By, Reginald Brian O. Sawyerr, Sports Reporter, Kalleone Radio  Monday 29th March 2021  The National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone and Labrum Clothing have unveiled the Sierra Leone Olympic Kit for Tokyo 2020 at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown. The CEO of Labrum Clothing, Mr FodayDumbuya, started his statement by thanking the National Olympic Committee and everyone present stating that their presence means the world to him. FodayDumbuya gave a brief biography of himself and shared some of his working experience with Nike in the U.K. adding that that the vision of Labrum Clothing came to him while working for Nike. After a visit to Makeni to be part of the annual Marathon competition he became impressed after he saw some young boys and girls together competing for the same goals. Responding to the statement of the Labrum CEO, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone, Dr Patrick Coker, thanked and appreciated the CEO of Labrum who has collaborated with his Chef de Mission, UnisaDeenKargbo, to achieve such a tremendous partnership. He concluded by mentioning that his one wish is to ensure that Labrum, the name and the brand, stayed permanently and become more popular in Sierra Leone. Motivating the athletes, the Chairlady of Labrum Clothing, Madam Wokie heaped praises on Mr.Dumbuya, Labrum CEO for his brilliant initiative in trying to change the narrative of sport designing in the history of Sierra Leone. She encouraged the athletes to be serious with their practices at all times so that they will be able to perform well. The event was graced with the presence of The Sierra Leone Sports Ambassador, Charlie Bio Jnr, Mr AlieKaddar Adviser to the Minister of Sports, Mr Christian Dauda, Team Manager of Leone Stars, Mr Kebbie, Team Manager Of the U-17 National Team, Representatives from the Ministry of Sports, Representative from the British High Commission to Sierra Leone, the media and Presidents of Sporting Disciplines. A symbolic unveiling of the Labrum Olympic kits was done by different athletes from the Swimming, Athletics and Paralympic Disciplines. A replica of the kit was presented to the National Olympic Committee through the Chef de Mission. The Swimming Association Secretary General, Mohamed Abdul Turay, gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the Disciplines that’ll be going to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. PUBLIC REVIEW SPORTS CAF DECISION ON SIERRA LEONE VS BENIN MATCH (AFCON 2021) The Sierra Leone Football Association would like to inform the public that CAF has notified SLFA that the Organizing Committee of the African Cup of Nations has decided to postpone the match #151 between Sierra Leone and Benin in the 2021 AFCON Qualifiers until the next FIFA international window scheduled for June 2021 CAF did not state the yardstick used by the committee to arrive at the said decision. Consequently in accordance with art. 83, 84 and 85 of the AFCON Regulations which adequately address issues around failure to report for a match and/or refusal to play, of which there have been several precedents the Sierra Leone Football Association has resolved to appeal the decision of the AFCON Organizing Committee. SLFA is therefore calling on every Sierra Leonean especially football loving fans to stay calm as the matter is currently being pursued in line with the appropriate statutory provisions. SLFA Media Department… CANCELLATION OF THE GAME BETWEEN LEONE STAR AND BENIN By Mansaraykalilu (Dembele) After Nigeria Gave Sierra Leone A hope of Qualifying for the Africa cup of nation Since 1996 in South Africa,By Beating the Squirrel Of Benin On Sunday By 1-0 Goal Scored By the Substitute player Paul Onuachu. Now Sierra Leone Need to play The Squirrel Of Benin Today at the National Stadium,in which Both Of the Countries  Were Promised, If Sierra Leone Win the Game Against Benin And Qualify for the Africa cup of Nation Since 1996 in South Africa, Each player will Have 10,000 Dollars And A plot Of Land As promised By the President of Sierra Leone that is Rtd Brigadier Julius Maada Bio. And also If the Squirrel Of Benin Stop the Host Sierra Leone Of Qualifying of the Africa cup of Nation,30,000 Dollars Will Be Provided. Now When the Nacoverc People were Present at the National Stadium Headed By the Spoke Person Solomon Jamiru,they Decided to Test Each player So As To Maintain The Precautionary measure. They Came Out with the Decision In which 5  players For the Squirrel Of Benin were Tested Positive for Covid 19 including their Number 1 Goalkeeper KhaledAdenon,And this Five Players were in the Starting Line-up for the Squirrel Of Benin,So the Benin Officials Deem it Expedient on their Sides to Tell the players Not to Come out of the Bus, Because they Said they Were Not Convinced By the Test Nacoverc Does on their Players.  There was a serious deliberation Between the BENIN officials and The Commissioner of CAF to allow the players to come out and Play the Match but to no avail. They Now Decided to Leave the  Field And head to the Hotel, Now Rumours Were going on That The Game had just Been Rescheduled to 7pm,And others were Saying the Game would Play at Exactly 9pm At the National Stadium The Head of Media And Marketing  of The Sierra Leone football Association Ibrahim Kamara Says the Game have Definitely Been Cancelled,in which the Commissioner of CAf will now Decide which Decision To Take And Would Communicate To General Populace of Sierra Leone And The General Populace of BENIN in Due Cours INCREASE OF THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS IN THE LISTS AND THE RULES RELATED TO THE MATCH ORGANIZATION IN CASE OF POSITIVE PLAYERS IN THE COVID19 TESTS  In accordance with the guidelines of the FIFA and CAF health protocols against CoVID-19 and for the resumption of competitions, players testing positive for the virus are not allowed to participate in matches. In this particular context, the Emergency Committee of CAF has, in order to allow the different teams engaged in CAF competitions to

Deputy Permanent Secretary making sensitizing households at the Gorahun Town, Kenema District Ministry of Energy, sponsors deepen community engagement on the processes, procedures, and utilization of the small mini-grids solar power that had been connected to households in rural communities across the country. EmmanuelJulisa, Deputy Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy informedcommunities that the small mini-grids are operated by private operators investing in the project to sustain it long term sustainability. Adding that, communities are paying for utilizing the electricity through the different agents. Deputy Permanent Secretary admonished communities’ households not to use heavy electrical appliances on the solar mini-grids because it would consume a lot of electrical power, which in return will cost them more monies to recharge.   The Rural Renewable Energy Project (RREP) was developed to support the Government of Sierra Leone through support by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and RREP is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (NOPS) on behalf of the ministry of energy, Hans OseterlooCeesay, Energy Demand Assessment Associate (UNOPS) said.   YusifMohai, Town Chief of Moawoma Town Kenema District extremely commended government for the electricity supply that has been reached at their door-step, and the emergence of the solar electrification at Moawoma town is a crystal justification on how it will touch their lives and improve their daily activities and he expressed appreciation to the government, development partners for such transformation and join their town to a modernize system of living. Lahai Sama of Gorahun Town, Kenema District declared that will comply with the processes and procedures of the project to sustain the facility, adding that for far too long, their community has been one of the most deprived communities in Gorahun Town, many times, neighboring communities in the district had been getting benefits from social amenities, but theirs had been exempted from such assistance.  Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr Is My Heroine By Mohamed Sankoh (One Drop) I’m angry. In fact; I’m angrily angry. I’m angrily angry at all those Sierra Leoneans who have been noiseless about tribalism in all government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) but have suddenly found their voices to criticise the Mayor of the Freetown City Council (FCC), Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, for merely saying the truth which is as truthful as the existence of God! What Mayor Aki-Sawyerr says in that leaked audio is something that is palpable in most of the seemingly Sir Albert Margai-style appointments made by President Julius Maada Bio since he took over the rudder of state three years ago. As far as I am concerned, Aki-Sawyerr should be commended for commenting on an issue which majority of Sierra Leoneans know exists, under the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), but are afraid to talk about it publicly. For that simple reason, she has become one of my local heroines.  If Mayor Aki-Sawyerr could be called a “tribal bigot” for simply stating the fact, then I’m just wondering what epithet should be employed for those who have been giving out jobs based on tribal considerations. As Chinua Achebe notes, “one should not be afraid to offend the elders by swallowing your cough.” My Good Lady, Aki-Sawyerr, please don’t hesitate to clear your throat and spew out the phlegm; even if that will make the elders turn their faces in disgust!  One of the problems with the “True Sierra Leoneans” (our First Lady, Fatima Bio, is alleged to have said that those “who are not SLPP supporters are not true Sierra Leoneans”) is that they are nothing but hypocrites. It is no secret that, under the current SLPP government, things can only happen for some Sierra Leoneans only when they speak the right “mammy or daddy language.” Yet, these hypocrites are now pretending as if what the Freetown Mayor said is not the truth. And for that reason an unknown Tribal Union has materialised from the blue; and they are now calling on their tribesmen (and “women” for the sake of gender parity) “…to resort to civil disobedience…until Mayor Aki Sawyerr resigns…” (According to a press release from them dated Saturday 27 March 2021 with Tengbeh Town as their “secretariat”) My comment to that is this: they can ask their kith and kin to stage a strike action and march from Kailahun District to the Cotton Tree in central Freetown, in a manner that is evocative of that which is portrayed in OusmaneSembène’s novel: “God’s Bits of Wood”; but Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr will never resign for speaking a gospel truth that is as gospel as the Gospel! And the most interesting thing about this uproar, on the Aki-Sawyerr gaffe if you will, is the press release from the “Renaissance Movement” dated 26 March 2021. In it that “nationalistic Movement”, which is well-known for its seemingly anti-All People’s Congress (APC) stance and the horrid fact that some of its prominent members are now key players in the current SLPP government, has finally found its voice on the issue of tribalism in Sierra Leone. I think I should quote paragraph four, of that press release, for its beautiful restrained mockery: “We note however that these tribal sentiments, and dog whistles that promote a tribal politics are not limited to just this incident. We use this opportunity to call on all other public officials to desist from stoking tribal sentiments and dividing this country- either in private or in public- along tribal lines. We urge every public officer to recommit to promoting our national values of unity, inclusion, freedom, and justice for all….” Such a statement could be likened to the Renaissance Movement playing the Russian roulette. And boom, off goes the revolver in paragraph seven: “…Our leaders must set good example of tolerance and inclusion not just through their words, but also by putting systems in place that ensure diversity, inclusion, and non-discrimination in the administration of public institutions…” Well charity, the cliché goes, begins at home. First, let them tell that to their SLPP and later do a tabulation of all the appointments, made by

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000220 EndHTML:0000024629 StartFragment:0000021072 EndFragment:0000024589 SourceURL:file:///C:\Users\User%202020\Desktop\PR%20THURS%201ST%20APRIL%202021\PR%20THURS%201%20APRIL%202021.docx Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to The Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency MorieFofana says Sierra Leone is open for business as government has provided the enabling environment to boost trade with other countries. AmbadsadorFofana was speaking as a key note speaker during the 13th Annual Egypt Economic Forum 2021 organized by Smart Vision under the title ‘’Egypt the gateway to exports to Middle East and Africa after Corona Pandemic’’.  Whilst extolling the virtues of Egypt and their capabilities in achieving the dream of becoming the gateway to trade in Africa and the Middle East, Ambassador Fofana envisioned cooperation between the business community in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Sierra Leone. He said Egypt’s palpable support to the growth of indigenous industries, small and medium enterprises and exports in medical products and meeting production targets has been the motivation to their dream of exporting their products. The forum attracted  Ambassadors, Heads of Missions, and Trade Representatives from many countries who shared their expertise on how to support Egyptian exports in the fields of agriculture and industrial products, small and medium enterprises, exports medical products, export brands, textile and more.  The forum discussed all points and solutions to make Egypt the gateway to exports in all fields in Africa and Middle East and how to support Egyptian exports and work to exploit all expected expert agreements between Egypt, the African Union, and how they can benefit from other agreements like the Egyptian-European Partnership Agreement and the Mercosur Agreement. Ambassador Fofanaasked the forum to use the lessons learnt from the Corona situation to develop a more robust post pandemic strategy that will support the agenda to placing Egypt at the position where it wants to be. The Forum ended with presentations of Smart Vision 9th Annual Awards to participants

Mercury International has doled out a massive payout totaling Three Billion, One Hundred and Ninety-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Seven Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty-Nine Leones (Le 3,198,937,429) in both lottery and football betting. The winning of the lottery left a total of Ten Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty-Seven (10,587) customers in a euphoric mood. The highest payout came from the Super Sunday Edition draw 136 winnings on the 28th March 2021 in which the company made a complete payment of over Two Billion, Five Hundred and Twenty-three Thousand, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred Leones (2,523,935,500) with the dropping of 66-6 from the winning balls: 66-6-17-18-47 (Extra 6-11, Extra 7-45). The second draw of the same Sunday, Special Edition 136 also produced an overall payout of Eighty-Three Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty-Two Thousand Leones (83,952,000) from the winning balls: 55-28-22-70-17 (E6-13, E7-54). The customers cheery continues in the football betting, with a payment of Five Hundred and Ninety-One Million, and Forty-Nine Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Nine Leones (Le 591,049,929) of which Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety-Three (2,493) customers were on the winning side. Public Relations Manager, Alhaji Komba said: “The Month of March has been a month to be remembered for our customers as we made an increased number of millionaires throughout our different products.” He said: “This recent winning came just after two weeks when we had the single 1-90, which produced over Eight Thousand, Six Hundred (8,600) customers who won a whooping sum of over One Billion, Nine Hundred and Seventy-two Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Five Leones (Le 1.972.775.000) from the Nongowa Draw Edition 135 of the 590 lottery game.” For Wounding: Chinese national sent to jail By FeimaSesay Chi ShuLiaug a Chinese National was yesterday arraigned before Magistrate MarkeNgegba of court No 1 for allegedly wounding Zaung Hang and Tang Lei with intent to cause them grievous bodily harm. He was arraigned on six counts  of wounding with intent, wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm all contrary to law. The charge sheet, states that the accused on Sunday 31 January 2021 at Murray town in Freetown maliciously wounded Zaung Hang and Tang Lei with intent to cause them grievous bodily harm. The police further alleged that the accused on the same date and place assaulted both complainants in a manner occasioning them actual bodily harm. Shortly after the matter was mentioned, the prosecutor ASP Ibrahim Mansaray sought for a date on the basis that the witnesses have travel to China for treatment and examination because of the manner in which they were assaulted by the accused. The accused was remanded in custody and the matter was adjourned to the 6 April 2021. Human Trafficking: House Wife &Driver In  Jail   By FeimaSesay MariamaJaguraga and AbassAlhajiKabba were yesterday sent to prison by  MagistrateMarkeNgegba of court No.1 for allegedly  trafficking thirteen children from Kundoma village via Masiaka for the purpose of  exploitation to the Gambia. The accused were arraigned before the court on fifteen counts ranging from conspiracy to commit human trafficking and engaging in human trafficking and other related offences all contrary to the laws of Sierra Leone. The charge sheet states that the accused on diverse date between 1st February to 8th February 2021 conspired together with other persons unknown to traffic Ishmael Fatorma, IsataSogbeh, FodayMattia, Christian Albert, Sao Fatorma and eight others from Kundoma village Bo district via Masiaka for the purpose of exploitation in the Gambia. The charge sheet also states that the accused on the same day and place engaged in trafficking a person by recruiting, transporting and transferring thirteen children from Kundoma village via Masiaka for the purpose of exploitation in the Gambia. During proceedings, the prosecutor Sergeant 9155 Macarthy Dwight sought for a date that the witnesses are not present in court. Magistrate Ngegba did not grant the accused bail and the matter was adjourned to the 6 April 2021.

Christian Lawyers Centre hereinafter referred to as LEGAL LINK is a non-profit legal advocacy group comprising of lawyers, law students, philanthropists and human rights activists that seek to defend the rights of religious communities and vulnerable groups in Sierra Leone through legal education, training,  advocacy, public interest litigations and the promotion of human rights and respect for the rule of law, accountability, democratic governance and international treaties and conventions to which Sierra Leone is a party. Since the Cybercrime Bill was laid before Parliament, LEGAL LINK has been religiously following the Preliminary Parliamentary debates regarding this proposed bill, the claims, counterclaims and apprehensions from civil rights activists, interest bodies and the wider public as well as the Information Minister’s piecemeal response over some of the critical issues that have been raised under the Cybercrime Bill. While we commend the efforts of the Government of Sierra Leone and in particular, the Minister of Information for the leadership shown regarding the repeal of the Criminal Libel law (Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965), LEGAL LINK is however perturbed and gravely concerned with a plethora of issues enshrined in the proposed cybercrime bill that is currently before the House of Parliament for enactment. As a leading Civil society organization with mandate to advocate for legal and policy reforms in Sierra Leone, our legal team, superintended by the human rights expert and former Commissioner for Human Rights, lawyer Rashid Dumbuya have been able to do a critical examination of the proposed cybercrime bill, bringing out its implications on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens in the state and beyond. Plausible recommendations for reform of the Bill have also been advanced. This advisory opinion has been structured into two parts: Part (A) deals with the Concerns; followed by Part (B) Recommendations. ANALYSIS Below is a critical analysis of the Proposed CYBERCRIME BILL and its implications on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens in Sierra Leone and abroad. But before delving into the concerns in the proposed cybercrime Bill, it is vital to first define what a Cybercrime law is. Cybercrime law identifies standards of acceptable behaviour for information and communication technology users; establishes socio-legal sanctions for cybercrime; protects ICT users, mitigates and/or prevents harm to people, data, systems, services, and infrastructure, in particular; protects human rights; enables the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed online; and facilitates cooperation between countries on Cybercrime matters (UNODC, 2013, p. 52). Also, Cybercrime law provides rules of conduct and standards of behaviour for the use of the Internet, computers and related digital technologies. It prohibits specific types of cybercrime and punishes real-world (offline) crimes (e.g., fraud, forgery, organized crime, money-laundering, and theft) perpetrated in cyberspace and have been made possible with the advent of the internet and internet-enabled digital technologies. Concern No 1 The Cybercrime Bill transforms the Minister of Information and Communications into a demi – god and chief judge of the state. The Minister of Information and Communications is given excessive, enormous and uncontrolled powers under the Cybercrime Bill. He appears to be a demi-god and chief judge under the said law responsible for not only strategic appointments but also punishing offenders of the Cybercrime law after they would have been convicted by the courts. By section 25 (1) of the Bill for example, the minister is giving powers to prescribe punishments that should be meted out on convicted persons under the Bill by way of regulations. This is overtly ridiculous to say the least. Such a provision is tantamount to a coronation of the Minister of Information and Communications as Judge or Chief Justice of the State. Extending judicial functions to an executive authority is not only dangerous but anathematic to the principles of separation of powers, rule of law and democratic good governance within the state. While it is safe to say that best practices across the world do allow for a Minister to formulate regulations that give effect to legislations, the same may not be true for granting the Minister enormous power to prescribe punishments for convicted persons under this bill. This is certainly an overstretch. Sentencing of convicted persons is an exclusive reserve work of the judiciary enforced by Magistrates and Judges in accordance with the law or sentencing guidelines. The Minister of Information and Communications is deprived of this legal expertise and acumen. It is important to also emphasize that the Minister of Information and Communications is a politician and with such powers of punishments at his disposal, he might use it with disaffection to silent opposition politicians, journalists, interest bodies and civil rights activists who may be critical about the excesses of the government to which he is a stakeholder. Recommendation The Act must prescribe clear punishments that will be meted out to anyone who contravenes the provisions of the Cybercrime law. The power to determine punishment for offenders of the CyberCrime law must be taken away from the Minister. In a democratic society, it is suicidal to place such powers in the hands of a non- judicial body or officer. Concern No.2 Excessive and unlimited powers given to the police or other authorized persons regarding search and seizure of stored computer data Like the Minister of Information and Communications, the police also enjoy unlimited and excessive powers under this bill. For example, under section 5 of the said bill, the police or other authorized person is given unrestrained powers to institute search and seizure of computer system, program, data and computer data storage materials through an order of a Judge of the High Court for the purposes of serving as evidence in a criminal investigation or proceedings. Under the proposed Bill, it is irrelevant as to whether the seizure of such data, computer system or storage material breach confidentiality rules or not. Once the police or other authorized person has been able to secure this order from the Court, he will now have the powers to compel any person or entity to

CYBERCRIME BILL:  SCARY By Feima Sesay Orange Foundation Sierra Leone has on Wednesday 31st March cemented partnership with Sierra Leone Autistic Society to celebrate the world Autistic day which will be on the 2nd April 2021. The event took place at their head office Hill Station Freetown. The partnership is geared towards raising awareness in the country on how important Autistic children are in the society. Director Orange SL Foundation, Madam Justina Bett in her statement said, this is the first time Orange SL will be partnering with an organization that deals with kids that has disabilities. She expressed excitement about being part of the celebration, noting that Autistic disability is a complex circumstance and she mentioned that the county needs to be aware that such children do exist and a lot of them have exceptional talents as compare to normal people. “So what Orange Foundation SL wants to do, is to start creating the awareness in order to put them in the minds of people, for us is not a positive thing when you have a child who is autistic. I was so happy to hear that we have such organization in the country,” she said. Madam Bett said as a company, they have so much to do in order to help these children, as they have been very impactful in certain areas in the country. She said the Autistic Society foundation has societal issues that the company wants to tap into by creating awareness and how also the foundation will include these kids in terms of digital inclusion. According to her, the partnership of Autistic is only to create awareness but as time goes the company will offer more of their support to see that children with Autism are recognized in the country. She said though they have disability problems but they should not be side line as they are children who crave for love and attention of not only their parent but the society they are living in. Madam Bett therefore assured Autistic Society of the Company’s support in creating the platform for raising awareness in the country as she said the company wants to be part of the daily life of these kids because they deserved to be cared for. Mary Penn Timity Executive Director of Sierra Leone Autistic Society in her statement said the organization is to help children with Autism, adding that they are grateful to Orange Foundation for coming to their aid in celebrating the world Autistic day and raising awareness in the country. She said the celebration is more of a family affair due to the Covid-19 pandemic and holiday which is on Friday 2 April 2021 that world Autistic day is celebrated. She said Autistic children are children with brain condition and therefore should not be stigmatize. Director Penn said her child who is now 14 years is a victim of autism children and that because of the stigma she went through, she saw the need to establish a centre for autistic children. She said the Autistic Society was registered in 2017 but has been in existence since 2014. According to her,the organization has school called Browne Penn Special Education School Wellington with an under five centre at Lumley. She said they also have youth club in Bo, Makeni, and Kabala that caters for 180 children. Whiles explaining some of their challenges, she said they challenge with school space and transportation as they have only one bus in the country. She said there are so many children on waiting list because of the space, adding that with bigger space, they will be able to accommodate more children. According to her, the early learning center for the under is a diagnostic center for the children. She therefore called on the continuous support of the parents and the country as whole for the development of these autistic children Govt Lifts Ban On School Celebrations The government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and in Consultation with Nacoverc has lifted the ban on all school celebrations. The decision is informed due to the zero recording of COVID-19 Cases for the past week; says MBSSE. Below is a press statement from MBSSE.

President Dr Julius Maada Bio and First Lady Fatima Maada Bio have visited victims of the fire disaster at Susan’s Bay in central Freetown and donated food and related relief items to the hundreds of displaced people in the slum area.  He said even though their visit and the gathering to welcome them were not joyful moments, he was still happy that no lives were lost to the inferno that ravaged the community a few days ago. President Bio told the people that he went to see for himself what he heard and saw on television and to sympathise with them, adding that his government was determined to improve the lives of the people. He said he had been in contact with all bodies concerned to ensure they helped the people with their basic needs, noting that he was pleased with the updates so far. He encouraged the victims to sum up courage because all was not lost but assured them that his government would provide more support to them. He thanked the community leaders and all those that are supporting the victims. Welcoming the President and entourage at the community, Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency, Lt. General Rtd. Brima Sesay, told the gathering that the President had been in constant communication with all concerned to see how the victims could be supported. He updated the president that immediately after the fire incident a total of 7,093 people, 1,597 family households and 254 makeshift structures were affected. He further said that since the incident occurred supports had come in from different bodies, among them Rokel Commercial Bank, UNICEF, Save the Children, Caritas, WFP and Mercury International. Speaking on behalf of the victims, the local chief at Susan’s Bay Community, Pa Alimamy Kamarall, expressed appreciation for the visit, adding that such a gesture would encourage them not to further grieve what had happened to them. He thanked the President and his entourage and all who had helped them, especially the security forces who helped them in saving lives.

…SLPP fires back In a strongly worded press release the Women`s Congress of the main opposition APC party has backed Yvonne Aki Sawyer, the elected Mayor of Freetown over a leaked audio where she is alleged to utter unsavoury tribal remarks against the Mende ethnic tribe. The women`s wing described the act of ascribing the audio to the Mayor of Freetown as a deliberate attempt by ill-motivated individuals to pressurise her to relinquishing her mayoral office and to further score political points. Below is the press release from the APC party women`s wing. Press Release Freetown Sierra Leone 30th March 2021: The APC Women’s Congress has followed with keen interest on the issue surrounding a leaked audio in which the Mayor of the Freetown Municipality, Her Worship Yvonne Akie-Sawyer, in a private conversation allegedly made disparaging remarks against a certain ethnic group which some sections of the public believes amounted to tribal bigotry. The APC Women’s Congress is also aware of the desperate and deliberate efforts by the SLPP Government, its surrogate Civil Society and Media organizations to score political goals against an APC – elected Mayor who from all indications has continued to exhibit exemplary leadership in spite of the several challenges she faces from a hostile and intolerant central government. As the female wing of the main opposition party, our position is as follows: That out of 12 top management staff at the Freetown City Council, 9 are Mendes whom the Mayor has had an excellent working relationship with. There has been no instance in which these staff members have been subjected to any form of discrimination by the Mayor. Therefore, the allegations of tribal bigotry cannot hold for an individual of her calibre. That the recruitment and posting of the two staff members in question as well as several others posted countrywide by the Ministry of Local Government was roundly rejected by all 22 Local councils as the move was believed to be procedural and contravenes the Local Government Act of 2002. That, we condemn in the strongest terms any move to harass, intimidate and force the resignation of Mayor Yvonne Akie-Sawyer by agents of the SLPP led government. It is untrue that the distorted statement from the mayor “will have far reaching ramifications on peace and national cohesion.” That, addressing the issue of tribalism must be holistic and not selective. We cannot afford to window dress a problem that permeates our society.   In conclusion, we wish to reiterate that there are far bigger issues of tribalism and nepotism that this government must concern itself with especially in the public service than making red meat of a closed door conversation. Such political mischief is mundane and unacceptable in the 21st Century. KRIO DESCENDANTS UNION Press Statement Date: 31st March 2021 The general membership of the Krio Descendants Union has been following with interest the leaked audios relating to Her Worship the Mayor Yvonne Aki-Swayer of Freetown City Council. Our Union believes that all Sierra Leoneans should have equal access to job opportunities regardless of ethnic association. We view the content of the leaked audios by Her Worship the Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr as unfortunate and does not represent the members of the Krio Descendants Union. We also want to state that members of the Krio community do not hold any ill-feelings towards people of the mende ethnic group contrary to several claims in the wake of the leaked audios. For decades, we have witnessed intermarriages between Krios and Mendes. Therefore, while we welcome the apology by Her Worship the Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, we would like to express our strong condemnation for her comments inferring tribal bigotry and ethnic discrimination in a workplace. We also appeal for calm from political parties and civil society organisations as any overreaction will have the tendency of undermining national cohesion. Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyer must now take the responsibility to promote diversity in a workplace and create equal access to job opportunities at the Freetown City Council for all Sierra Leoneans based on competence and not ethnicity. Signed Secretary General …SLPP fires back