In December 2024, Sierra Leone’s parliament voted to remove Auditor-General Lara Taylor-Pearce (International IDEA, 2024), one of the country’s most prominent figures in the fight against corruption. This decision, amidst institutional tensions and public debate, raised a critical question: What happens to democratic scrutiny when the institutions designed to uphold it come under pressure? At the same time, Sierra Leone’s score on the 2024–2025 Corruption Perceptions Index has stagnated at 33–34 for years, reflecting a persistent accountability deficit at the domestic level (Transparency International, 2025). While this is alarming, it also underscores a broader shift: accountability has not disappeared; rather, it has, in part, gone into exile.
The Exile of Scrutiny
This phenomenon is not unique to Sierra Leone. Across the globe, an increasing number of journalists have continued their work from outside their home countries. Exiled journalists represent the resilience of scrutiny, transforming the way accountability is maintained. Their work transcends national borders, drawing attention to governance issues, human rights, and corruption, despite the physical distance.
One prominent example is Alpha Chernor Bah, the Editor-in-Chief of Pan African Visions, who is also living in exile. Bah’s editorial work continues to serve as a critical source of independent journalism for the African diaspora and the Global South (Orato, 2024). His platform remains a powerful means for shaping public discourse on governance, human rights, and accountability, even as he operates from outside Sierra Leone.
A more harrowing case emerged in February 2025. Joseph Turay, Managing Editor of the Public Review Newspaper, was arrested alongside Dutch journalist Sophie Van Leeuwen while investigating convicted cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers, a fugitive reportedly living freely in Sierra Leone and sitting just two rows behind President Bio at a church mass weeks earlier. Turay escaped from CID headquarters and fled the country, later stating: “The arrest of Sophie van Leeuwen and myself is a clear example of the suppression of press freedom in Sierra Leone. Our detentions were part of a broader crackdown on media investigating corruption and illicit activities.” Like Bah, Turay now continues his work from exile, a living testament to how Sierra Leone is exporting its watchdogs.
Exiled Voices: Can Dündar and Tarık Toros
Another striking example of exile journalism is Can Dündar, a Turkish journalist and former editor-in-chief of the daily Cumhuriyet. Despite being sentenced to over 27 years in prison in 2020 on charges of espionage and aiding a terrorist group, a sentence that forced him into exile (Arab News, 2020). Dündar continues to host live YouTube broadcasts, analyzing Turkish politics and holding power to account. His digital presence challenges the Turkish government’s crackdown on press freedom and demonstrates how, even in exile, journalists can play a critical role in upholding democratic scrutiny (Dündar, 2025).
Similarly, Tarık Toros, a former editor-in-chief of Bugün TV who left his position after the Turkish government’s intervention in the media sector in 2015, continues his journalism in exile through digital platforms and commentary (Turkish Minute, 2016). Toros’s ability to analyze political developments from the UK exemplifies the resilience of exiled journalism, which operates free from state control yet remains deeply connected to the realities of those left behind (Toros, 2026).
The Hybrid System of Accountability
What we are witnessing today is not merely a replacement of domestic media; it is the emergence of a hybrid system of accountability. While journalists inside their home countries continue to provide essential local knowledge and daily reporting, those in exile are co-producing stories that transcend borders. This model challenges the traditional boundaries of legitimacy in journalism.
Of course, exile journalism is not without limitations. Physical distance can weaken daily beat reporting, and exiled voices may face accusations of being detached or politically motivated. Critics may also argue that digital platforms can be blocked, and that diaspora audiences do not always translate into domestic political change.
Technological challenges: Journalists in exile often face significant technological barriers, especially in regions where internet access is unreliable or subject to government censorship. These limitations can hinder their ability to reach a broad audience and impact local political discourse. Exile journalists, while resourceful, often struggle with technological hurdles that can stifle their effectiveness. The risk of digital platforms being blocked, along with internet shutdowns and surveillance, can prevent critical information from reaching its intended audience. Moreover, these journalists may not always have access to the same resources and networks as they would in their home country, weakening their investigative capabilities. This technological struggle, in turn, limits the potential of exile journalism to create substantial, on-the-ground change in the countries they seek to hold accountable.
Yet, the growing ability of exiled journalists to operate on digital platforms using tools like YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and podcasts has created new opportunities for real-time engagement with global audiences. Podcasts and live broadcasts have become pivotal in delivering political commentary, analysis, and investigative reporting, facilitating a more continuous form of interaction.
Digital Platforms as Tools for Engagement
Platforms such as YouTube, X, and Facebook are not just news outlets; they are becoming interactive forums where accountability is debated, contested, and analyzed in real time. This digital public sphere connects journalists in exile with audiences across borders, allowing them to engage in continuous conversations about governance, corruption, and human rights. These platforms transform journalism from a static process into an interactive, ongoing dialogue that resonates globally.
For instance, the New Democracy Project, presented by the Africanist Press podcast service, exemplifies how global challenges shape democratic institutions and development efforts across Africa. Through 100 exclusive episodes and investigative reports produced each year, the project highlights the responses of African communities and leaders to the pressures of global governance trends (Africanist Press, 2025).
Accountability Beyond Borders: Resilience and Credibility
Critics sometimes question whether exiled journalists are always credible, warning that some may act as partisan politicians rather than impartial reporters. Yet empirical research across seven African countries finds that most exiled journalists remain deeply committed to ethical reporting, often developing more rigorous fact-checking procedures such as cross-referencing anonymous sources who do not know each other, precisely because they operate from a distance (Gondwe & Viale, 2025). Moreover, their technological adaptability defies the assumption that exile journalism is merely a poor substitute for domestic reporting. Alongside YouTube and X, journalists like Radio Tamazuj’s team use shortwave radio to reach over 800,000 listeners under internet shutdowns, while others rely on satellite transmissions and encrypted messaging to protect sources. The hybrid system of accountability is thus not a fallback; it is a laboratory for innovation, blending low-tech resilience with digital engagement.
However, the physical and cultural distance of exile can gradually erode a journalist’s intuitive grasp of local idioms, everyday frustrations, and shifting public sentiments, risking reporting that speaks more to diaspora concerns than to the lived realities of citizens still navigating repression on the ground. Domestic audiences or authorities may then dismiss such coverage as the product of a detached, privileged émigré, weakening the very accountability the journalist sought to uphold.
Measurable Outcomes: Prosecutions and the Hybrid Model in Action
More concretely for Sierra Leone: following Joseph Turay’s exposure of convicted cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers’s presence in the country, arrested while working as a fixer to Sophie van Leeuwen, just a stone’s throw from Leijdekkers’ fortified compound in the west of Freetown; from Turay’s escape from the police and recounting his story from exile, many foreign news stories have followed up on the story. This media chain reaction exemplifies how exile reporting can function as a catalyst, transforming a single investigative thread into sustained public scrutiny that domestic outlets, operating under greater pressure, might otherwise avoid.
Prosecutions remain the exception rather than the rule; the timeline from exile reporting to domestic courtroom can span years, and many cases die amid political resistance or judicial capture. Nevertheless, the hybrid model has demonstrated that exile journalism can seed formal legal processes not by replacing domestic prosecutors, but by supplying admissible documentation, whistleblower connections, and sustained public pressure that makes ignoring crimes politically costly. And while no single exiled journalist can guarantee domestic political change, their collective work ensures that the demand for accountability does not fade. It evolves, adapts, and broadcasts, however slowly, across borders.
Conclusion: Scrutiny Beyond Borders
The removal of Sierra Leone’s Auditor-General and the continued struggles for accountability highlight a critical shift in the nature of democratic oversight. Exiled journalists like Alpha Chernor Bah, Joseph Turay, Can Dündar, and Tarık Toros embody the resilience of journalistic scrutiny in an age where traditional methods of holding power to account are increasingly under threat. Despite the limitations imposed by distance and technology, these journalists demonstrate that accountability does not disappear, it adapts and evolves.
The hybrid system of accountability that has emerged, blending domestic and exiled voices, offers a more dynamic and global approach to the pursuit of justice. While the challenges are significant, including technological hurdles, cultural distance, and accusations of detachment, the continued presence of these voices in the digital public sphere ensures that the demand for accountability remains vibrant and unyielding. Persistence alone is not victory, but without persistence, accountability has no chance at all. As long as a single journalist has access to a microphone, a platform, or a satellite signal, the pursuit of truth and justice can never be fully silenced accountability, in exile, is here to stay.
References
Africanist Press, 2025. Africanist Press Launches New Democracy Project for Africa. Available at: https://africanistpress.com/africanist-press-launches-new-democracy-project-for-africa/ [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Arab News, 2020. Can Dündar, journaliste et opposant turc en exil, condamné à 27 ans de prison. Available at: https://www.arabnews.fr/node/44141/monde-arabe [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Dündar, C., 2025. ERKEN SEÇİM GELİYOR MU? / Can Dündar ve Erk Acarer ile Bilanço [live broadcast]. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/live/jRzUJ0OsHmg [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Gondwe, G. & Viale, E., 2025. Echoes of Exiled Journalists from Africa: Motivation, Resilience, Values and Innovation of Global Journalism. Media Watch, 16(1), pp. 38–56.
International IDEA, 2024. Sierra Leone – December 2024: Suspended Auditor General removed from office. Available at: https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/report/sierra-leone/december-2024 [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Orato, 2024. Sierra Leone journalist forced into exile after revealing government corruption, seeks refuge in the U.S., 21 November. Available at: https://orato.world/2024/11/21/sierra-leone-journalist-forced-into-exile-after-revealing-government-corruption-seeks-refuge-in-the-u-s/ [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Toros, T., 2026. A missing young woman… and a truth hidden for six years | What’s Happening in Turkey | Week 74, 26 April. X (formerly Twitter). Available at: https://x.com/i/status/2048358856560877610 [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Transparency International, 2025. Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 – Sierra Leone. Available at: https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2025/index/sle [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Turkish Minute, 2016. [OPINION] Clicks, code and control: How journalism is being strangled. Available at: https://turkishminute.com/tag/tarik-toros/ [Accessed 28 April 2026].
Author Bio: Uzman Unis Bah is a Sierra Leonean investigative journalist based in Europe and an MSc candidate in Sustainable Development at the University of Sussex. His work focuses on governance, media systems, and democratic accountability in the Global South.
