By KABS KANU
One of the very few Editors still standing in Sierra Leone–one of those who have refused to compromise their ethics and moral standards in a profession now bedeviled by corrupt charlatans seeking favour from the Bio government— Emmanuel Thorli of the NIGHTWATCH newspaper , has been arrested.
President Maada Bio and his Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) operatives ordered Thorli’s arrest after being angered by the headlines appearing in the NIGHTWATCH newspaper last Wednesday in which the paper hailed opposition All People’s Congress ( APC) former presidential candidate Dr. Samura Kamara as a real symbol of peace and national cohesion and also quoted a cross-section of Sierra Leoneans who said they could not wait for Bio to remain in power until 2028, considering that he stole the June 24, 2023 elections.
On Friday, Police arrested the outspoken journalist and after interrogating him for his newspaper headlines, jailed him at the Criminal Investigations Department ( CID ).
Emmanuel Thorli’s arrest by the Bio oligarchy is another big blow to democracy and Freedom of Speech in Sierra Leone .It is also a serious indictment of corrupt international organizations like the Millennium Challenge Corporation ( MCC) which continue to give fake pass grades to the Bio government . How could Bio continue performing all these undemocratic depravities and human rights abuses and still be considered eligible by the MCC for the U.S $500 Compact grant , everybody is asking ? Has Maada Bio been bribing the MCC or is the Corporation suffering from mental defect ?
President Bio’s repeal of the draconian criminal libel law last year was just a smokescreen. Neither Bio nor members of his SLPP believe in press freedom or democracy .
HERE IS THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NIGHTWATCH NEWSPAPER THAT FORCED PRESIDENT BIO TO ORDER THE EDITOR’S ARREST.
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