# Media Reform Coordinating Group Sierra Leone

> MRCG


## Posts

- [Reconciliation and Social Cohesion: AUTJP Lessons for Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/reconciliation-and-social-cohesion-autjp-lessons-for-sierra-leone/): By MRCG As Sierra Leone recently commemorated its first National Remembrance Day on 18 January, fulfilling a long-standing recommendation of our Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), it is timely to reflect on how continental frameworks for peace, justice, and reconciliation inform our national efforts. As it continues to consolidate peace more than two decades after the end of its brutal civil war, questions of reconciliation, healing, and social cohesion remain central to national discourse. These questions are not unique to Sierra Leone. Across the African continent, societies emerging from conflict, repression, and mass human rights violations face the challenge of […]
- [WORLD RADIO DAY - 2026](https://mrcgonline.org/world-radio-day-2026/): (Freetown: 13 February 2026). The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) joins the Independent Radio Network (IRN), the Sierra Leone Broadcasters Association (SiLBA), and other media organisations worldwide to commemorate World Radio Day 2026 under the global theme “Radio and Artificial Intelligence.” World Radio Day, proclaimed by UNESCO and observed annually on 13 February, recognises radio as a powerful medium for information, education, cultural expression, and democratic participation. Radio remains the most accessible and trusted medium in Sierra Leone, especially for rural and marginalised communities. As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how information is produced, distributed, and consumed, radio must adapt responsibly […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- JANUARY 2026](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-january-2026/): In January 2026, MRCG followed up on the intimidation of journalist Lamarana Bah, the alleged threat to journalist Yusuff Moseray Suma, the withdrawal of frequency by the National Telecommunications Authority from G8 Media Group, the alleged physical assault of a journalist, the verbal threat against a journalist, the physical assault of a journalist, the murder of a journalist in Waterloo, and the barring of a journalist from entering Sierra Leone’s Parliament.   
- [ADVOCACY TO PROMOTE WOMEN’S DIGITAL RIGHTS AND MEDIA FREEDOM IN SIERRA LEONE: OUTCOME DOCUMENT](https://mrcgonline.org/advocacy-to-promote-womens-digital-rights-and-media-freedom-in-sierra-leone-outcome-document/): PREAMBLE The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with funding support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, on 27 January 2026, held an advocacy meeting with 15 media and rights activists to identify digital rights issues affecting women in Sierra Leone, and to propose recommendations to them as part of its ongoing project, “Enhancing Press Freedom, Women’s Rights, and Accountability Governance in Sierra Leone.” Digital rights issues are problems or challenges that affect how people can access, use, and be protected in digital spaces such as the internet, social media, mobile networks, and digital platforms. They […]
- [MRCG Convenes Advocacy Meeting to Promote Women’s Digital Rights and Media Freedom in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-convenes-advocacy-meeting-to-promote-womens-digital-rights-and-media-freedom-in-sierra-leone/): By MRCG The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with funding support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, has on 27 January 2026, held an advocacy meeting focused on women’s digital rights and media freedoms in Sierra Leone. The meeting brought together 15 women representatives from diverse institutions, including the media, civil society, and women’s rights organisations, to examine challenges women face in the digital space and to shape collective advocacy mechanisms. MRCG’s National Coordinator, Dr. Francis Sowa, outlined the objectives of the meeting and underscored the importance of protecting women’s digital rights as online engagement […]
- [MRCG WELCOMES THE NATIONAL REMEMBRANCE DAY, APPRECIATES THE GOVERNMENT FOR FULFILLING A MAJOR RECOMMENDATION IN THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (TRC) REPORT](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-welcomes-the-national-remembrance-day-appreciates-the-government-for-fulfilling-a-major-recommendation-in-the-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc-report/): (Freetown: 18th January 2026). The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) joins the Government and people of Sierra Leone and civil society partners in observing today, 18 January 2026, as the first National Remembrance Day, declared by His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio. This day of reflection honours the victims, survivors, and families affected by Sierra Leone’s civil war (1991–2002) and reinforces the country’s collective commitment to peace, national unity, and democratic cohesion.
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- DECEMBER 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-december-2025/): In December 2025, MRCG followed up on the intimidation of journalist Lamarana Bah, the alleged threat to journalist Yusuff Moseray Suma, the withdrawal of frequency by the National Telecommunications Authority from G8 Media Group, the alleged physical assault of a journalist, the verbal threat against a journalist, the physical assault of a journalist, the murder of a journalist in Waterloo, and the barring of a journalist from entering Sierra Leone’s Parliament.   
- [Promoting and Institutionalizing Human and Peoples’ Rights in Sierra Leone Using the AU-TJP](https://mrcgonline.org/promoting-and-institutionalizing-human-and-peoples-rights-in-sierra-leone-using-the-au-tjp/): By MRCG Within the framework of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the African Union (AU)’s shared values instruments, and pertinent international human rights agreements, this component comprises the development and institutionalization of a culture of human and peoples’ rights. A collapse of the rule of law and a disregard for human and peoples’ rights are common characteristics of situations that necessitate Transitional Justice (TJ). The foundation of TJ is the restoration of humanity and human dignity in interpersonal and intercommunal relationships. The principle of Human and Peoples’ Rights plays a central role in the AUTJP, particularly […]
- [The Welfare of Journalists in Sierra Leone-2025](https://mrcgonline.org/the-welfare-of-journalists-in-sierra-leone-2025/): The study examines journalists’ welfare in Sierra Leone. The key issues assessed include salary trends, compliance with the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) and the National Revenue Authority (NRA) requirements, the Independent Media Commission (IMC) Act of 2020 (Act No. 5 of 2020), safety mechanisms, and other conditions of service for journalists in their media houses (radio, television stations, newspapers, and online media) in Sierra Leone.  The study employed a mixed-methods approach and surveyed reporters, editors, and managers at radio and television stations, newspapers, and online media across Sierra Leone, using an online questionnaire to collect data on […]
- [REPORT ON PRESS FVREEDOM, INFORMATION, INTERNET AND DIGITAL RIGHTS IN SIERRA LEONE -NOVEMBER 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/report-on-press-fvreedom-information-internet-and-digital-rights-in-sierra-leone-november-2025/): This Report, which addresses issues on ‘Freedom of Expression and of the Press, Access to Information, and Internet Freedom and Digital Rights in Sierra Leone,’ is the Fifteenth in a series produced by the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) as part of a project titled “Enhancing Press Freedom and Media Reforms”, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the United States of America. The Report, which covers the period June to November 2025, is the outcome of the monitoring of the exercise and legal guarantees of freedom of expression and the press, and internet freedom and digital rights […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW - NOVEMBER 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-november-2025/): In November 2025, MRCG monitored the police invitation of the Chief Executive Officer of Born to Blog. The MRCG also followed up on the following, including the intimidation of journalist Lamarana Bah-Co Owner of Truth Media, the alleged threat to journalist Yusuff Moseray Suma-News Editor at Unity Broadcasting Online TV in Freetown, and the withdrawal of frequency by the National Telecommunications Authority from G8 Media Group, an alleged physical assault of a journalist, verbal threat against a journalist, physical assault of a journalist, the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offence, the murder of a journalist in […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW - OCTOBER 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-october-2025/): In October 2025, MRCG monitored the online intimidation of a journalist and an alleged threat against another journalist in Freetown. It also followed up on the withdrawal of frequency from G8 Media Group, by the National Telecommunications Authority, the alleged physical assault of a journalist, verbal threat against a journalist, physical assault of a journalist, the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offence, the murder of a journalist in Waterloo, the barring of a journalist from entering Sierra Leone’s Parliament, the dismissal and subsequent harassment of a journalist in Makeni and the verbal threat against a freelance […]
- [MRCG Intensifies Calls for the Online Safety of Journalists on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-intensifies-calls-for-the-online-safety-of-journalists-on-international-day-to-end-impunity-for-crimes-against-journalists/): (Freetown: 2nd November, 2025). The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) joins the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), and other organizations across the world to observe the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ today, Sunday, 2 November 2025, on the theme “Chat GBV: Raising Awareness on AI-facilitated Gender-Based Violence against Women Journalists.” Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed information ecosystems globally, offering new opportunities for journalism, media innovation, and public engagement. However, it has also expanded the tools and scale of online harassment, discrimination, and threats—particularly against women journalists. In […]
- [TWO DECADES ON: HOW EFFECTIVELY HAS NaCSA FULFILLED ITS TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE MANDATES IN SIERRA LEONE](https://mrcgonline.org/two-decades-on-how-effectively-has-nacsa-fulfilled-its-transitional-justice-mandates-in-sierra-leone/): By Mohamed Nagimu Deen (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2026) For over two decades, victims of Sierra Leone’s civil war have endured broken promises and neglect. Despite efforts like the 2008 NaCSA-led reparations program, many have been left without essential long-term support, including regular pensions, healthcare, and economic empowerment. The program, which was meant to provide redress for victims of human rights abuses, has fallen short of its promises.   The Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) outlined clear guidance on reparations in its final report, specifically in Volume 4, Chapter 5, Sections 100–209 and pages 250–265. These sections emphasize the need […]
- [SIERRA LEONE PEACE MUSEUM PRESERVING HISTORY AND PROMOTING RECONCILIATION](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-peace-museum-preserving-history-and-promoting-reconciliation/): By Mohamed Nagimu Deen (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2026 After the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone, which started in 1991 and ended in 2002, there was a great need to address the critical issues that had led to the war. In line with this, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to investigate the antecedents to the conflict and make recommendations. In its reports, it called for the need for memorialization, and this is what gave birth to the formation of the Peace Museum. The Sierra Leone Peace Museum’s responsibility is to preserve the history of the civil war, honor its […]
- [THE LOST VOICES OF WAR WIDOWS IN SIERRA LEONE](https://mrcgonline.org/the-lost-voices-of-war-widows-in-sierra-leone/): By Hassan Solokoh Bockarie (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2026 In the decades following the end of the civil conflict in Sierra Leone, a silent but enduring crisis persists: the ongoing economic and social marginalization of war widows. These women, as defined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), are those whose husbands “were killed as a consequence of any abuse or violation and who, as a result, have become the primary breadwinners for their families.” They continue to face profound barriers to rebuilding their lives with dignity. During and after the war, war widows encountered multiple layers of disadvantage. The TRC found […]
- [STALLED REPARATIONS PROGRAMME: NEARLY TWO DECADES AFTER THE TRC, WHAT WAS DELIVERED, WHAT WAS MISSED, AND WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE](https://mrcgonline.org/stalled-reparations-programme-nearly-two-decades-after-the-trc-what-was-delivered-what-was-missed-and-who-is-accountable/): By Hassan Solokoh Bockarie (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2026) Nearly two decades after Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its landmark report recommending reparations for victims of the civil war, thousands of survivors still wait for justice that was promised but never fully delivered. The TRC’s final report, published in 2004, urged the government to prioritise reparations for amputees, war-wounded, victims of sexual violence, war widows, and children affected by the conflict. It described reparations as “a moral and legal obligation of the State to acknowledge the suffering of victims and assist them in rebuilding their lives.”
- [Pujehun: Interference by Influential People Undermines Justice for SGBV Victims](https://mrcgonline.org/pujehun-interference-by-influential-people-undermines-justice-for-sgbv-victims/): By Brima Grant – Moonlight Radio 104.5FM Bo (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2026) Pujehun resident, Borbor Sellu, is a distraught father; he is full of resentment with the justice system for, in his view, failing to give justice to his underage daughter, a victim of sexual abuse. The girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an Imam in a mosque compound in July 2024, when she was nine. He was her Quranic teacher. “Every morning, my children would go to this Imam in the mosque for Arabic learning before heading to school. But on this faithful morning, my daughter came home crying, and […]
- [Two Years After Job Promises: Youths Still Cry for Employment in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/two-years-after-job-promises-youths-still-cry-for-employment-in-sierra-leone/): By Brima Grant – Moonlight Radio 104.5FM Bo (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2026) Mohamed (not his real name) has been jobless for the last two years since graduating from college. A graduate in Social Work, he was full of hope when he left Njala University. To take care of his needs, the 27-year-old has taken to selling drugs. “I sell Tramadol and sometimes Kush so that I can eat every day because I have no job,” he says. Mohamed is one of the thousands of young men and women who leave college and university every year in Sierra Leone. Njala University alone, in […]
- [National and Local Ownership of Transitional Justice Processes and Inclusiveness, Equity, and Non-Discrimination in Sierra Leone.](https://mrcgonline.org/national-and-local-ownership-of-transitional-justice-processes-and-inclusiveness-equity-and-non-discrimination-in-sierra-leone/): By MRCG  It is essential to increase public support and ownership, foster a shared understanding of a common goal, and ensure that transitional justice (TJ) processes are aligned with local needs and aspirations. Every element of TJ, from implementation and assessment to monitoring and evaluation, relies on national leadership. For nationally driven TJ processes to be successful, partnerships—especially at the national level—between beneficiaries and the government, State, and non-State actors are crucial. Sierra Leone, having endured a brutal civil war (1991–2002) and successfully implementing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), remains a […]
- [PRESS RELEASE - AMADU LAMRANA BAH](https://mrcgonline.org/press-release-amadu-lamrana-bah/): The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) expresses keen concern over the threats allegedly made and circulated by Madam Admire Bio, also known as Mama of Freetown, against the journalist and Co-Founder of Truth Media, Ahmadu Lamrana Bah. The MRCG joins the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) in condemning the threats against the journalist, as it amounts to a grave attack on press freedom and the safety and security of journalists in their line of work. MRCG also calls on the Sierra Leone Police to swiftly investigate the matter and ensure the safety of the journalist and other journalists across […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW -SEPTEMBER 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-september-2025/): In September 2025, MRCG monitored the intimidation of journalist Christian Conteh, Managing Editor of Sierra Check and Editor at Truth Media. The MRCG also followed up on the invitation of Thomas Dixon, President of the Guild of Newspaper Editors and other issues including the withdrawal of frequency by the National Telecommunications Authority from G8 Media Group, an alleged physical assault of a journalist, verbal threat against a journalist, physical assault of a journalist, the invitation of Dr Samura Kamara- the 2023 Presidential Flagbearer of the All Peoples Congress (APC), the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offense, […]
- [MRCG Concludes Regional Training of Journalists on Reporting Transitional Justice Issues in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-concludes-regional-training-of-journalists-on-reporting-transitional-justice-issues-in-sierra-leone/): Freetown, Sierra Leone – September 30, 2025 — The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) has successfully concluded a series of regional training sessions for journalists across Sierra Leone on reporting transitional justice issues. The initiative, supported by the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), aimed to enhance the capacity of media practitioners to effectively cover topics related to justice, accountability, reconciliation, and human rights in post-conflict Sierra Leone. The regional trainings, held in key locations including Bo, Port Loko, and Freetown, brought together sixty-six (66) journalists from print, broadcast, and online media outlets. Participants received in-depth knowledge on transitional justice […]
- [The ECOWAS, with Support from GIZ, and in partnership with the MFWA Completed a Two-Day Training on Information Integrity in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/the-ecowas-with-support-from-giz-and-in-partnership-with-the-mfwa-completed-a-two-day-training-on-information-integrity-in-sierra-leone/): Freetown, Sierra Leone – September 27, 2025 – The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) with support from GIZ and in partnership with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has today successfully completed a two-day training workshop on information integrity in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The initiative brought together seasoned journalists and media practitioners within Freetown to strengthen their ability to identify, verify, and counter misinformation and disinformation. The training, held from September 25–26, focused on equipping participants with practical skills in fact-checking, source verification, and conflict-sensitive reporting. Facilitators also highlighted the role of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) […]
- [Empowering Voices: MRCG Boosts Digital and AI Skills for Southern and Eastern Women in Media and Activism](https://mrcgonline.org/empowering-voices-mrcg-boosts-digital-and-ai-skills-for-southern-and-eastern-women-in-media-and-activism/): By MRCG In a significant step towards closing the digital gender gap, the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, has concluded a comprehensive training workshop in Bo focused on Digital Literacy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills, and online safety for women journalists and activist. The event, held at the FEARS HOTEL in Bo, brought together 25 female journalists, bloggers, and civil society activists from the Southern and Eastern regions of Sierra Leone, with the initiative aimed at equipping these change-makers with the advanced tools and knowledge necessary to navigate […]
- [MRCG Concludes Nationwide Consultations on the Review of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC) Act 2010](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-concludes-nationwide-consultations-on-the-review-of-the-sierra-leone-broadcasting-cooperation-slbc-act-2010/): By MRCG The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with support from European Union, through the BBC Media Action, has today 9 September 2025 concluded nationwide consultations with various stakeholders representing diverse groups on the review of the SLBC Act, 2010. The process, which started with regional consultations in Makeni for North and Northwest regions and in Bo for South and Eastern regions, brought together various regional and national stakeholders to look at the current Act and suggest possible changes for an independent public service broadcaster. The MRCG is one of three local partners implementing the “Media Empowerment for Democracy, Inclusion […]
- [MRCG Completes Two-Day Digital Literacy Training for Female Journalists, Bloggers and Activists in Kenema](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-completes-two-day-digital-literacy-training-for-female-journalists-bloggers-and-activists-in-kenema/): By MRCG, The Media Reform Coordinating Group, with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, through the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has on 3rd September 2025 completed a two-day digital literacy and skills training for 25 female journalists, bloggers and activists at the SLAJ Office in the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone. The participants were trained on various online rights issues including Digital Rights, Women’s Rights Online Issues in Sierra Leone, Online Gender-Based Violence Against Female Politicians in Sierra Leone, social media & Online Privacy, Identifying & Dealing with Online Abuses Against Women, […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW - AUGUST 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-august-2025/): In August 2025, MRCG monitored the invitation of Thomas Dixon, President of the Guild of Newspaper Editors and followed up on various issues including the withdrawal of frequency by the National Telecommunications Authority from two media outlets, the alleged physical assault of a journalist, a verbal threat against a journalist, a physical assault on a journalist, the invitation of Dr Samura Kamara- the 2023 Presidential Flagbearer of the All Peoples Congress (APC), the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offense, the murder of a journalist in Waterloo, the barring of a journalist from entering Sierra Leone’s Parliament, […]
- [MRCG Meets with Regional Community Media Stakeholders and other Relevant Authorities on Tax Incentives, Indirect Subsidies and Waivers for Community Media](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-meets-with-regional-community-media-stakeholders-and-other-relevant-authorities-on-tax-incentives-indirect-subsidies-and-waivers-for-community-media/): By MRCG The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) has on 1st September 2025 completed regional meetings with various regional community media stakeholders in Port Loko (for North and Northwest regions) and in Kenema (Southeast regions) on the Community Media Ecosystem with specific reference to Indirect Subsidies, Tax Incentives and Waivers. The MRCG is one of the local partners implementing the “Media Empowerment for Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability” (MEDIA) project, led by BBC Media Action and other international consortium members, and funded by the European Union. One of the components of the MRCG is the Media Reform Process: Indirect Subsidies, Tax […]
- [NaFPIM Awards Grants to Strengthen Public Interest Media in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/nafpim-awards-grants-to-strengthen-public-interest-media-in-sierra-leone/): By MRCG The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with support from the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) and the BBC Media Action through the National Fund for Public Interest Media (NaFPIM) has today officially announced the award of grants to support public interest media initiatives across Sierra Leone. The event, held at Brookfields Hotel, brought together media practitioners, government officials, and development partners to celebrate this milestone for independent journalism. The Programs Manager for NaFPIM, Dr Francis Sowa highlighted the journey of the National Fund, which was conceived about three years ago to strengthen public interest journalism across […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW - JULY 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-july-2025/): In July 2025, MRCG monitored the withdrawal of frequencies by the National TelecommunicationsAuthority from two media outlets. MRCG also followed up on various issues, including an alleged physicalassault of a journalist, verbal threats against a journalist, physical assault of a journalist, the invitation of Dr.Samura Kamara – the 2023 Presidential Flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), physical assault ofa journalist in Makeni, the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offence, the murder of ajournalist in Waterloo, the barring of a journalist from entering Sierra Leone’s Parliament, the dismissal andsubsequent harassment of a journalist in Makeni, and […]
- [Rural Voices Say TRC’s Decentralization Dream Is Fading ](https://mrcgonline.org/rural-voices-say-trcs-decentralization-dream-is-fading/): By Alvin Lansana Kargbo (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Twenty years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Sierra Leone recommended decentralisation as a key mechanism for peacebuilding and national reconciliation, many rural-based organisations argue that the country is yet to see the full benefits of this reform. Although local councils were reintroduced in 2004 with the enactment of the Local Government Act, critics say that the devolution of power remains largely cosmetic. Provincial-based civil society organisations report that decision-making and financial control continue to be concentrated in Freetown, undermining efforts to empower communities and promote inclusive governance. Sahr Kamanda, Programme […]
- [Continuing the Special Court’s Legacy: Sierra Leone’s Residual Mechanism](https://mrcgonline.org/continuing-the-special-courts-legacy-sierra-leones-residual-mechanism/): By Ibrahim Mansaray (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Sierra Leone’s residual mechanism, known as the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL), was established in 2013 to continue the legacy of the Special Court, which was set up shortly after the war ended in 2002. The Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL) had been set up by an agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations. Its mandate was to try those bearing the greatest responsibility for serious crimes committed in the country from 30th November 1996. On the said date, the Abidjan Peace Accord, which would have ended […]
- [The Silent Struggle: Sierra Leone’s Deepening Mental Health Crisis in Pujehun District](https://mrcgonline.org/the-silent-struggle-sierra-leones-deepening-mental-health-crisis-in-pujehun-district/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In the remote southern district of Pujehun, Sierra Leone, a silent crisis continues to take root, one that rarely captures headlines but affects countless lives: mental health. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) study reveals that nearly one in four residents in the district has experienced some form of mental health condition, including depression, anxiety, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nationally, the WHO estimates that 10% of Sierra Leone’s population of seven million suffers from mental health issues, a figure believed to be a significant undercount due to pervasive underreporting and social stigma.
- [Political Violence in Sierra Leone’s Pujehun District Threatens Hard-Won Peace](https://mrcgonline.org/political-violence-in-sierra-leones-pujehun-district-threatens-hard-won-peace/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Abu Rogers remembers the day vividly. “They dragged me off my motorcycle at the Makibie River Bridge,” he recalled, his voice still trembling. “They beat me mercilessly until I could barely breathe. I thought I was going to die right there.” At 35, Abu Rogers, a motorcycle mechanic from Gobaru Community in the Kpanga Krim Chiefdom of Pujehun District, southern Sierra Leone, lives with the trauma and physical scars of that brutal day. His peaceful journey home turned into a nightmare when, after a day of work in Pujehun town, he was ambushed by […]
- [The Unfinished Business of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report](https://mrcgonline.org/the-unfinished-business-of-the-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-trc-report/): By Alfred Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) When the war ended in 2002, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to investigate the war. The Commission’s report, backed by testimonies offered a path forward with dozens of recommendations. Twenty years later, some of those recommendations remain unfulfilled. “I feel like the country just moved on and left us behind,” Catco Sesay, a 34-year-old war amputee in Waterloo told Concord Times in an interview early this year. Catco lost his right arm at the age of six in Old Port Loko, a village along the Freetown Road in Port Loko […]
- [From NPSE to BECE, But Never the TRC: Education’s Missing Chapter   ](https://mrcgonline.org/from-npse-to-bece-but-never-the-trc-educations-missing-chapter/): By Alvin Lansana Kargbo (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Mariama Kamara, a bright and determined 17-year-old, recently sat the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at Government Rokel Secondary School in the central part of Freetown. She began her academic journey at Wallace Johnson Primary School, where she took the National Primary School Examination (NPSE) and excelled, earning a place at one of the capital’s oldest government secondary schools. But despite completing nine years of basic education in post-war Sierra Leone, Mariama knows almost nothing about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) or the recommendations it makes to heal the country after the […]
- [Why an African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP) for AU Member States?](https://mrcgonline.org/why-an-african-union-transitional-justice-policy-autjp-for-au-member-states/): By MRCG The African Union (AU) is a continental organization that was established on 26 May 2001, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was founded in 1963. The African Union aims to promote economic, political, and social integration across Africa, enhance peace and security, and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its member states. The AU promotes unity and solidarity among African states, accelerates political and socio-economic integration across the continent, promotes peace, security, and stability in Africa, encourages democratic governance and human rights, and promotes sustainable development and […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- JUNE 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-june-2025/): In June 2025, MRCG monitored the alleged arrest and detention of a reporter at Citizen Radio in Freetown and the alleged physical assault of another reporter at Eastern Community Radio FM 96.5. MRCG also followed up on various issues, including an alleged physical assault of a journalist, verbal threat against a journalist, physical assault of journalist, the invitation of Dr Samura Kamara, the 2023 Presidential Flagbearer of the All Peoples Congress (APC), physical assault of a journalist in Makeni, the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offence, the invitation of the APC 2023 Flagbearer for questioning, the […]
- [MRCG’s Advocacy Campaign, Brings A Resident Magistrate to Mile 91 Community.](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcgs-advocacy-campaign-brings-a-resident-magistrate-to-mile-91-community/): By MRCG Following the Media Reform Coordinating Group’s community engagement meetings with resident stakeholders of the Mile 91 community, under the ongoing project “Engaging Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice (TJ) Issues in Sierra Leone,” funded by the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), the Honorable Chief Justice Komba Kamanda, today officially deployed a resident Magistrate and opened a Magistrate Court to serve Mile 91 and its environs. In the community meetings, one of the most pressing needs of the community people was to have a sitting magistrate, as there had been a lack of access […]
- [Broken Dreams in Pujehun: How Discrimination and Inequality Strip Sierra Leone’s Women of Dignity.](https://mrcgonline.org/broken-dreams-in-pujehun-how-discrimination-and-inequality-strip-sierra-leones-women-of-dignity/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In the obscured corners of Sierra Leone’s rural Pujehun District, the promise of equality enshrined in law is a world away from the lives many women endure, where land can be lost overnight, and dignity can be traded for survival, particularly by those who should otherwise serve as moral guarantors. In Sahn Malen, a lush, green district tucked into the southern belly of Sierra Leone, Baindu Bockarie should have been planting rice. Instead, she watches others till the soil she once called her own. Her ancestral land was taken, not by war or disaster, […]
- [After the Guns Fell Silent: The Double-Edged Role of Aid in Sierra Leone’s Recovery](https://mrcgonline.org/after-the-guns-fell-silent-the-double-edged-role-of-aid-in-sierra-leones-recovery/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspapersl.com (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) “I remember giving my statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” recalls 45-year old Aminata Conteh, a war widow and resident of Wellington in the east-end of Freetown. “They told us that justice would come, that the international community was helping us. But I’m still waiting for the help they promised.” Like many Sierra Leoneans who survived the country’s decade-long civil war, Aminata placed her hopes in the transitional justice process that followed the conflict. At the heart of this process were mechanisms like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Special Court for […]
- [Diaspora at a Crossroads: Sierra Leoneans Abroad Driving Justice and Divisions in the Nation’s Healing Journey](https://mrcgonline.org/diaspora-at-a-crossroads-sierra-leoneans-abroad-driving-justice-and-divisions-in-the-nations-healing-journey/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspapersl.com (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) When Mohamed Kamara first read the final report of Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission from his home in the United States of America, the memories of war came rushing back. “My sister disappeared during the conflict. Reading those testimonies was heartbreaking but it strengthened my resolve to support justice from afar,” he recalls. Today, Kamara as an individual is helping vulnerable families back home, an effort of hope and solidarity from the diaspora. Across continents, other Sierra Leoneans have remained deeply involved in the country’s transitional justice process, providing financial aid to those in […]
- [Sierra Leone’s War Crimes Tribunal: A Blueprint for Justice Across Africa](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leones-war-crimes-tribunal-a-blueprint-for-justice-across-africa/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspapersl.com (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) When 36-year-old war survivor Mary Johnson first heard about the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in 2002, she felt a surge of hope for her country. She said: “After years of war, when so many families were shattered, we longed for justice.” “The Court was a sign that the world was watching and that perpetrators would be held accountable,” she recalls, her voice heavy with emotion. That hope was echoed across the nation, among other survivors like 55-year-old Mariatu Sesay. In Peacock farm community, in the east-end of Freetown, Mariatu recounts her experience with […]
- [Sierra Leone’s Slide into Silence: The Abuse of Power That Could Reignite a Nation’s Pain.](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leones-slide-into-silence-the-abuse-of-power-that-could-reignite-a-nations-pain/): By Zainab Sunkary Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Two decades ago, Sierra Leone clawed its way back from the brink. Today, we’re standing dangerously close to the edge once again. In 2002, Sierra Leone emerged from an 11-year civil war scarred, but hopeful. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established that same year, didn’t mince words: the conflict was not merely about guns and diamonds, it was a product of chronic abuse of power, institutional rot, and the betrayal of citizens by their own leaders. Now in 2025, the warning signs are blinking red once again. The TRC’s final report, a […]
- [Sierra Leoneans Share Testimonies of the Civil War](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leoneans-share-testimonies-of-the-civil-war/): By Mohamed Sinneh Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Foday Sesay, a builder living at Old Railway Line Wellington, said on 6th January 1996 when the rebels entered Freetown, their area was a sensitive spot. City Road (Wellington) is a sensitive spot because lot of disaster took place in this area including burning of houses. Killing of soldiers by the rebels. Killing civilians etc. Just 9:00Pm on that day the rebels entered their community when they were outside. They had a group which is Civil Defence Unit (CDU) group. This group is a civil society group that was form in their community […]
- [Wellington: How community leaders led reconciliation efforts in post-war Sierra Leone.](https://mrcgonline.org/wellington-how-community-leaders-led-reconciliation-efforts-in-post-war-sierra-leone/): By Mohamed Sinneh Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) One major issue post-war Sierra Leone had to deal with was reconciling perpetrators of violence with members of the communities they lived in prior to the war. Many former combatants couldn’t return home for fear of persecution for their role in meting violence on their own people. For some of these, it was their families, particularly their parents, who paid their price for their actions. In Wellington in the eastern part of the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, Chief Yagbome Posseh Bangura had a first had experience of this situation. First, she had the […]
- [MRCG Welcomes the Chief Justice’s Response to its Letter Requesting the Deployment of a Magistrate to Mile 91, Tonkolili District.](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-welcomes-the-chief-justices-response-to-its-letter-requesting-the-deployment-of-a-magistrate-to-mile-91-tonkolili-district/): By MRCG During the Media Reform Coordinating Group’s two community engagement meetings held with resident stakeholders of Mile 91, under the project “Engaging Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice (TJ) Issues in Sierra Leone,” supported by the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), the stakeholders raised various concerns including access to justice as a key challenge in the community.
- [Justice by Firelight: How Traditional Rituals Are Healing Sierra Leone’s War-Torn Communities](https://mrcgonline.org/justice-by-firelight-how-traditional-rituals-are-healing-sierra-leones-war-torn-communities/): By Alvin Lansana Kargbo (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) More than 20 years have passed since Sierra Leone’s bloody civil war came to an end in 2002. The guns disappeared, but the pain remains. Thousands of lives were lost, families broken, villages burnt, and communities fractured. The country’s formal transitional justice system, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, delivered historical documentation and criminal accountability. But beyond the walls of Freetown’s courtrooms, a quieter, more personal justice system has been at work in the rural corners of the country: customary community reconciliation through ritual and dialogue. […]
- [Born of War, Forgotten by Peace: The Children Sierra Leone Left Behind](https://mrcgonline.org/born-of-war-forgotten-by-peace-the-children-sierra-leone-left-behind/): By Alvin Lansana Kargbo (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Over 20 years after Sierra Leone’s civil war, the country continues to count its losses and reckon with its past. While efforts at justice and reconciliation have recognized ex-combatants, amputees, and war widows, one group remains almost entirely forgotten—the children born of war. These are the sons and daughters of women and girls who were raped or forced into sexual slavery during the brutal conflict from 1991 to 2002. They are now young adults, many in their early to mid-twenties, living across the country from Kailahun to Kambia, and yet they remain invisible […]
- [Sierra Leone: The Lost Prominence of Pujehun District; A Story of War, Poverty, and Agricultural Decline](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-the-lost-prominence-of-pujehun-district-a-story-of-war-poverty-and-agricultural-decline/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Tucked away in the southernmost reaches of Sierra Leone lies Pujehun District, a region once celebrated for its thriving agricultural output and natural abundance. Fertile soil, reliable rainfall, and industrious farming communities once made Pujehun a symbol of rural self-sufficiency and prosperity. But that chapter now lies buried beneath layers of hardship, conflict, and neglect.The decade-long civil war ravaged Pujehun, destroying its infrastructure, displacing its people, and disrupting farming systems that had fed both local and neighboring populations. Fields went untended, livestock were lost, and the expertise of entire generations of farmers was either […]
- [Reparations Delayed: Sierra Leone’s War Victims Still Waiting for Justice](https://mrcgonline.org/reparations-delayed-sierra-leones-war-victims-still-waiting-for-justice/): By Zainab Sunkary Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) More than two decades after Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war ended, survivors who bore its deepest scars are still waiting for promises to be fulfilled. Amid fading memories and a shifting political landscape, the country’s war victims remain in limbo, holding onto hope, living with trauma, and demanding the justice they were assured. In the aftermath of the conflict, which lasted from 1991 to 2002 and claimed over 50,000 lives, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to chart a path to national healing. Among its most urgent recommendations was a reparations […]
- [Local Wisdom: Community Responses to Transitional Justice Initiatives](https://mrcgonline.org/local-wisdom-community-responses-to-transitional-justice-initiatives/): By Fatmata Tidankay Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) One thing that makes Sierra Leone’s civil war stand out is the level of atrocities committed by the factions. The documentary “Cry Freetown,” directed by Sorious Samura, a Sierra Leonean journalist who risked his life to film on the front lines during the war, gives a fair account of it. It depicts the most brutal period of the conflict that featured the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels against government soldiers, and then the intervention of forces of the Economic Community West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). Like many other communities, Kuntorloh, situated in […]
- [Restorative Justice: Healing Societies from the Wounds of Human Rights Violations](https://mrcgonline.org/restorative-justice-healing-societies-from-the-wounds-of-human-rights-violations/): By Fatmata Tidankay Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) The Sierra Leone civil war, which began in 1991 and ended in 2002, is estimated to have killed over 50,000 people and up to 70,000 casualties in total. Among these casualties were some of worst cases of human rights violations ever recorded in any conflict. The post-war Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in its report, recorded that women and children faced brutal violations of human rights. “While the majority of victims were adult males, perpetrators singled out women and children for some of the most brutal violations of human rights recorded in any […]
- [Dark Chapters: How Illiteracy Fueled a National Tragedy](https://mrcgonline.org/dark-chapters-how-illiteracy-fueled-a-national-tragedy/): By Fatmata Tidankay Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Illiteracy in Sierra Leone significantly contributed to the civil war by fueling grievances, undermining state-society relations, and creating a fertile ground for recruitment into armed groups. Limited access to education fostered a cycle of poverty and social disintegration, making it easier for marginalized youths to be drawn into the conflict. The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), previously known as “Donors to African Education,” is a “network and partnership” established by a World Bank initiative in 1988. ADEA has played a significant role in the education space for the past […]
- [Sierra Leone: Youth Unemployment Threatens Peace at Rokupa Wharf Community](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-youth-unemployment-threatens-peace-at-rokupa-wharf-community/): By Mohamed Sinneh Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In Rokupa Wharf Community, there is a deep-seated feeling of disgruntlement among young people. This feeling of dissatisfaction is largely due to joblessness among the youths, which community leaders say has led to increased crime and other vices. Ibrahim Fofanah, a resident and Harbor Master of Rokupa Wharf, who is better known in the community as S. I. Power Mix, blame the situation on selfishness among community leaders, like headmen. He said whenever an opportunity comes to the community, the local authorities responsible for identifying potential beneficiaries settle for their family members even […]
- [Consultancy for the review of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation Act, 2010](https://mrcgonline.org/consultancy-for-the-review-of-the-sierra-leone-broadcasting-corporation-act-2010/)
- [Two decades after the war: How much has democracy delivered?](https://mrcgonline.org/two-decades-after-the-war-how-much-has-democracy-delivered/): By Alfred Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) The June 2023 election marked the fifth general elections in Sierra Leone since the war ended in 2002.  In those elections, the country has seen peaceful transitions of power between the two main political parties, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and the All Peoples Congress (APC); enacted progressive laws, and repealed laws such as the Criminal Libel Law and abolished the decades old death penalty law. But how much has democracy truly delivered after all those elections? Concord Times asked some citizens – an educator, students and human rights advocates. In the aftermath […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- MAY 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-may-2025/): The monthly ‘Media Freedom Review’ is a publication of the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG). It is produced from the monitoring and reporting on freedom of expression and the press, internet freedom, digital and online rights, and the safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone. In May 2025, MRCG monitored the alleged physical assault of journalist Prince Christopher Kamara Editor of Open Space Newspaper, the verbal threat against journalist Kandeh Sesay, Managing Editor for the Watch Newspaper, and the physical assault of journalist Foday Fofanah of the AYV Media Empire. MRCG also followed up on various issues, including the […]
- [FOURTEENTH EDITION-REPORT ON PRESS FREEDOM, INFORMATION, INTERNET AND DIGITAL RIGHTS IN SIERRA LEONE](https://mrcgonline.org/fourteenth-edition-report-on-press-freedom-information-internet-and-digital-rights-in-sierra-leone/): This report, which addresses issues on ‘Freedom of Expression and of the Press, Access to Information, and Internet Freedom and Digital Rights in Sierra Leone,’ is the fourteenth in a series produced by the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) through a component of a project titled “Enhancing Press Freedom and Media Reforms in Sierra Leone,” supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in the United States of America. The report, covering the period December 2024 to May 2025, reflects the monitoring of the exercise and legal guarantees of freedom of expression, the press, internet freedom, and digital rights in […]
- [CALL FOR APPLICATIONTECHNICAL PAPER ON THE STATE OF COMMUNITY MEDIA IN SIERRA LEONE: ECOSYSTEM, INDIRECT SUBSIDIES AND TAX INCENTIVES](https://mrcgonline.org/call-for-applicationtechnical-paper-on-the-state-of-community-media-in-sierra-leone-ecosystem-indirect-subsidies-and-tax-incentives/)
- [CALL FOR APPLICATIONREPORT ON THE STATE OF COMMUNITY MEDIA IN SIERRA LEONE: ECOSYSTEM, INDIRECT SUBSIDIES, TAX INCENTIVES AND WAIVERS](https://mrcgonline.org/call-for-applicationreport-on-the-state-of-community-media-in-sierra-leone-ecosystem-indirect-subsidies-tax-incentives-and-waivers/)
- [CALL FOR APPLICATIONREVIEW OF THE SIERRA LEONE BROADCASTING CORPORATION (SLBC) ACT 2010](https://mrcgonline.org/call-for-applicationreview-of-the-sierra-leone-broadcasting-corporation-slbc-act-2010/)
- [Unfulfilled Promise: Kenema’s War Victims Endure Deplorable Conditions](https://mrcgonline.org/unfulfilled-promise-kenemas-war-victims-endure-deplorable-conditions/): By Josephine Nyeweah (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Twenty-three years after Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war, hundreds of amputees and war-wounded individuals in Kenema’s designated camps are living in deplorable conditions. They are desperately pleading for urgent government and humanitarian aid, as critical Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations remain largely unfulfilled. Dominic Brima, chairman of the Amputees and War Wounded Association based at Norway Camp, located about six miles from Kenema city, and didn’t sugarcoat words. “We are suffering in dilapidated housing, years after the conflict,” he stated, emphasizing the desperate need for intervention. Brima, like many others, found himself in […]
- [Sierra Leone’s Free Education Dream: Strained, Stretched, and Still Standing](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leones-free-education-dream-strained-stretched-and-still-standing/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In the dusty classrooms of rural Pujehun District, pupils cram into overcrowded rooms, some sitting on bare floors, others sharing broken benches, listening as their teachers, many unpaid, try to deliver lessons under fading chalkboards and leaking roofs. This is the face of Sierra Leone’s flagship Free Quality School Education (FQSE) programme, an ambitious national effort to lift barriers to education, now strained under the weight of growing enrolment, limited infrastructure, and a deepening crisis of teacher motivation. “I have over 540 pupils and only three classroom blocks,” says Joseph Saffa, head teacher of […]
- [“Sold, Exploited, and Forgotten: How Human Trafficking Still Plagues Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/sold-exploited-and-forgotten-how-human-trafficking-still-plagues-sierra-leone/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) When Joseph Bockarie Kamara left Bo in southern Sierra Leone in 2018, he believed he was chasing a dream. That dream led him through the treacherous deserts of Mali and Algeria, into the hands of Islamist militants near the Libyan border, and a two-year nightmare of detention, torture, and hunger. “Travelling abroad had always been my dream,” Joseph says quietly. “But I never imagined it would be this way.” His story is far from unique. Kamara was among the thousands of West African migrants whose return was facilitated by the International Organisation for Migration […]
- [Sierra Leone: The Long Road to Recovery for Young War Survivors](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-the-long-road-to-recovery-for-young-war-survivors/): By Fatmata Tidankay Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) The Sierra Leonean civil war was characterized by mass displacement of civilians, looting and destruction of properties. Innocent civilians caught up between the rival sides were subjected to rape, abduction, forceful recruitment, amputation and of course death. Among these were children who were also forced to be perpetrators and cause atrocities on civilians. The post-war Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recorded that the conflict heavily impacted children, whose rights were violated. “The conflict in Sierra Leone impacted heavily on children, as their rights were systematically violated by all of the armed factions. Children […]
- [“They Just Disappeared”: Sierra Leone’s Fragile Fight Against Child Trafficking](https://mrcgonline.org/they-just-disappeared-sierra-leones-fragile-fight-against-child-trafficking/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In the quiet town of Pujehun, near Sierra Leone’s southern border with Liberia, whispers of missing children have become far too common. Behind each whisper is a grieving parent, a broken promise, and a child who may never come home. Detective Inspector Momoh Musa Gbah knows this pain all too well. As head of the Family Support Unit in the Pujehun Police Division, he has spent the better part of his career chasing shadows, traffickers who slip through porous borders, taking with them the futures of Sierra Leone’s most vulnerable. “This is something we […]
- [How the Special Court of Sierra Leone Came into Existence; is it Purpose being fulfilled?](https://mrcgonline.org/how-the-special-court-of-sierra-leone-came-into-existence-is-it-purpose-being-fulfilled/): By Saidu Ibrahim Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) For more than a decade, Sierra Leone was engulfed in a brutal civil war that claimed tens of thousands of lives and left countless others wounded, displaced, or subjected to extreme violence. Between 1991 and 2002, the conflict was marked by heinous atrocities, including mass killings, rape, and mutilation. Thousands of civilians bore the brunt of the war, with villages razed to the ground and entire communities forced into displacement camps. The war, however, did not erupt spontaneously. Many Sierra Leoneans and international observers believe it was the consequence of years of systemic […]
- [Congo Cross Renamed as ‘Peace Bridge’; But Has the Nation Forgotten Why?](https://mrcgonline.org/congo-cross-renamed-as-peace-bridge-but-has-the-nation-forgotten-why/): By Zainab Sunkary Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) It was once the frontline of resistance, a final boundary that separated war from the capital’s heart. Now, 21 years after Sierra Leone’s civil war ended, the bridge at Congo Cross, officially renamed the Peace Bridge in 2003, stands not just as infrastructure but as a silent symbol of a nation’s journey from violence to reconciliation. Yet, for many Sierra Leoneans, especially a new generation born after the war, the name ‘Peace Bridge’ barely resonates. Most still refer to it by its original name, unaware of the trauma it witnessed, and the legacy […]
- ["The war ended, but our minds didn't”: The struggle for mental health in Sierra Leone.](https://mrcgonline.org/the-war-ended-but-our-minds-didnt-the-struggle-for-mental-health-in-sierra-leone/): By Alfred Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In a small apartment in Shell, Freetown, 60-year-old Adama Sesay, known as Tha Dama, shares her story amidst playful jabs from her grandchildren. They tease her about flinching at the sounds of gunshots and tear gas during the violent protests in August 2022. For her, these sounds are not just alarming; they are haunting echoes of the 11-year civil war that ravaged the country and led to the loss of her husband. The conflict which started in 1991 and ended in 2002 left over 50,000 dead and displaced over 2 million people. “My husband […]
- [MRCG CONDEMNS ASSAULT ON AYV JOURNALIST](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-condemns-assault-on-ayv-journalist/): The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) has joined one of its member organizations, SLAJ, in condemning the alleged physical assault on one of AYV’s Camera Operators, Foday Fofanah, by armed Sierra Leone Police (SLP) officers on 21st May 2025. Reports have suggested that the journalist was physically assaulted, pepper sprayed, and threatened with firearms, leading to him sustaining injuries, including a swollen eye.
- [MRCG Engages Campaign for Good Governance on Advancing Advocacy for a National Transitional Justice Policy Framework for Sierra Leone.](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-engages-campaign-for-good-governance-on-advancing-advocacy-for-a-national-transitional-justice-policy-framework-for-sierra-leone/): By MRCG Under its project, “Engaging Media and Communities to Change the Narrative on Transitional Justice Issues in Sierra Leone,” supported by the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), the MRCG has engaged the leadership of Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), for the advancement of advocacy for the development of a National Transitional Justice Policy Framework for Sierra Leone. The policy framework, which, by all indications, is crucial for Sierra Leone, especially in the context of the country’s history of civil conflict (1991–2002), provides a structured, inclusive, and sustainable approach to addressing past human rights violations and promoting long-term peace […]
- [Justice, inclusion, and accountability: Lessons from Sierra Leone's civil war](https://mrcgonline.org/justice-inclusion-and-accountability-lessons-from-sierra-leones-civil-war/): By Alfred Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war (1991–2002) remains a harrowing case study in the consequences of systemic legacy of injustice, exclusion, and unaccountability. When the war officially ended in 2002, the nation celebrated the disarmament of rebels and the return of peace. Yet beneath the surface lay a deeper crisis, one that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) would later reveal was decades in the making. More than 50,000 lives were lost, countless limbs severed, and communities ravaged, not just by bullets and machetes, but by years of inequality, marginalization, and state failure.
- [The African Union Transitional Justice Policy: Tackling the Legacies of Previous Human Rights Violations, Conflict, and Instability.](https://mrcgonline.org/the-african-union-transitional-justice-policy-tackling-the-legacies-of-previous-human-rights-violations-conflict-and-instability/): The African Union (AU) Transitional Justice Policy is a comprehensive framework designed to guide African countries in addressing the legacies of past human rights violations, conflict, and instability. Established to provide an African-led approach to the pursuit of justice, reconciliation, and healing, this policy focuses on the need for a just and fair transition after periods of political unrest, armed conflict, and authoritarian rule. The policy serves as a critical instrument for AU member states, providing them with guidance on addressing the complex issues associated with transitioning from conflict to peace while ensuring accountability, promoting healing, and fostering long-term stability. […]
- [PHYSICAL ASSAULT ON JOURNALIST PRINCE KAMARA](https://mrcgonline.org/physical-assault-on-journalist-prince-kamara/): The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) is deeply concerned about the reported physical assault on journalist Prince Kamara, Editor for the Open Space Newspaper, by some staff of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) during the 6th May 2025 protest at their New England Ville Headquarters in Freetown.In a press release dated 6th May 2025, the Guild of Editors (GOE), expressed deep concerns over the beating and wounding of one of their members. The release further stated that “the media that is always probing and giving opinions of others, should be more tolerable when the beam light is turned on […]
- [MRCG Commends Sierra Leone’s Improvement in the Latest World Press Freedom Ranking 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/mrcg-commends-sierra-leones-improvement-in-the-latest-world-press-freedom-ranking-2025/): The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) today welcomes Sierra Leone’s 8-step improvement in the World Press Freedom Index, released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Out of 180 countries, Sierra Leone moved from 64 in 2024 (score 64.27) to 56 in 2025 (score 66.36). The assessment utilises political, economic, legislative, social, and security indicators. The MRCG notes that this improvement results from the commitment and support of the Government of Sierra Leone and other stakeholders for media reforms in the country. The government’s repeal of the criminal libel law, along with other support and collaborations with the media, is creating changes […]
- [World Press Freedom Day 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/world-press-freedom-day-2025/): The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) today joins media organizations and other press freedom advocates across the world to observe ‘World Press Freedom Day’ today, Saturday 3rd May 2025, on the theme: “Reporting in the Brave New World – The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Med
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- APRIL 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-april-2025/): The monthly ‘Media Freedom Review’ is a publication of the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG). It is produced from the monitoring and reporting on freedom of expression and the press, internet freedom, digital and online rights, and the safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone. In April 2025, MRCG monitored the reported invitation of an activist at the Criminal Investigation Department regarding an interview with the Africa Young Voices (AYV). MRCG also followed up on various issues, including the physical assault of a journalist in Makeni, the arrest and detention of a lecturer for a cybercrime offense, the invitation […]
- [Persons with Disabilities Struggle as Pension Promises Fade](https://mrcgonline.org/persons-with-disabilities-struggle-as-pension-promises-fade/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) In the sun-worn town of Pujehun, in southern Sierra Leone, the rusting roofs of abandoned camps tell a silent story of neglect. Once built to house amputees and war-wounded survivors of the country’s brutal civil war, many of these settlements now lie quiet ghost towns where promises have long since withered. Among the few who remain is Sorba Simbo, a 63-year-old amputee. He lives alone in what used to be a vibrant compound of survivors. Today, all seven of his original companions are gone, victims of age, illness, and the slow erosion of hope. […]
- [Sierra Leone: Surge in Domestic Violence Undermines Progress in Pujehun District.](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-surge-in-domestic-violence-undermines-progress-in-pujehun-district/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Despite the passage of landmark gender laws and ongoing efforts to curb gender-based violence, domestic abuse remains a persistent and deeply rooted issue for women in Sierra Leone, particularly in rural districts like Pujehun. According to the 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey (SLDHS), an alarming 62% of women aged 15–49 reported experiencing physical or sexual violence, mostly at the hands of intimate partners. These figures have only worsened in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities across the country. In 2023, the Sierra Leone Police recorded more […]
- [Tribalism: A fuel of the Sierra Leonean civil war](https://mrcgonline.org/tribalism-a-fuel-of-the-sierra-leonean-civil-war/): By Fatmata Tidankay Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Sierra Leone, a nation known for its riches and tolerance, has been fighting a disease that does not seem to go away: tribalism. Tribalism has impacted the country’s development by undermining accountability, transparency, and equality. The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) is a measure of the development status and governance of political and economic transformation processes in developing and transition countries around the world. The BTI analyses and evaluates whether and how developing countries and countries in transition are steering social change toward democracy and a market economy. Its 2024 report about Sierra Leone […]
- [Silence on the Election Campaign Trail: The Unspoken Legacy of Sierra Leone’s War](https://mrcgonline.org/silence-on-the-election-campaign-trail-the-unspoken-legacy-of-sierra-leones-war/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspaper.sl (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Standing on the busy street of Abacha in Freetown, 39-year-old Aisha Kamara holds a wig delicately in her hands, the morning sun casting long shadows across the pavement. Around her, the street hums with life, ‘Waka Fine’ buses honk, street vendors call out their prices, and children rush to school with backpacks bouncing behind them. But for Aisha, the world around her feels distant, like a constant reminder of the past. “I can still hear the gunshots, the screams. It’s hard to forget,” Aisha says softly, her gaze drifting over the crowds that flow past […]
- [Sierra Leone: The Journey of Post-Conflict Development](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-the-journey-of-post-conflict-development/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspaper.sl (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) The sounds of everyday life are alive in the streets of Freetown, where children play, traders sell their goods, and life seems to be slowly returning to a semblance of normality after Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war. But as Mariama Kamara watches her children chase each other down the dusty streets, she reflects on a bitter truth: the scars of the war are far from healed, and the promises of post-conflict development remain unfulfilled for many. “We rebuilt our homes, but we didn’t rebuild our lives,” she says, her voice tinged with both hope and […]
- [Peace with a Prayer: The Spiritual Frontlines of Transitional Justice in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/peace-with-a-prayer-the-spiritual-frontlines-of-transitional-justice-in-sierra-leone/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspaperr.sl (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Standing close to a modest display of hair products and perfumes in his small shop at Cline Town, Mohamed Sesay arranges bottles neatly as the morning sun filters through the open doorway. The air is thick with the scent of colognes, mingling with the distant rumble of passing trucks and chatter from nearby stalls. “I still remember it like yesterday,” he says, pausing to straighten a box of pomade. “The shouting… the gunshots. I can still hear them sometimes, even in my sleep.” Mohamed was just 14 years old when rebels stormed his village near […]
- [Child Neglect Undermines Futures in Sierra Leone’s Pujehun District](https://mrcgonline.org/child-neglect-undermines-futures-in-sierra-leones-pujehun-district/): By Brima Sannoh (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Under the dappled shade of a mango tree in Falaba village, young children barefoot and in tattered clothing kick around a makeshift football, their laughter masking the hardship that defines their everyday lives. Just miles from the lush Tiwai Island Park, an international ecotourism treasure, and these children are growing up in circumstances defined not by natural beauty but by social abandonment. Falaba, nestled in Barri Chiefdom in Sierra Leone’s southern Pujehun District, is emblematic of a nationwide crisis: child neglect. In this quiet, rural pocket, Augusta Sheriff, a single mother of five, battles […]
- [“We Sat Together and Spoke the Unspeakable”: How Truth-Telling Helped Sierra Leone Heal](https://mrcgonline.org/we-sat-together-and-spoke-the-unspeakable-how-truth-telling-helped-sierra-leone-heal/): By patricia.ngevao@awokonewspaper.sl (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) From her side spot along Portee Old Road, where traffic slows just enough for buyers to lean out of car windows, Hawa Kamara arranges bars of homemade soap beside a tray of piles of garden eggs. The street is alive with the usual sounds, drivers yelling destinations, music spilling from nearby speakers, schoolchildren skipping past with dust rising under their feet. But for Hawa, this stretch of pavement carries more than the weight of daily hustle; it carries memory. She keeps her gaze on the road, but her thoughts often drift. “This place, people see […]
- [Unraveling the Contribution of Corruption in the Sierra Leonean civil war](https://mrcgonline.org/unraveling-the-contribution-of-corruption-in-the-sierra-leonean-civil-war/): By Tidankay Kamara (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Sierra Leone is widely considered to be one of the most politically and economically corrupt nations in the world, and some international rankings reflect this. As of 2024, for instance, the global corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI)’s Corruption Perceptions Index scored the country at 33 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupted) to 100 (very clean).” As recorded by the post-war Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), corruption played a crucial role in the outbreak of the 1991-2002 civil war, which was said to have been fueled by years of bad governance, endemic corruption, and […]
- [Sierra Leone Peace Museum: Guarding the Past, Guiding the Future](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-peace-museum-guarding-the-past-guiding-the-future/): By Zainab Sunkary Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) Tucked away in Freetown is a space unlike any other in Sierra Leone. Quiet and unassuming on the outside, the Sierra Leone Peace Museum is a beacon of remembrance and reconciliation, rooted in a painful past but reaching steadily toward a more peaceful future. The museum grew out of the legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which brought justice to those who bore the greatest responsibility for crimes committed during the country’s brutal civil war. It was also inspired by the recommendations of the 2004 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report, […]
- [Sierra Leone’s Forgotten Graves: A Civil War’s Haunting Shadow](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leones-forgotten-graves-a-civil-wars-haunting-shadow/): By Ibrahim Mansaray (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) More than two decades after Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war ended, the country continues to confront a haunting legacy: mass graves filled with the remains of civilians who became casualties of a conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), established to document the causes and consequences of the war, described the scale of the violence in stark terms. “Civilians accounted for a large number of deaths at the hands of each faction,” the Commission reported. “All factions specifically targeted civilians.” Many of those civilians were buried in […]
- [Special Court Transition to Residual Special Court: A Legacy of Justice](https://mrcgonline.org/special-court-transition-to-residual-special-court-a-legacy-of-justice/): By Zainab Sunkary Koroma (ATJLF/MRCG Fellow 2025) For over a decade, Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war left a trail of destruction, with thousands killed, maimed, or displaced. In the aftermath, the demand for justice was loud and clear. The international community answered, believing that accountability was key to ensuring lasting peace. In 2002, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) was established under an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone. Unlike other international tribunals, it operated under a unique mandate, focusing solely on those who bore the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed after November 30, […]
- [MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- MARCH 2025](https://mrcgonline.org/media-freedom-review-march-2025/): The monthly ‘Media Freedom Review’ is a publication of the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG). It is produced from the monitoring and reporting on freedom of expression and the press, internet freedom, digital and online rights, and the safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone. In March 2025, MRCG monitored the alleged physical assault of a journalist in Makeni and the arrest and detention of a lecturer concerning a cybercrime offence. MRCG also followed up on various issues including the invitation of the APC 2023 Flagbearer for questioning, a matter involving a reality TV star, the murder of a […]
- [The forgotten survivors: War Amputees fighting for recognition and pay](https://mrcgonline.org/the-forgotten-survivors-war-amputees-fighting-for-recognition-and-pay/): By Alfred Koroma (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) Mariama Mary Kamara, a lactating mother begs for a living “It feels disgusting seeing myself this way,” says Catco Sesay, 34, staring at what remains of his right arm. “I should have been better than this if I were a normal human, but I was deprived,” he added, with his face tense, his eyes wet as he struggles to hold back tears. Catco lost his right arm at the age of six in Old Port Loko, a village along the Freetown Road in Port Loko District, during the eleven-year civil war, a conflict that […]
- [Youth Unemployment and the Threat to post-war Stability in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/youth-unemployment-and-the-threat-to-post-war-stability-in-sierra-leone/): By Alfred Koroma (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) Osman Kamara, a 30-year-old Sociology graduate from Fourah Bay College, struggles to support his wife and two children without formal employment. To make ends meet, he engages in small-scale phone sales, acting as a middleman between buyers and shop owners. While this hustle provides a temporary solution, it is far from the stable career he envisioned after years of higher education. Osman recalls applying for a government job through the Public Service Commission, only to later discover that positions had already been filled through political and personal connections. “I have tried in other offices, […]
- [The Cost of Conflict: Inside Sierra Leone’s Peace Museum](https://mrcgonline.org/the-cost-of-conflict-inside-sierra-leones-peace-museum/): By Alfred Koroma (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) “Over 50,000 people died in the war,” recalls Patrick Fatoma, Outreach Focal Person for the Residual Special Court of Sierra Leone, as he explained the divisions of the Peace Museum and its significance in remembering the war. On a wall outside the museum’s main building, 2,500 names stand as silent sentinels, each inscribed with details of district, gender, age, and the exact month and year when their respective lives were lost. Fatoma calls them the war dead. They were recorded by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as a tribute to those lost in […]
- [Remembering the TRC: What the Truth and Reconciliation Report Says about the War’s Causes ](https://mrcgonline.org/remembering-the-trc-what-the-truth-and-reconciliation-report-says-about-the-wars-causes/): By Alfred Koroma (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) In the second year of the 21st Century, Sierra Leone regained peace after an 11-year brutal war. The war, which began in 1991 and ended 2002 is estimated to have killed over 50, 000 people, a harrowing chapter in the nation’s history, marked by unimaginable violence and suffering. “They burned people alive, amputated limbs, and raped and killed pregnant women,” recalled Alhaji Haruna Sani, News Editor at Concord Times, describing it as “the wicked war in the world.” In its aftermath, the TRC was established to investigate the causes of the conflict, document human […]
- [Special Court for Sierra Leone Transition to Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone: A Legacy of Justice](https://mrcgonline.org/special-court-for-sierra-leone-transition-to-residual-special-court-for-sierra-leone-a-legacy-of-justice/): By Zainab Sunkary Koroma (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) For over a decade, Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war left a trail of destruction, with thousands killed, maimed, or displaced. In the aftermath, the demand for justice was loud and clear. The international community answered, believing that accountability was key to ensuring lasting peace. In 2002, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) was established under an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone. Unlike other international tribunals, it operated under a unique mandate, focusing solely on those who bore the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed after November 30, […]
- [Sierra Leone: Youth Unemployment Persists in Pujehun, Raising Security Concerns.](https://mrcgonline.org/sierra-leone-youth-unemployment-persists-in-pujehun-raising-security-concerns/): By Brima Sannoh (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) More than two decades after Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war ended, the scars of that conflict remain stamped not just in memories, but in the persistent struggles of the nation’s youth. In Pujehun District, one of Sierra Leone’s most impoverished regions, young people face a grim reality: despite possessing skills and education, they remain trapped in unemployment and economic hardship. Sierra Leone has made significant strides in rebuilding its economy, yet youth unemployment continues to be one of its biggest challenges. According to a joint report by the Government of Sierra Leone, a German […]
- [Conflict’s Legacy: Civil Conflict Fans Poverty in Pujehun District](https://mrcgonline.org/conflicts-legacy-civil-conflict-fans-poverty-in-pujehun-district/): By Brima Sannoh (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) For over a century, poverty has remained a persistent challenge in Sierra Leone, with rural communities facing the worst of its devastating consequences. In the southern district of Pujehun, the impact is particularly severe. Once known for its rich cultural heritage and vast, breathtaking landscapes, Pujehun today ranks among the poorest districts in Sierra Leone, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Generations have been trapped in a relentless cycle of deprivation, and despite efforts from the government and humanitarian organizations, the scars of poverty remain deep. In the small village […]
- [Tribalism Threatens National Unity in Sierra Leone](https://mrcgonline.org/tribalism-threatens-national-unity-in-sierra-leone/): By Brima Sannoh (MRCG/ATJLF Fellow 2025) Sierra Leone’s national cohesion remains under threat as deep-rooted tribalism continues to shape politics, governance, and social interactions. For decades, ethnic divisions have fueled exclusion, distrust, and uneven development, hindering the country’s progress. With over a dozen ethnic groups, Sierra Leone boasts a rich cultural heritage. However, this diversity has often been exploited by politicians who manipulate tribal loyalties to consolidate power. Political appointments, policies, and development projects are frequently influenced by ethnic affiliations, leaving some communities marginalized and exacerbating social divisions. Tribalism and Political Tensions In recent years, tribalism has played a significant […]

## Pages

- [HOME](https://mrcgonline.org/home/): THE MEDIA REFORM COORDINATING GROUP SIERRA LEONE
- [NAFPIM](https://mrcgonline.org/nafpim/)
- [PUBLICATIONS](https://mrcgonline.org/publications/): STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORTS
- [ARTICLES](https://mrcgonline.org/articles/): MEDIA FREEDOM REVIEW- AUGUST 2024 The monthly ‘Media Freedom Review’ is a publication of the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG). It is produced by monitoring and reporting on freedom of expression and the press, internet freedom, digital and online rights, and the safety and security of journalists in Sierra Leone. In August 2024, MRCG monitored the dismissal and harassment of a journalist in Makeni, Northern Sierra Leone. It also followed up on the physical assault of a journalist in Kenema, Eastern Sierra Leone, the verbal threat against a freelance journalist in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone, the invitation and detention of a journalist in Kenema, […]
- [CONTACT US](https://mrcgonline.org/contact-us/): Sign Up to Our Newsletter Address: 145 Circular Road, Freetown,Sierra Leone, West Africa. Contacts: +232 76 866519+232 76 224684+232 74 556477 Email:  infor@mrcgonline.org
- [ABOUT US](https://mrcgonline.org/about-us/): The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) is a civil society organization dedicated to promoting media development, press freedom, and good governance. Established in 2014, the MRCG works to strengthen the media landscape by advocating for policy reforms, enhancing journalists’ capacity, and ensuring accountability in media practice. Key Objectives of MRCG:1. Media Policy & Legal Reforms – Advocating for laws that protect press freedom and freedom of expression.2. Journalists’ Safety & Protection – Monitoring attacks on journalists and lobbying for their safety.3. Media Self-Regulation– Promoting ethical journalism through the Independent Media Commission (IMC) and the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ).4. Capacity […]
- [OUR IMPACT](https://mrcgonline.org/our-impact/): 1000+ Journalists and media workers trained on various thematic areas since 2014 Led the repeal of Part V of the Public Order Act, 1965. Capacitated media professionals on media laws and ethics in Sierra Leone. Engagements Engaged stakeholders, including the Government of Sierra Leone on media policies. Engaged community stakeholder in six coastal communities on climate change mitigation in Sierra Leone. Engaged in public awareness campaigns on Transitional Justice issues in Sierra Leone. Engaged media and minorities to act for peace building in Sierra Leone. Produced several media freedom and freedom of expression reports that have been referenced both locally […]
- [WHAT WE DO](https://mrcgonline.org/what-we-do/): Media Freedom On Media Freedom, the MRCG has over the years championed media freedom initiatives, by monitoring and reporting and press freedom issues, advocating media reforms, partnering with other national media organizations across the country to ensure professionalism in the media landscape of Sierra Leone. Freedom of Expression since 2018, MRCG has documented all freedom of expression violation meted against journalists, media workers, civil society activists and the ordinary citizens. MRCG has also strengthened democratic dialogue and consolidated peace and ensured development through professional, independent and sustainable media based on the right to freedom of expression. Digital Rights The MRCG […]


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