Prominent legal expert Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, Esq. is raising alarms over the Sierra Leone government’s unprecedented decision to issue direct financial subventions to the country’s leading journalistic and legal associations, warning that the move threatens their independence and public trust.

According to Kamara, the government has allocated NLe 2.5 million to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and NLe 1.5 million to the Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) for the 2025 fiscal year.

He described the direct funding as a “first” and a “troubling precedent” for the nation’s democratic institutions.

While acknowledging that supporting democratic institutions is defensible in theory, Kamara argued that direct executive funding creates an unavoidable appearance of conflict without rigorous safeguards. He pointed to a recent, massive international drug scandal as evidence of this eroded independence.

Related News

Despite widespread reports of a ship carrying 40 tons of cocaine—valued at an estimated $1.5 billion—being accused of berthing at Sierra Leone’s ports, both SLAJ and the SLBA have remained notably quiet.“The public has noticed the deafening silence of both SLAJ and SLBA,” Kamara noted. “Not a word.”

Kamara framed the funding allocations within a broader pattern of what he describes as a deteriorating civic space in Sierra Leone. He accused the SLPP-led government of weaponizing the Cyber Security and Crimes Act of 2021 to silence critics and systematically attempting to “capture leadership of every civil society organization and pressure group in sight.”

To illustrate the severity of the government’s reach, he cited the recent indefinite ban of journalist Melvin Tejan Mansaray from Parliament for criticizing the legislature, and alleged that even informal groups like the Cookery Baffa Association have faced arbitrary government interference.”My fears are not abstract,” Kamara stated, warning that if the state can reach into these civic spaces without accountability, the public must wonder which independent institution will be targeted next.

To preserve the integrity of these vital institutions, Kamara urged SLAJ and the SLBA to rely on non-state funding and internal revenue generation. If state support must continue, he argued, the funds should not be controlled by direct budget allocations from the executive branch.

Instead, Kamara proposed routing the financial support through an independent trust fund to maintain a necessary barrier between the government and the civic organizations meant to hold it accountable.