Sierra Leone: The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) in Sierra Leone alongside partners on Thursday 22nd April 2021 engaged journalists and key stakeholders including the Sierra Leone Police and Army on the safety and security of journalists in the country.
The engagement, held at the Sierra Palms Hotel on Lumley Beach Road attracted a host of national media organisations, and was also graced by the Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, who launched the “Safety of Journalists in Sierra Leone” report on behalf of MRCG.
With support from the Dutch Foreign Ministry through the Embassy of The Netherlands in Ghana, the report examined the safety of journalists, policies and practices among 44 media houses in Sierra Leone including newspapers, TV and radio stations and online media.
In his opening remarks, the MRCG National Coordinator, Francis Sowa, said journalists are faced with a lot of issues on a daily basis that go beyond arrest and detention, and highlighted that though newsmen encounter such violations, the country does not have a clear safety policy for media practitioners that will serve as a guiding principle for journalists, adding that yesterday’s discussion was a step forward in getting such a document.
In his statement, the Executive Secretary of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Khalil Kallon, applauded MRCG and the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) for such an initiative, adding that the commission is willing to adopt the security and safety issues that will come out of the engagement.
According to SLAJ President Ahmed S. Nasralla, crimes against journalists in Sierra Leone have been on the decline, for which he welcomed the idea to structure the media to ensure that journalists work in a conducive environment to inform the external public.
Among the abuses the report highlighted as being faced by journalists are intimidation, harassment, humiliation, arrest, detention and physical attacks, and went further to cite key practical instances of such abuses. The report also pointed out that the above violations are mostly committed by the Sierra Leone Police, military personnel and members of the public.
Giving the keynote address, Minister Swaray said the safety of journalists has gotten the world’s attention and such issues must be resolved globally, including in Sierra Leone. He thanked the MRCG and SLAJ for doing a good job, noting that despite the death of the Criminal Libel Law, a lot of work needs to be done in terms of outreach. He said the police and politicians have been accused of such violations in most instances, adding that as a government the president is highly committed to work with the media.
Despite the hurdles journalists face in executing their job, the report however proffered solutions in the form of recommendations, such as the need to develop a template of safety and security policy media institutions can use to develop their own in accordance with their peculiar circumstances and needs, massive training of journalists on safety and security, with support for the monitoring and reporting of safety and security issues in the country an imperative.
Two panel discussions were part of the event, and the programme ended with the adoption of the document.
MJB/23/04/2021