News

By Umaru Fofana

The Deputy Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) has resigned effective immediately.

In his letter to the FA president, Isha Johanssen, dated 1 July, Abdul Rahman Swaray cites “family reasons and other official engagements in academia”, which he says can no longer allow him to provide the services the FA post requires of him.

Swaray has been a lecturer at the Mass Communications department of Fourah Bay College for over 10 years.

The authorities have started repatriating 248 Sierra Leoneans stranded in a holding centre in Mali after they consented to return home, according to the Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning at the Immigrations Department, Abdul Karim Bangura.

They are 156 males and 92 females, including 64 children.

“There were even five babies” Bangura said.

Already, the first batch of 115 came in on Sunday, with the rest expected this week.

By Allieu Sahid Tunkara & Hajaratu Kalokoh

There was uneasy calm at the Fourah Bay College campus yesterday, a day after rival student groups clashed over union elections.
The riots led to an indefinite ban on students’ union activities in the college by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, a decision that has sharply divided the student community.

Life has however returned to normal with lectures resuming yesterday.

By Allieu Sahid Tunkara

The Freetown City Council (FCC) has attained a major aspect of its transformation drive with the relocation of dozens of beggars from the Central Business District of Freetown.

The Council said 62 beggars who used to live around the iconic Cotton Tree at the center of the city have been relocated to Moriba Village outside Waterloo. It followed the payment of Le37million as rental allowance to the beggars.

By Prince J. Musa

Officials of Statistics Sierra Leone and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) have appealed for cooperation in the ongoing data collection exercise as part of the 2019 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

The appeals were made in Kenema District were reports say people are refusing to cooperate with enumerators.

The DHS is an household sample survey periodically conducted to monitor changes in population, health and nutrition status of the people.

By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay

The Independent Police Complaint Board (IPCB) has proposed a new bill seeking to give it more powers to enhance its oversight functions over the Sierra Leone Police.

On Wednesday officials of the Board held their first consultation with members of the Committee on Internal Affairs in the House of Parliament, where board Chairman Richard Shealton Freeman made a case for a new law.

By Hajaratu Kalokoh
The Sierra Leone government has announced an indefinite ban on all students’ union activities at the Fourah Bay College (FBC) following an outbreak of violence on Tuesday.
The violence broke out during a debate by candidates contesting the presidency for the union.

Supporters of the rival candidates pelted stones at each other and engaged in a running battle with the police who helplessly fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse the rioting students.