By Expo Staff Writer>
The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) has condemned attack on the office and staff of Hope Radio FM 93.3 in Makeni.
“The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ)vehemently condemns attack on the
office and staff of Hope Radio FM 93.3in Makeni in the afternoon hours of Monday 23rd
October, 2023 by a group of thugs allegedly sent by Mr. Alie Benson Conteh, who is the
landlord of the premises housing the radio at 4 Field Road Makeni City, Northern Sierra Leone. The thugs forcefully entered the radio building, vandalized equipment and physically
manhandled several staff. The Proprietor of the radio, Mr. Stanley Bangura Jr, who arrived atthe scene after alerting the Police, was also assaulted by a man identified as ‘Babah Bio’. The radio station has a legal tenancy agreement to expire on the 31st of December 2023,” the umbrella body of journalists in Sierra Leone said in a pressrelease dated 23rdOctober, 2023.
According to SLAJ, the police in Makeni are investigating the matter and have made some arrests, while the radio staff are reportedly responding to treatment at the Makeni Regional Hospital.
The release confirmed that SLAJ’s President, Ahmed SahidNasralla, and a cross-section of his Executive visited the Mena Police Station in Makeni on their way from Bumbuna to inquire about the matter, adding that the North-East Regional Commander, AIG Aiah Edward Samadia told the SLAJ delegation that the owners of the premises and their lawyer came to the police station on Sunday, 22nd October 2023 requesting the police to forcefully evict the radio, but that he advised them to follow due process.
“An attack on a radio station and its journalists is an attack on democracy. It is amazing how Sierra Leoneans have developed a culture of taking the law into their own hands. This lawlessness must stop, and we urge the Police to ensure the alleged culprits are brought to book,” said Nasralla.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times Newspaper on Wednesday 25th October, 2023 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)