SLAJ Commends Professional Conduct Of Journalists

While speaking at a press conference held at its Campbell Street headquarters in Freetown on Monday, 26th June 2023, in respect of the just concluded General Elections, the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, commended media houses and journalists deployed to cover the elections for the professional and impartial manner they reported the conduct of the elections.

 

Nasralla stated that “The conduct of journalists and media houses on polling day so far is encouraging, professional and impartial”.

 

He also noted that the Coordinator of the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), Dr. Francis Sowa, extolled the media for its professional performance on polling day, adding that “we have received complaints from the leadership of the Independent Radio Network (IRN) about a broadcast by Justice Radio FM accusing the platform of holding secret meetings with the main opposition Presidential Candidate, Dr. Samura Kamara, to ensure that the platform announces results from Polling Stations that are favourable to the candidate and his party”.

 

The SLAJ President continued that the radio station further called on the Sierra Leone Police to stop the platform from announcing provincial results from polling stations, and urged the public to stop listening to the platform.

 

Nasralla noted that there were no reported incidents of threats or attacks/assaults against journalists or media houses on polling day across the country, but lamented that a group of journalists (including foreign journalists) were trapped at the All People’s Congress headquarters on Old Railway Line, Brookfields, Freetown, on Sunday 25th June 2023, while covering the party’s Press Conference, during which the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) fired tear gas to disperse the crowd of supporters that had gathered in and around the building.

 

Ahmed Sahid Nasralla furthered that he received distress calls from journalists and their media houses in respect of the incident, and SLAJ contacted the Police high command and requested their intervention to get colleagues out of the building, and later got assurance from the SLP Regional Commander, Freetown West, Sylvester Koroma, that the journalists were escorted out of the building unhurt.

 

Nevertheless, SLAJ received complaint from one of the journalists, Ibrahim Alusine Kamara, Managing Editor of Salone Compass newspaper, alleging that his vehicle, which he drove to the APC office for the press conference, was vandalized by security officials.

 

Nasralla condemned the continuous spread of false information on Social Media, which included fake news, hate speeches and political propaganda, especially during the elections, as well as the spread of dis/misinformation of elections results from sources that do not have the authority to do so. He stressed that it is only the Elections Commission of Sierra Leone that has that constitutional authority.

 

On the role of the Independent Radio Network (IRN), the SLAJ President recognized the efforts by the IRN platform of radio stations, TV stations, and newspapers in covering the elections in a professional and impartial way, amidst difficult circumstances.

 

“We also recognize the great work by our team of Fact-checkers working on the UNDP I-Verify platform and the NDI Super News Room for timely fact-checking of problematic content around the elections and helping the public to have access to accurate and factual information,” he acknowledged, and admonished journalists to continue to perform their roles responsibly, professionally and impartially.