Tribute have been paid by the former National Secretary-General of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Mohamed Asmieu Bah to the Journalist heroine, Esther Kanny Kargbo. He wrote:

A CANDLE IN THE WIND

’She said it and she did it’

One of the most difficult things to do is to write a tribute for a fallen hero, especially one who dies at her prime. When I saw the message on our SLAJ forum that fateful morning about the death of our colleague, I said to myself I wish I had not opened that message to read the news about the death of a colleague whom I saw in December, a fortnight before she joined her ancestors.

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I came close to Esther when we both ran for positions in 2019 in our noble association, while she ran for Vice President; I threw my hat into the ring for the Secretary glGeneral position. Hers was very controversial and many thought she was not going to pull it through but as hard working as she was, she emerged victorious. So I know her more as a Vice President and colleague in the Monk-led SLAJ Executive than a colleague at broadcasting house at New England. I recall our debate at the British Council where candidates were asked to present their vision to the membership; Esther in an Africana dress majestically went on stage, occupied her seat with confidence and gumption. She mesmerized her audience many of whom were journalists and she received thunderous applause from them. After the debate we drove together, she was heading to Hastings with one of her friends Femi, the current President of WIMSAL. On our way, she would tell me how she wanted to see a vibrant SLAJ, one that would represent the interest of the ordinary journalist.

Before the election, she would tell me about her plans for our Association and the kind of SLAJ she wanted to see. True to her words, after her ascension to the position, she became one of the most committed members of the Executive.

Just after our election, she was posted to Kailahun as SLBC Station Manager. When we had the posting, as an Executive, we were apprehensive as we thought she would miss out on some of the Executive meetings and other activities of the Association. However, Esther would drive from Kailahun to Freetown to attend Executive meetings and other SLAJ functions, while some Executive members who were in Freetown would be occupied with one or two things. That’s the apex of sacrifice that one will make for one’s Association.

Ours was the most stable and united Executive of SLAJ in recent times, Esther as Vice President was the main anchor of our Executive. As Secretary General and her as Vice President we gave maximum support to President Monk. I don’t remember us having rancor, yes we did hold different opinions on certain issues that arose, but Esther would always be there with that soft voice to make her contributions and push her own point of view in a courteous and decorous manner. As if she had mastered the book ‘’48 laws of power’’ by Greene Robert in which one of the rules says ‘’never outsmart your master’’ Esther never outsmarted her master, the President of the Executive.

The tears are still rolling, and the memories are inedible, never to be wiped from our minds. Like Hilton John sang in Diana’s funeral in his popular eulogy through the song Candle in the wind the singer’s description of Diana left tears on the cheek of many especially with these touching words ‘’and it seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind, never knowing who to cling to when the rain sets in’’.

You said it and you did it.