Documents gathered by Africanist Press reveal that the Maada Bio regime continues to rely on foreign cyber and communication agents, including those from Nigeria and the United States, to facilitate its domestic and international communications and to conduct transnational repression against Sierra Leoneans both in the United States and abroad.
The documents, which include financial transactions and records of foreign agent registrations, illustrate how the Bio regime illegally utilizes public funds for an ineffective international propaganda campaign aimed at masking its economic failures and human rights violations.
The list of foreign agents now includes Weintraub Communications LLC, owned and operated by Jeffrey R. Weintraub. Along with a Nigerian-owned company called Prunedge SL Limited, founded by Joel Ogunsola, Weintraub was contracted in August 2024 to meet regularly with representatives of the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL). Their tasks include discussing objectives, gathering background information, and assessing logistical factors that influence communication strategies in the United States. Additionally, they were charged with advising GoSL representatives on the U.S. media landscape, specifically regarding potential opportunities and challenges in communicating about Sierra Leone’s activities, policies, and leadership.
An email submitted to the United States Department of Justice highlights the regime’s ongoing dependence on foreign cyber and communication agents. This email, originating from the Information Ministry, requests that Jeffrey Weintraub review the terms of a contract signed in September 2024, which involves not only covert operations but also “overt opportunities in innovation and technology.”
According to the agreement, Weintraub will also “solicit and coordinate leading U.S. journalists” to publish op-eds or conduct interviews with GoSL leaders and arrange speaking opportunities for GoSL representatives at relevant U.S. organizations, forums, and stakeholder events.
In correspondence dated August 7, 2024, Bio’s Minister of Information stated that the regime aims to “make a big splash” by showcasing its “appetite and willingness to embrace and leverage innovation” as a foundation for Sierra Leone’s development. The minister urged Weintraub to portray the president and minister as champions of this initiative in the media and at events.
Interestingly, in Sierra Leone, the engagement of foreign agents to coordinate, manage, and implement the Bio regime’s transnational campaign of repression and propaganda is conducted in secrecy between these foreign agents and local politicians. The contracts for hiring these agents have not been made public nor subjected to the required public tender or bidding processes mandated by Sierra Leone’s procurement laws and regulations.
Beyond the legal and human rights violations stemming from such secret arrangements, hiring foreign agents to assist the Bio regime in its domestic and international efforts reveals several critical points.
Firstly, it indicates that the Maada Bio regime lacks local communication expertise. The regime’s strategic communication staff, including its ministries of information and communication, has had to depend on foreign specialists from Nigeria and the United States to manage their national and international outreach, which has proven largely ineffective.
Secondly, it exposes the involvement of foreign agents in the transnational repression of Sierra Leonean citizens who speak out against government abuse and corruption. This campaign of both overt and covert repression, costing taxpayers millions of dollars, includes ongoing illegal cyber intelligence operations against Africanist Press and other Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora targeted for exposing the corruption and human rights violations of the Maada Bio regime.
Most importantly, the involvement of US-based Nigerians and other foreign agents in Bio’s transnational repression and propaganda campaign poses a significant risk of fostering anti-US sentiments in Sierra Leone. This is especially concerning given that the corruption and human rights violations of the Bio regime are adversely affecting the lives of most ordinary citizens.
Stay tuned for our upcoming report on the role of foreign agents, especially from Nigeria and U.S. contractors, in the Bio regime’s repression and propaganda, as well as its impact on Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad.
By Chernoh Alpha M. Bah, PhD
