra Leone, he would repeal the law. He was elected and five years later re-elected which saw him govern for almost eleven years. However, of all those years, little or nothing was done to expunge the draconian law despite the huge calls for him to do so.
However, what has for decades seemed impossible for the media and journalism in Sierra Leone became possible as a historic milestone was made on the 28th October, 2020, as President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, who suffered so much from unethical journalism, officially assented a new law that repealed the criminal libel law. The significance of this revolutionary legislative reform made international headlines in some of the world’s biggest media houses.
During a meeting at State House on the 9th June, 2021, the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla (De Monk), formally presented a special recognition award to His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio as “Champion of Free Speech” for fulfilling his 2018 manifesto promise of repealing the Criminal Libel Law.
Mr. Nasralla said, “Your Excellency, every journey, no matter how long, will one day come to an end…And so last year, 2020, we witnessed the historic repeal of the obnoxious law, ushering a new dawn for not only the media in Sierra Leone but for every citizen in the area of freedom of expression and of the press”.
The SLAJ President noted that the criminal libel law was extensively used by successive governments and politicians “to cow the media, intimidate and incarcerate journalists to escape being held to account and to clamp down on dissenting views…”
On his part, President Bio noted that his decision to repeal Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965 was in line with his party’s election manifesto commitment. In fact, the President described the award as “a bonus” because the repeal of the law was a commitment he made with an open mind.
What was the libel law about and how did it criminalise free speech?
Libel is a category of defamation that includes defamatory statements that are published or broadcast. Libel is a tort under common law for which a defamed party can sue for damages. Pure opinions, true statements, and some criticism of public figures may be protected against claims of libel.
This draconian law (Act No. 46 of the 1965 Public Order Act Part V) was part of the 1965 Public Order Act. The danger about this law is that ‘’truth is not a defence in seditious libel and that journalists must be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the publications they make is in the public interest. As a result, the 54-year-old law was effectively used to criminalise journalism and silence the media.
For instance, during the reigns of Siaka Stevens as leader of Sierra Leone between 1967 and 1985, people were arrested, charged, and jailed for what was then referred to as "carless talk". However, what was referred to as ‘careless talk’ was a way the people were expressing dissents against the governments at the time.
The media struggled during the Stevens era leading to the formation of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) on the 5th June 1971. SLAJ was formed primarily to promote freedom of expression and of the press; advocating for the repeal of the criminal libel law, to seek the welfare of journalists, training and building opportunities for its membership in Sierra Leone. Little did the founders of SLAJ know that the battle to repeal the criminal libel law would last for over 5 decades.
The political agenda to muzzle the press continued unabated and was inherited by President Joseph Saidu Momoh, followed by the 4 years of military rule.
During the reign of President Ahmed Tejan Kabba, free speech thrived to a large extent after the civil war. Pa Kabba encouraged press freedom, established the Independent Media Commission (IMC) to serve as a regulatory institution for the media and journalists in Sierra Leone with the IMC Code of Practice to guide the operations of journalists. In fact, the entertainment industry was also given a free space to thrive and President Kabba said "make den sing as long as den nor go na bush," which literally means 'young people should sing or freely express themselves as long as they don't take up arms to cause unrest." Despite this, it is worthy to note that during the reign of President Kabba, the editor of "For Di People' Newspaper, Paul Kamara, was convicted and jailed for four years on seditious libel charges committed against President Ahmad Tejan Kabba.
The journalism fraternity was highly confident that the libel law would be repealed when Ernest Bai Koroma became President of Sierra Leone in 2007 and as it was a big promise he made to the media. Umaru Fofana, then president of SLAJ did his best firstly through advocacy urging the then President, Ernest Bai Koroma to fulfil his promise of repealing the law.
Peaceful protests were held on May 3 every year marking the World Press Freedom Day but the law was still part of our law books.
The Umaru-led SLAJ leadership finally gave up the lobbying strategy and in February 2008 took the criminal libel law to court with hopes that the law would be declared unconstitutional owing that it goes against free speech, which is guaranteed by the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone. It took the Court a year to deliver a verdict that should have been delivered within 90 days.
In July 2008, SLAJ staged an indefinite news blackout on the activities of the judiciary to prod the court to issue ruling, and at the same time Mr Fofana vowed not to have his haircut (barber boycott) until the Supreme Court delivers a verdict. SLAJ later lifted the media blackout on the judiciary after getting assurances from the judiciary but the latter failed to give a ruling until after a year.
While journalists were agitating for the repeal, the managing editor of the Independent Observer Newspaper, Jonathan Leigh (now deceased) was harassed, arrested, and detained on the 15 February 2008 following an instruction by the then Minister of Transport, Ibrahim Kemoh Sesay. Sesay was angry over claims that Leigh published two articles between the 24th and 28th January 2008 accusing him of building two mansions in two months.
In 2013, the Managing Editor of Awoko Newspaper, Kelvin Kelvin Lewis succeeded Umaru Fofana as President of SLAJ. Mr Lewis and his executive (of which I served as Publicity Secretary for 17 months), met with President Ernest Bai Koroma who was serving his second term as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
The soft-spoken Lewis during a meeting with President Koroma at State House reminded him about his promise to repeal/review the libel law but President Koroma failed to honour his promise.
The Kelvin Lewis-led executive used the stick and carrot approach by engaging the Attorney General and Minister of Justice several times and lobbying Parliament, but unfortunately the law was not expunged, instead it was continuously utilised effectively during the Koroma government even in his second term.
In October 2013, Jonathan Leigh (now deceased) and his Editor Bai-Bai Sesay were arrested and detained for publishing a libellous article against President Koroma. They were subsequently charged with 26 counts and convicted, although they were later freed after a mediation meeting with President Koroma in Kabala.
Popular journalist and broadcaster, Dr. David Tam Baryoh of "Monologue fame", was also imprisoned on November 4, 2014 for criticising the Koroma government’s handling of the Ebola virus.
The Politico Newspaper of 24th September 2016 reported that “between 2014 and 2016, the libel law has been invoked in not less than 10 times, mostly on journalists who were only briefly detained and didn’t get prosecuted, or appeared in court and later had an-out-of-court settlement, or threatened to retract or face court prosecution.”
The newspaper further stated that nearly 25 journalists had fallen foul of the law in the last 8 years. In some ways, this number may appear small but in fact it shows how effective the law has been used. The former SLAJ President, Kelvin Lewis was quoted as saying that “the Public Oder Act is being used by politicians to the effect that journalists are punished even before the court decides.”
In current day Sierra Leone, the rest, they say, is history, as a new dawn for the country's media is here. Today the law that criminalised journalism and free speech has been repealed by His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio.
This is a clear manifestation that President Bio is a man of his words and indeed a ‘Tok and Do” President. The media umbrella body in Sierra Leone, SLAJ, has appreciated the President by decorating him as “Champion of Free Speech” and today journalists can practice freely. We are also witnessing the development of the media in a way that has never been seen before in this country.
For President Bio, the media should be viable and its role in society should be felt. To enhance this, his government has been providing subventions to SLAJ in a bid to help build the media industry as well as promote free speech in the country and there has been a proliferation of the media industry which every journalist is proud off and wants to see its sustainability.
By Abubakarr Bah is the Press and Information Attachee at the Sierra Leone embassy in Saudi Arabia,
Copyright (c) 2023 Politico (03/04/23)
