Sierra Leone’s main opposition party, All People’s Congress (APC) has accused a local newspaper of publishing “fake news” in a front-page article on January 30, 2025.

The APC claims the article misrepresented statements made during a press conference held on January 29th.

The disputed headline, “Over 1,500 undocumented APC supporters face Deportation from the U.S. Amid Trump’s Immigration Crackdown,” suggests a politically targeted deportation of APC members. However, the APC asserts that their discussion of potential deportations from the U.S. referred to all Sierra Leoneans, not specifically APC supporters.

In a statement released on January 30th, the APC explained that their Deputy National Chairman spoke about “our Sierra Leonean people” being under pressure and facing potential deportation, a statement which they believe Awoko deliberately misinterpreted. The APC emphasized that no mention was made of “APC supporters” during the press conference.

The APC statement argues that deportations of Sierra Leoneans would not be categorized along political lines, and that the newapeper’s publication was a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, ridicule the APC, and distract from the actual issues discussed at the press conference, which included drug trafficking, the counter-terrorism act, and the economy.

The APC is demanding a retraction and correction from the Newspaper, urging the publication’s leadership to act “right and just.”