The Sierra Leone Telegraph

Yusuf Bangura (Switzerland): Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 June 2025: I’m very sad to learn about Kadi Sesay’s passing. She was not in good health after the massive stroke she suffered about ten years ago. The tribute that is in circulation (“Farewell to a Trailblazer—Dr. Kadi Sesay (1949-2025)”) accurately summarises her [Read More]

Dr Kadi Sesay – the politician and academic expected to become Sierra Leone’s first female President has died aged 76

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 June 2025: Tributes are pouring in from across Sierra Leone’s political and social divide, after the reported death yesterday of Dr Kadi Sesay, who is described as a feminist, scholar, politician, and pro-democracy advocate. Dr Kadi Sesay is reported by family sources to have passed away [Read More]

Rather than carve out new districts for short-term political gain, government should address the real and pressing challenges Sierra Leoneans face – Op ed

June 10, 2025 1

Basita Michael: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 10 June 2025: It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the conclusion that the APC and SLPP’s creation of new districts is less about development and more about manipulating electoral outcomes. This trend reflects deeper and more troubling realities, namely: • Both parties appear to [Read More]

Official electricity blackout across Freetown to start this week as government fails to pay Turkish electricity provider

June 10, 2025 0

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 10 June 2025: Speaking yesterday Monday in Nice, France, at the 2025 High-level UN Ocean Conference, President Bio deliberately oblivious to the emergency he left behind in Freetown, said that he joined global leaders to advocate for urgent action to protect the oceans and marine resources while [Read More]

Remembering Dr Kadi Sesay: An academic, democracy advocate, and politician

Dr Kadi Sesay – the politician and academic expected to become Sierra Leone’s first female President has died aged 76

Rather than carve out new districts for short-term political gain, government should address the real and pressing challenges Sierra Leoneans face – Op ed

June 10, 2025 1

Official electricity blackout across Freetown to start this week as government fails to pay Turkish electricity provider

June 10, 2025 0

Freetown set to be split in two: A bold move or a dangerous mistake? Op ed

June 9, 2025 1

Dr Doma: Siera Leone Telegraph: 9 June 2025: The government of Sierra Leone is reportedly preparing to divide the city of Freetown into two separate cities and from all indications, they are only waiting on the President’s signature to make it official. While some see this as a step toward [Read More]

U.S government travel visa restrictions on Sierra Leoneans come into force today

June 9, 2025 0

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 9 June 2025: “In accordance with the presidential proclamation, the U.S. Embassy has suspended issuance of tourist, business, student, and exchange visitor non-immigrant visas (categories B, F, M, and J) to nationals of Sierra Leone and can only issue immigrant visas for immediate family members of U.S. [Read More]

End of Trump-Musk bromance: In a war of egos the loser always wins

June 6, 2025 0

Abdulai Mansaray: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 06 June 2025: The fallout from the “bromance” between Trump and Elon Musk was just a matter of time before the final blowout. Recent reports about the implosion between the most powerful man and the richest man seems to be played out in the theatre [Read More]

A PARENT FOR ALL SEASONS (Weathering Family Challenges & Raising Champions) – new book by Sierra Leonean author, Avril Bunton-Williams

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 04 June 2025: Sierra Leonean-born creative entrepreneur, speaker, coach and podcast host, Avril Bunton-Williams, has released her inspiring debut book, A Parent for All Seasons — a deeply heartfelt and empowering guide for those raising children through life’s ever-changing seasons. Rooted in Christian values and enriched by [Read More]

Why responsible decentralisation in Sierra Leone must be rooted in planning, equity, and capacity

Sheriff Mahmud Ismail: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 04 June 2025: In times of economic difficulty, the true test of governance lies not in bold proclamations but in thoughtful action. When public servants await their salaries, when councils struggle to maintain basic services, and when families face rising costs of living, decisions [Read More]

African leaders stress need for homegrown solutions to meet economic challenges

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 04 June 2025: At the start of its Annual Meetings in Abidjan on 28th May in Côte d’Ivoire, the African Development Bank held a high-level Presidential Dialogue aimed at outlining the next phase of the continent’s development. The panel featured Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, President Azali [Read More]

How the Bio government turned Sierra Leone’s international reputation into collateral damage

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 04 June 2025: According to the most recent findings by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Sierra Leone has become a trans-shipment hub for cocaine and heroin, routed from South America and Asia to Europe and, to a lesser extent, the [Read More]

President Bio’s plan to break up Freetown into two is tribalistic and dangerous

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 04 June 2025: Since Sierra Leone’s independence in 1961, it had been the ambition of the leadership of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), including the former Prime Minister Albert Margai to neutralise the powers, control and influence of the Krios in Freetown, especially their role in [Read More]

Organised hypocrisy, people’s indifferences and impunity breed corruption

June 1, 2025 2

Abdulai Mansaray: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: An article titled “SLPP accused of planning to steal 2028 elections by creating new electoral districts in its stronghold and Freetown” (thesierraleonetelegraph.com (May 29-2025) seems to invoke post 2023 general elections with a bad taste of Déjà vu. The Tripartite Committee was [Read More]

Octea Limited accuses Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio of abuse of power and disgraceful behaviour

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: ‘Fatima Bio, it is disgraceful that you chose to abuse your privileged position as the President’s wife to attack a private company that operated as a licensed mining company within the confines of Sierra Leone law, resulting in thousands of job losses in Kono [Read More]

Sierra Leone’s reluctance to extradite Dutch narcotics baron Jos Leijdekkers raises alarming questions

June 1, 2025 2

Alpha Amadu Jalloh: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: In recent months, Sierra Leone has witnessed a disturbing contrast in its pursuit of justice. While the government moves swiftly to arrest alleged coup plotters, it remains suspiciously hesitant to take action against Jos Leijdekkers, a convicted Dutch drug trafficker who [Read More]

Opposition APC chaos and the systematic marginalization of political pluralism in Sierra Leone

Alpha Amadu Jalloh: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: In any functioning democracy, opposition parties serve as the counterweight to power. They are the necessary check that ensures the ruling government does not overreach, abuse authority, or govern with impunity. But in Sierra Leone today, the opposition All People’s Congress [Read More]

When maps erase memory and kinship to gain electoral advantage

Alpha Amadu Jalloh: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: When the Minister of Local Government and Community Affairs, Ambassador Tamba Lamina, stood before the media at the Ministry of Information and Civic Education on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, he unveiled a sweeping plan to create two new districts, carve up [Read More]

Mo Ibrahim Foundation publishes its 2025 Facts & Figures – Financing the Africa We Want

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released the 2025 Facts & Figures: Financing the Africa We Want Report, ahead of this year’s Ibrahim Governance Weekend (IGW), which will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, from 1-3 June, under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The [Read More]

Migration should be embraced, not feared

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: “Migration is not a problem to solve, but an opportunity to seize,” says Walter Kasempa, AU/IOM Migration Ambassador. As the most mobile and fastest-growing demographic on the continent, youth are both drivers and beneficiaries of migration. Whether searching [Read More]

Rudderless country, Mumu Prezo – Op ed

Jimmy Kandeh: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: It’s a story of a once-spirited horse, now gasping for its final breath, fully aware that the end is nigh. Attempts at resuscitation are sporadic, half-hearted, and even those administering them seem to know the game is up. This isn’t just a [Read More]

EBID and ATIDI partner up to support economic activity in the West African sub-region

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 June 2025: The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening support for the private sector in the West African sub-region. The memorandum, which was signed on May 29, [Read More]

A PARENT FOR ALL SEASONS (Weathering Family Challenges & Raising Champions) – new book by Sierra Leonean author, Avril Bunton-Williams

Why responsible decentralisation in Sierra Leone must be rooted in planning, equity, and capacity