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Jailing of Zainab Sheriff and Kaikai's Violent Rhetoric Spark Demands for Electoral Oversight in Sierra Leone

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During the same week, Zainab Sheriff was jailed for incitement on the orders of President Maada Bio, and his wife, Fatima, Kadiru Kaikai, an associate of the president, made violent election-related statements without apparent consequence. In a mobile phone video , Kaikai, affiliated with Spire USA Inc., stated in Krio that he would wage war in Sierra Leone if not made president in 2028. He estimated the conflict would cost $3.3 million and claimed to have budgeted for it, with plans to begin in Masiaka, a centrally located city. Meanwhile, representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, and the Commonwealth concluded a joint mission to Sierra Leone. They presented recommendations, including the urgent establishment of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, as outlined in Recommendation 20 of the Tripartite Report, to review the electoral cycle, assess electoral preparedness, and guide legislative reforms ahead of t...
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Sierra Leone’s Battle for Neutrality in the Age of Polarization

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The silence from both media and watchdogs on the photograph of the president of Sierra Leone in church with drug lord Jos Leijdekkers, shared by the first lady, underscores a systemic lack of public accountability. Only two reporters, who fled for their safety, have addressed the issue.  Other than that, there's been no outrage from watchdogs or media outlets, no condemnation for hosting a convict wanted by the Netherlands, and no questioning of military and police chiefs who are allegedly receiving protection money from Leijdekkers or the president's daughter, who was received in the United States to have Leijdekkers' baby in New York.  As Sierra Leone's media pretend to look the other way, they devote time to outrage over a Freetown city council executive who refuses to call himself the deputy mayor amid the opposition boycott.  Meanwhile, Augustine Navo, a founding member of Foh Di Pupil Newspaper and a media developer, analyst, and legal practitioner based in Londo...
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Inside the ODU ROTC Terror Attack: Cadets Share Their Story

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The  United States Army ROTC has posted a YouTube video  featuring Old Dominion University ROTC cadets who stopped a terrorist after he killed an ROTC professor of military science and injured two cadets. In the 17-minute video, the cadets share their experiences from inside the classroom for the first time. Cadet Louis Ancheta, who received the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal, is a student at Old Dominion University and also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve. Cadet Wesley Myers, who also received a Meritorious Service Medal, explained that he was preparing to give a presentation that day and wanted to make sure everything was ready. Ancheta remembered Colonel Shaw’s advice that media issues are one of the biggest presentation problems. Despite feeling nervous, the class went smoothly, and Colonel Shaw was about to dismiss everyone. Cadet Oshea Bego, a military science IV student, said it was probably the only day the whole class stayed because of the presentations. C...
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Saudi Arabia and Israel's shared security worries should not ignore the Dutch drug lord in Sierra Leone

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Recently, Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel, published a case study of Hezbollah by Dr. Eitan Azani, who is also in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and has operational, research, and academic experience in counter-terrorism in regional and international arenas. The ICT study at Reichman University dissects Hezbollah as a calculated “hybrid terrorist organization”—one that fuses political ambitions, social entrenchment, and military muscle. It scrutinizes its tactical evolution, financial engines, and its trademark strategy of skirting legal and ethical lines. Researchers drill into banking webs, global tentacles, and weapons of psychological manipulation, sourcing even The Calabash newspaper reports. On Saturday, I asked Amin Kef Sesay, managing editor of The Calabash Newspaper, a question on X (formerly Twitter). I asked why the Reichman University report had focused solely on the family of Hussein Fawaz—a Lebanese man in Sierra Leone shot in a bar fight with Jos Leijdekkers, a ...
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Public Outrage over Zainab Sheriff's Incitement Charges

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IB Fornah, a leading commentator on Sierra Leone, recently shared clips from a vlog discussing the arrest and detention of Zainab Sheriff, who faces incitement charges. In a recent program, Zainab argued that the first lady, Fatima Bio, should not be listed as a presidential candidate because she is married to the current president, and Sierra Leone is not a monarchy. Zainab also criticized the first lady's role during Maada Bio's first term, saying it was inappropriate for someone aspiring to hold national office.  She reminded her audience of incidents where the first lady allegedly encouraged "mob justice" and claimed that only members of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) are true Sierra Leoneans. Zainab emphasized that no political party is more important than the country itself and said that Sierra Leoneans own the SLPP, not the other way around. She called the first lady's statement about non-SLPP members not being Sierra Leonean ignorant, and sugge...
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Sierra Leone’s Drug Crisis Rooted in Deep-Set Societal Wounds

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In a recent article by Sahr O. Fasuluku ,  he contends that the Sierra Leonean drug crisis originated from pre-existing social conditions. An experienced practitioner in not-for-profit organizations in the UK and Africa, Fasuluku identifies the erosion of the social fabric and adverse societal conditions in Sierra Leone as primary drivers of the crisis. He observes that in a fragmented post-war society, social malaise fosters substance abuse as a means to cope with hopelessness. Through engagement with Sierra Leoneans, Fasuluku reports a pervasive sense of resignation across various societal groups: Families are blamed, students and school leavers express skepticism about education, teachers prioritize personal gain, parents encourage transactional approaches, communities deprioritize health, villagers resort to theft, politicians focus on personal benefit, law enforcement protects the powerful, and journalists divert attention from systemic issues such as social injustice, ec...
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Sierra Leone’s Women Are Called to Lead — Then Punished for It: Inyillah Borteh Conteh Kallon

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There is very little space, political or otherwise, for women to truly thrive in Sierra Leone. When  they are not being locked behind bars and denied bail, as in the case of Zainab Sheriff, they are  publicly defamed, bullied online, and body-shamed, as Marcella Macauley has repeatedly  experienced. Many of these women are not merely participants in national life, they are contributors to Sierra  Leone’s progress. In a country still struggling under the weight of corruption and weak  institutions, they have helped push conversations about accountability, transparency, and social  development forward. Yet time and again, obstacles appear in the paths of women who attempt  to lead, speak, or challenge the status quo. This piece will not even attempt to unpack the full range of challenges facing women in Sierra Leone, like domestic violence, sexual violence, and systemic discrimination, because doing so would require confronting a reality that r...
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