The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists’ award given to the President Bio as “Champion of Press Freedom” this past weekend, was an act dictated by impulse rather than due regard for their sacred role as watchdogs over the power-filled levers of government. President Bio may well be a ‘Champion of Press Freedom’ but we would only truly know on the exit of his 5 or 10 year-tenure. The award was therefore precipitous and serves no purpose other than denting the sagging image of independence of the institution. I also believe that such award undermines those ‘other voices’ who hold a slightly differing view or who would want to scrutinize the president on his actions, laws or policies which affect press freedom or freedom of expression and access to information in the future. If SLAJ has already characterised the president as ‘champion of press freedom’, nobody would take them seriously if they say tomorrow he is the ‘villain of press freedom’.
President Bio kept his manifesto promise when his government repealed Part V of the Public Order Act 1965. It was a great act of leadership deserving of an accolade but certainly not from SLAJ. That is not the role of SLAJ; its role is, inter alia, to hold power accountable and not to adorn power with awards. For goodness sake, we have a booming industry of awards in the country and I have no doubt that the many outfits dishing awards left, right and centre would overwhelm the President with their products. It must never be SLAJ’s business to give a sitting president such superlative award. If anything, it is government that should recognise those media practitioners and activists who braved it for many years demanding a repeal of those obnoxious seditious libel provisions. We don’t give awards to our leaders for doing their work—certainly not from the institution that bore the brunt of the evils of those laws.
Nasralla (De Monk) is one of my favorite big brothers in Sierra Leone and I have no doubt that he has employed his journalistic skills and satirical platform to hold past and the current governments to account. But on this one, he, as President of SLAJ, made poor judgement in the decision to award the president. This does not certainly alter my esteem of him. But I have learnt to show loyalty to my friends who hold public offices by being brutally honest with them; because that is the only way I can be honest with their opponents too when their own time comes.
I was looking for a view contrary when I saw the news and you’ve said it best.
There’s so much to do than exonerating the president and make him feel a triumph.