SLAJ President Pays Solidarity Visit to Liberty TV Amid Online Attacks
Deborah Sorie The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Alhaji Manika Kamara, has paid a solidarity visit to the managing partners of Liberty Online TV following a recent controversy involving the station and its female presenters, Mabel Kabba and Kadija Bangura.
The visit comes amid growing concerns over alleged online harassment, personal attacks and attempts to undermine the professional credibility of the two journalists following a controversial interview on the station’s Breakfast Show.
On 19 October 2026, Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) National Publicity Secretary, Moses Sellu Mambu, appeared on Liberty Online TV’s programme, where he made allegations against journalists Victor Jones of AYV and Thomas Dixon, Chairman of the Guild of Newspaper Editors.
Mambu reportedly accused the two journalists of conspiring to submit a false report against him to SLAJ, while also alleging that some journalists were pursuing an agenda against the ruling SLPP.
Victor Jones subsequently lodged a formal complaint with SLAJ over the allegations.
In a statement issued on 28 October, SLAJ said its Secretary-General, Edward Fara Marrah, had contacted Mambu to obtain his response. The association said Mambu maintained his allegation that Jones and Dixon had worked together against him, but its records contained no evidence of a false report submitted by the journalists.
The association rejected the allegations as unsupported and warned against public accusations capable of damaging journalists’ professional reputations and exposing them to intimidation.
The controversy subsequently extended to the presenters who conducted the interview, with Mabel Kabba and Kadija Bangura reportedly facing online attacks and harassment.
On 8 November, Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) issued a statement condemning what it described as online attacks, harassment and smear campaigns targeting the two presenters.
WIMSAL said the attacks threatened their safety, dignity, professional credibility and freedom to carry out their journalistic responsibilities. It called on relevant authorities to take steps to protect the journalists and urged social media users to refrain from abusive and intimidating behaviour.
Against this backdrop, SLAJ President Manika Kamara’s visit to Liberty Online TV represents a show of solidarity with the station’s management and its team amid the ongoing controversy.
The visit also highlights growing concerns within Sierra Leone’s media community about the safety of journalists, online harassment and the need to protect media practitioners from intimidation arising from their professional work.
Liberty Online TV shared news of the visit on its social media platforms, expressing appreciation for the SLAJ President’s gesture of goodwill towards its management and staff.