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The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has received a complaint from the Management of Citizen Radio 107.5 FM in Kono District, Eastern Sierra Leone, of an alleged attack and disruption of a live paid-for program by Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina, which incident happened on Saturday, 3rd September 2022 at around 9:30 pm.
According to the management, the said program was paid for by the C4C National and District Executives, and during the program one of the panelists by the name of Sahr Nyama mentioned the name of Hon. Lamina while explaining developments in their party about the recent court withdrawal that has brought unity among them. To ensure fairness and balance, the moderator of the program, Ibrahim Tamba Fanday, alleged that he contacted Hon. Lamina to respond.
Even though it was a C4C paid-for program, Fanday said he allowed Hon. Lamina to respond for over 20 minutes via mobile phone. Beyond that, he explained that the line went off, and so they continued with the discussion program.
“Moments later, Hon. Lamina and his team of young men stormed the radio station and stopped the program. Hon. Lamina demanded that I should give him more time to respond inside the studio. There was chaos and the police and the military had to be called in to rescue the panelists, radio staff, and myself. I am scared of our fate as we approach the public elections in June 2023,” explained Fanday, the Station Manager.
SLAJ condemns the alleged attack on Citizen Radio and calls on the local authorities to protect journalists and their media houses in Kono district from intimidation, threats, and attacks by politicians and members of the public who feel aggrieved about their work.
SLAJ President, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, said: “This incident is very unfortunate, especially involving an honorable Member of Parliament who understands the role of the media in a democracy. I believe the young and promising MP will be bold enough to condemn his own actions and apologize to the media house and its management. Furthermore, I call on Hon. Lamina to join hands with the other 8 MPs from Kono to assure the journalists in the district of their safety and security at all times.”
Meanwhile, SLAJ wishes to continue to inform the public that journalists can be reported to the SLAJ Disciplinary Committee or the Independent Media Commission (IMC).
