By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
In Sierra Leone, free speech is not a Western abstraction. It is a lived and dangerous aspiration, often bruised by the whims of the powerful and betrayed by the very institutions meant to protect it. At stake is not just the right to speak, but the right to know, to question, and to dissent in a society still battling the ghosts of authoritarianism, post-war trauma, and digital disinformation.
As other nations debate free speech in the culture wars of left and right, Sierra Leone faces a more foundational dilemma: whether speech will ever be truly protected from systemic retaliation and political manipulation. This is the battleground of “true speech” in our republic. It is a terrain where freedom must be weighed not only against misinformation, but also against decades of state abuse, legal ambiguity, and institutional failure.
From the Colonial Muzzle to Post-War Paralysis
The history of free speech in Sierra Leone has long been shaped by authoritarian tendencies. From colonial censorship to the silence imposed during the one-party state and civil war, the pattern has been persistent. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found that freedom of expression was “routinely violated” through arbitrary arrests, shutdowns of media houses, and suppression of dissenting political thought. (http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-2/item/volume-two-chapter-two)
The Commission lamented that this created “a culture of impunity, intimidation and cynicism” and recommended robust civic education and media pluralism as antidotes. Yet, over two decades since that report, successive governments have continued to treat truth as a threat.
Constitutional Guarantees, Practical Gags
Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression under Section 25(1), promising “freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.” (http://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf) However, Section 25(2) qualifies this right so broadly, for public safety, order, morality, and health, that it leaves ample room for political restriction.
Until 2020, Part Five of the Public Order Act 1965 criminalised sedition and libel, effectively muzzling journalists for criticising public officials. Though repealed after sustained advocacy, the machinery of intimidation persists in new forms. In 2021, Parliament passed the Cyber Security and Crime Act, which critics warned contains vague clauses that can be used to criminalise online dissent. (https://slobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-Cyber-Security-and-Crime-Act-Sierra-Leone.pdf)
Justice Deferred: Speech Before the Bench
The judiciary’s role in protecting speech has also been mixed. In the landmark case of Sam-Sumana v Attorney General, the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled that the unconstitutional sacking of Vice President Sam-Sumana violated his human rights, including the right to be heard. Yet Sierra Leone’s judiciary failed to uphold the same protection domestically.
(https://media.ecowas.int/2020/11/04/ecowas-court-orders-sierra-leone-to-reinstate-ousted-vice-president/) This reflects a broader pattern in which courts defer to executive interests, especially when politically sensitive speech is involved.
Who Owns the Microphone?
The Independent Media Commission (IMC) continues to register and license media houses, but it has been repeatedly accused of bias in enforcement. Government-aligned broadcasters such as SLBC receive preferential treatment, while independent radio stations in opposition strongholds face periodic shutdowns.
This uneven terrain is echoed in reports by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), which has documented arbitrary arrests of journalists, harassment during elections, and growing pressure on media houses to self-censor under threat of licence suspension. (https://slobserver.org/sierra-leone-association-of-journalists-welcomes-repeal-of-sedition-laws/)
Speech, Misinformation, and the Africanist Press Effect
The rise of digital platforms has democratised speech, but it has also exposed those who speak truth to power to even greater risk. Investigative outlet Africanist Press has revealed billions of leones in undocumented and unjustified expenditures within State House and the Office of the First Lady, based on official audits and leaked documents.
(https://africanistpress.com/2021/05/06/sierra-leone-president-and-wife-linked-to-billions-in-unexplained-expenditures/) Instead of triggering institutional reform, the government’s response was to label the reports as “disinformation” and initiate legal threats against its editors.
This demonstrates what the TRC described as “the criminalisation of truth in service of elite impunity.” In Sierra Leone, it is not just falsehoods that are punished; it is inconvenient facts.
Speech Inequality: Ethnic, Regional, and Class Dimensions
The Afrobarometer 2022 survey found that 60 percent of Sierra Leoneans fear speaking openly about politics due to possible retaliation. (https://afrobarometer.org/publications/ad460-fear-and-freedom-in-sierra-leone/) The risk is higher for young people, ethnic minorities, and residents of opposition strongholds in the North and Western Area, where police crackdowns have been especially severe.
The TRC warned that silence was “not freely chosen by citizens, but coerced through structural exclusion, ethnic favouritism, and political retaliation.”
(http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-2/item/volume-two-chapter-two)
Beyond Legal Texts: Bai Bureh and Wallace-Johnson as Speech Ancestors
Long before Sir Milton or Sir Albert Margai, Sierra Leone had its own speech pioneers. Bai Bureh’s 1898 refusal to pay the colonial hut tax was not merely a tax protest. It was a profound act of rhetorical defiance. His war cry was speech weaponised against foreign domination.
I.T.A. Wallace-Johnson, founder of the West African Youth League, used pamphlets, public rallies, and newspapers to resist both colonial rule and elite African collaborators. He was repeatedly imprisoned under sedition laws, yet he remains one of the most articulate defenders of what he called “the native right to speak truth to kings.”
They remind us that speech in Sierra Leone is not a luxury. It is survival.
Toward a Framework for Balanced Speech
If Sierra Leone is to protect free expression without encouraging harmful misinformation, it must reject both censorship and chaos. Instead, the country must construct an independent, rights-based speech framework grounded in the TRC’s recommendations.
Key reforms should include:
Whistleblower Protection Law
Shield those who report corruption from retaliation, especially civil servants and auditors.
Data Protection and Digital Rights Bill
Prevent unlawful surveillance and safeguard citizens’ privacy in digital communications.
Social Media Regulation Body Independent of Government
Establish a neutral watchdog, not a political agency, to oversee harmful content moderation.
Civic Education Curriculum Reform
Revise school syllabi to teach critical thinking, media literacy, and civic dialogue.
Strengthening the IMC and SLAJ through Legislative Backing
Empower the IMC and SLAJ with legal independence and funding to defend media freedom and ethics.
Rescuing Speech from the State and the Mob
In Sierra Leone, the war on free speech is waged not only by the state but also by online mobs, political fanatics, and institutional indifference. Yet history teaches us that the absence of speech empowers only the censor, whether a uniformed officer, an algorithm, or a ruling party.
As Dabhoiwala warns in What is Free Speech?, truth cannot be dictated from above. And as John Stuart Mill once argued, liberty of discussion is not for the comfort of the speaker, but for the growth of society.
Sierra Leone must reclaim this ideal. Not through slogans or cyber laws, but by embedding speech in justice, truth, and institutional integrity.
References
Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991: http://www.sierra-leone.org/Laws/constitution1991.pdf
TRC Report, Vol. 2: http://www.sierraleonetrc.org/index.php/view-report-text-vol-2/item/volume-two-chapter-two
Audit Service Sierra Leone: https://www.auditservice.gov.sl/report/annual-reports/
Africanist Press Investigations: https://africanistpress.com/2021/05/06/sierra-leone-president-and-wife-linked-to-billions-in-unexplained-expenditures/
Cyber Crime Act (2021): https://slobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-Cyber-Security-and-Crime-Act-Sierra-Leone.pdf
SLAJ Sedition Statement: https://slobserver.org/sierra-leone-association-of-journalists-welcomes-repeal-of-sedition-laws/
ECOWAS Court Decision on VP Sam-Sumana: https://media.ecowas.int/2020/11/04/ecowas-court-orders-sierra-leone-to-reinstate-ousted-vice-president/
Afrobarometer 2022: https://afrobarometer.org/publications/ad460-fear-and-freedom-in-sierra-leone/