Grave Concerns over Government’s Perceived Grip on Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA)
By Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, Esq.
The Government has handed SLAJ NLe 2.5 million for 2025 and the Bar Association NLe 1.5 million. A first. And a troubling precedent.
While supporting democratic institutions is defensible in theory, government subvention to both bodies carries an undeniable risk, the erosion of independence and public trust. Without rigorous safeguards, the appearance of conflict is unavoidable. And the public has noticed the deafening silence of both SLAJ and SLBA on the arrest of a ship carrying 40 tons of cocaine, worth $1.5 billion, accused of berthing at our ports , in Sierra Leone. Not a word.
The better option is for non state funding and strong internal revenue generation. If state support must continue, route it through an independent trust fund, not direct budget allocations controlled by the executive.
Let me repeat, that Sierra Leone’s civic space is deteriorating. The government weaponizes the Cyber Security and Crimes Act 2021 to silence critics. Journalist Melvin Tejan Mansaray was recently banned indefinitely from Parliament, for criticizing the legislature.
My fears are not abstract. They are grounded in the SLPP led government’s desperate bid to capture leadership of every civil society organization and pressure group in sight. Even the Cookery Baffa Association has not been spared arbitrary government interference. If the state can reach into these civic spaces without accountability, Sierra Leoneans must ask, which independent institution will be next?
Leave a Reply