News

By Kemo Cham
A civil society umbrella group has urged the Sierra Leone government to demonstrate commitment to the country’s electoral process amidst concern of a possible delay in next year’s much anticipated poll.
The Standing Together for Democracy Consortium (STDC), which is monitoring the electoral process, says the government should ensure timely and adequate support to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to enable it roll out its activities in line with the Electoral calendar.

By Kemo Cham

The governing All People’s Congress (APC) party of Sierra Leone has sacked its leader in parliament in a move attributed to his presidential ambition.

After three years in post, the House Majority Leader, Ibrahim Bundu, MP, was replaced on Wednesday by his deputy, Leonard Fofanah, sources in parliament said.

By Kemo Cham
The Sierra Leone embassy in Monrovia says two children allegedly trafficked to Liberia after going missing from a government Safe House have been found.

The children, the subject of a cross-border trafficking investigation, were reported missing early this month. The home, which is operated by the Liberian Ministry of Children and Social Protection, provides temporary shelter for children in distressful situations such as domestic violence, rape and other sexual and gender-based violence, as well as those trafficked.

By Mohamed T Massaquoi

The Dutch airline – KLM – has resumed flights to Freetown after a break of 20 years.

Its maiden flight landed at the Freetown International Airport at Lungi at 8:00 PM on Sunday 26 March with 110 passengers on board, among them the KLM West Africa Director, Philippe Barbieri.

By Kemo Cham
Delay in diagnosis and stigma remain the two major factors hindering efforts to control tuberculosis (TB), medical authorities and campaigners say, amid calls for renewed efforts to mobilise against the deadly bacterial disease.
The Ministry of Health and partners say stigmatisation has forced many TB patients to go underground, and sending suspected cases into hiding and refusing to come forward to seek treatment. Consequently, there is a huge number of missing TB cases out there.

By Umaru Fofana

Students of Njala University have been running amok with police in the capital Freetown and in the south-eastern cities of Bo and Kenema as they protest against the continued closure of their college.  

Police in Kenema forcefully dispersed dozens of the students who were processing on the streets carrying placards calling for the resumption of classes. At least three have reportedly been arrested. 

By Mohamed T. Massaquoi

Sierra Leone’s newest political party has ruled out any coalition or alliance with the country’s two oldest and largest.

A founding member of the National Progressive Democrats (NPD) party, Jesmed Foday-Mami Suma says there is no possibility of coalescing with either the ruling All People’s Congress or the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday he said they did not believe in the ideologies of either party which have dominated politics in the country since independence.