A newspaper vendor has been in custody few days back for the sale of a newspaper containing an article deemed defamatory.
The journalist who authored the article perceived defamatory was roped in too. However, Police bail has been granted to both.
Defamation concerns the reputation of an individual while sedition is about Sierra Leone’s image abroad. Both are criminal and journalists could be imprisoned for specified jail terms for a distinct breach upheld by the courts.
Part-IV of the Public Order Act (POA) No. 46 of 1965 creates the offences and they are found in sections 26, 27 and 33 of the Act.
The POA holds that a newspaper vendor who sells a defamatory article could be arrested equally like the author if the vendor is educated enough to know the content of the article in question.
The arrest of the vendor and the journalist is part of several arrests and detentions to which journalists in Sierra Leone have been subjected.
Few months back, a journalist of a local tabloid, Tejan Jalloh was arrested and detained while trying to crosscheck an allegation made by a senior government official. The arrest was reportedly ordered by the government official from whom the journalist sought to cross check the allegation.
A female journalist was also placed behind bars for two nights for the publication of an article on the trial of 14 soldiers at the Cockeril Defence headquarters. She was roped in for contempt of court. According to the then Judge Advocate, the news story was scandalous of the court and also touched on the evidence presented by the state.
A great number of court reporting journalists have been incarcerated for this offence and others are being threatened.
The definition for contempt of court is wide and complex. It is conceptualised as any act that interferes with the administration of justice or any publication that lowers or has the tendency to lower the importance of the court in the eyes of right thinking members of the public.
The law recognises contempt in the face of the court and outside the court. It is the magistrates and judges that tell what act amounts to contempt of court. Since a great number of media practitioners are yet to master the law on contempt, they are always at the mercy of the courts.
Most times, journalists leave out facts in a story on mere suspicion of being contemptuous of the courts owing to the fear of being locked up. The fear permeates almost all media institutions in Sierra Leone.
Apart from their arrest and detention, most journalists have received death threats while duly executing their duties of informing and educating society. Sometimes, they are manhandled by vicious and ruthless thugs leading to their deaths. In most instances, the beatings are allegedly incited by politicians and other highly placed members of society.
Cases about beatings and killings of journalists are being heard in courts and others investigated by the police. Raiding of media institutions by security operatives is the most common way of arresting journalists. During such raids, computers, cameras, recorders and other complex communication gadgets are seized. The arrest method has been labelled controversial as it is seen many as a way of shutting down a targeted media institution.
Government bans on certain programmes aired by media institutions is not uncommon. A popular radio programme, called the ‘Good Governance Programme’ was banned by the then Minister of Information over a complaints made by a government minister.
The ban was outside the confines of the law as the Independent Media Commission (IMC) is Sierra Leone’s chief media regulator. The IMC Act says in Section 3 that in the exercise of its function, the IMC shall not be subject to the control or direction of any person or authority.
A 2019 US report on human rights indicates that several media practitioners have been arrested and detained, most times, without trials.
The arrest and detention of the Managing Editor of a local tabloid, Nightwatch newspaper was captured by the report among several others. The report seems critical of the arrest as no trial has been instituted. Government sources say the case file is with the law office waiting for legal advice.
Similarly, Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), an institution set up to reform the country’s media recently released two reports hinged on the arrest and detention of journalists in Sierra Leone.
It is incontrovertible that the arrest and detention of the journalists is ephemeral as they stop at police stations or correctional centre remands. No journalist’s case has been followed to its logical conclusion for the past ten years. Government officials arrest, detain and later release journalists without charge. The act has been viewed by many Sierra Leoneans as a subtle means of whittling down media practice in Sierra Leone.
The instances mentioned above portray an unsafe media environment in Sierra Leone. The media environment thus constitutes an obstacle to liberal media practice in the country.
In the face of turbulent media circumstances, past and current governments have promised journalists to decriminalise the defamatory and seditious libels laws.
The decriminalisation of defamation and sedition means the offences would no longer be treated as criminal but civil offences. Under the civil jurisdiction, media institutions compensate institutions and individuals for infractions of defamatory and seditious libel laws.
The Koroma regime has ride into the sunset with the promise left unfulfilled.
The Bio regime is here with similar promise and has demonstrated effort to amend the law evidenced by Cabinet vote to decriminalise.
But, parliament seems not inclined to agree with cabinet decision.
Mohamed Rado Swarray is the Minister of Information and Communication. During a press conference held at the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) headquarters last Tuesday, Mr Swarray told journalists that cabinet has voted for the decriminalisation, but parliament yet to approve.
“It is the beauty of democracy,” Minister Swarray quoted President Bio.