Media Freedom

Sierra Leone: Julius Maada Bio’s Veiled War Against Free Speech and the Africanist Press

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah On November 2, the world commemorated the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. This day is set aside to help raise awareness of diverse challenges faced by journalists and mass media communicators in the exercise of their profession. The United Nations noted that this year’s events should …

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Sierra Leone Should Investigate Death Threats Against Africanist Press Staff

The following is a letter sent to Secretary of State, Anthony John Blinken requesting the United States government to remind the government of Sierra Leone of its obligation to investigate and address threats made Africanist Press staff and determine what steps the government has taken regarding the reported threats and cyber harassment of Africanist Press …

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History and the Future of Sierra Leone

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah Five Sierra Leoneans have received doctorate degrees from Northwestern University since the mid-1960s. They include Enid Forde (1966, Geography), Josephus Olufemi Richards (1970, Art History), Gladys Harding (1971, Education), Augustine Stevens (1975, Political Science) and Cecil Magbaily Fyle (1976, History). I am the sixth doctoral graduate and the second historian …

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Africanist Press: Two Decades Promoting Democracy and Resisting Corruption in Africa

By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah This year – 2022 – marks 20 years since the launch of the Africanist Press as an independent media organization providing a platform for free speech, democracy, and accountable leadership in Africa. Africanist Press journalists have campaigned against corruption and graft across three successive regimes in Sierra Leone. As editor, …

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Hired Surveillance: Sierra Leone officials pay cyber intel groups to target journalists, political opponents

By Matthew Anderson, Nik Harris, and Mark Feldman An investigation by Africanist Press has uncovered that Sierra Leonean officials paid at least US$5 million to cyber intelligence groups, including the Israeli-based Cognyte Technologies Limited for cyber intelligence services and tools that were mostly used to target political opponents of the Maada Bio administration. Africanist Press …

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Sierra Leone: New evidence shows government’s ongoing efforts to silence Africanist Press

By Anne Baber Wallis, Matthew Anderson, and Mark Feldman  Leaked documents from the Office of the Attorney General of Sierra Leone provide new evidence on joint efforts undertaken by leading government officials and opposition party politicians to prevent Africanist Press from publishing its investigative reports on corruption and constitutional abuse by officials in the Maada …

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Sierra Leone: Opposition Parliamentarians defend President’s corruption

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter was sent to the parliamentary leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC) on 8th July 2022. It was written by Africanist Press Editorial Department in response to public statements made by a member of the APC party in Parliament providing defense for President Julius Maada Bio against corruption reports published …

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Press freedom groups call for investigation into death threats against Africanist Press editors

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Sierra Leone authorities to cease their harassment of the Africanist Press news site and its publisher, Chernoh Alpha Bah, and should investigate the death threats against him, On May 4, Sierra Leone’s Office of National Security (ONS), a federal security agency, submitted a complaint to the Independent …

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Zimbabwe detains NY Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo

Zimbabwean authorities should immediately release New York Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo and drop baseless charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Moyo, who also freelances for Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper and Norway’s Bistandsaktuelt, was arrested on May 26 in the capital, Harare, and charged with violating Section 36 of the Immigration Act for alleged misrepresentations to immigration officials …

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Sierra Leone: President’s Policy Adviser Spreads Lies Against Africanist Press

We have been informed that one Patrick K. Muana, a senior policy  adviser to the President of Sierra Leone and director of strategic communication, and a few other Bio administration employees are now claiming that Mark Feldman of the Africanist Press has not been working with Africanist Press for over a year now. This is …

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