News

By Allieu Sahid Tunkara

Former prosecutor at the Court Martial in Freetown, which yesterday acquitted and discharged 13 soldiers being tried on allegations of mutiny, has ruled out any form of compensation or damages.

Major Vincent Sowa told Politico that the military men, all members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), were arraigned on charges of mutiny and had gone through a sixteen-month trial presided over by Judge Advocate Otto During in Freetown.

By Kemoh Sesay

The All Political Parties Association (APPA) has elected a new chairperson.

Mrs Augusta James Teima, interim chairperson of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) party, was elected in the capacity of interim chairperson for the association comprising the 11 registered political parties in Sierra Leone.

She went unopposed in an election triggered by the sudden resignation of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) party`s Mohamed Bangura, who has held the position since last year when the association was revamped.

By Joseph Lamin Kamara

The National Ebola Response Centre (NERC), the national body coordinating the fight against Ebola, has expressed fear of having a wide resurgence of the disease in the country if the Public Health Emergency is lifted.

Rtd. Major Alfred Palo Conteh, NERC’s CEO, said on Wednesday at his weekly news conference in Freetown that the health emergency was still “good” in fighting the Ebola scourge in the country.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Sierra Leone over the week end as part of a tour of the three nations hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic, China`s Foreign Ministry has announced.

Mr Wang is due to depart for Freetown on Saturday and it is unclear when exactly he will arrive in Freetown.

The three day tour will also take him to Liberia and Guinea, the statement said.

According to other sources, Mr Wang is currently in Southeast Asia attending a regional security summit.

By Kemo Cham 

A new network of media practitioners aimed at promoting quality reporting is poised to change the style of reportage of health issues in Sierra Leone.

The Kombra Media Network (KMN), seeking to serve as a medium for sharing and dissemination of information relating to health issues, has been boosted with 50 journalists, drawn from across the country, who last week concluded training on key concepts around reporting and ethics in reporting.

By Allieu Sahid Tunkara

The outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in the Mano River Basin particularly in Sierra Leone has taught both governments and the people very strong lessons.

By Mustapha Kamara Jnr 

Over five hundred people in Tonkolili District in the north of Sierra Leone have been put under quarantine by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation as a result of one new confirmed case of the Ebola virus disease recorded in the district. The case which was reported in Massessebe Village broke a long spell of no-new case in the district, said Retired Major Paulo Conteh, Chief Executive Officer of the National Ebola Centre (NERC).