The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement is moving forward, with the addition of ratifications from two more members to reach the minimum threshold. Sierra Leone and the Saharawi Republic helped the AU to reach the necessary 22 nations required for the AfCFTA to enter into force. That will…
Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara was assassinated while headed home from work in Banjul in December 2004. He was a fierce critic of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, and an advocate for press freedom working with The Point newspaper, AFP and Reporters Without Borders. He is one of many African journalists who…
Sierra Leone has begun a long-awaited inquiry to determine what happened to millions in funding during the nation’s devastating Ebola crisis – money that government officials and outbreak survivors say never reached Ebola patients and their communities. The funds went missing as more than 14,000 people in Sierra Leone contracted…
President Julius Maada Bio paid respects to the victims and families of Sierra Leone’s 2017 landslide tragedy, promising during the memorial events to create a National Disaster Preparedness and Management Agency to prevent future catastrophes. “Today, we remember all our brothers, sisters and children who lost their lives in this…
The United States bullied less powerful nations, intimidating those in Africa and Latin America, in order to weaken a June resolution on breastfeeding at the World Health Assembly in Geneva – a news headline that drew the ire of President Donald Trump when it was reported by the New York…
In Sierra Leone, former vice president Victor Foh and former mines minister Mansaray Minkailu were arrested Thursday as part of new President Julius Maada Bio’s aggressive crackdown on corruption. Despite claims that the arrests are politically motivated, Maada Bio – the Sierra Leone People’s Party candidate elected in a disputed…
Sierra Leone’s new president will soon head to New York for meetings at the United Nations, according to the country’s foreign minister. Dr. Alie Sanjan Kabba, speaking with Radio Democracy 98.1 in Freetown, said President Julius Maada Bio will lead his delegation as head of state but also as the…
In Sierra Leone, at least one person has died and another 20 were injured during the inauguration ceremony for President Julius Maada Bio in Freetown on Saturday. “The death figure may rise because we are still taking injured people from the stadium,” a Red Cross official, Unisa Carew, told Agence…
Authorities in Australia say the Commonwealth Games are over, but there’s still no trace of what is now at least 15 African athletes from five different countries who have disappeared without contacting their teams. The latest departure, according to The Australian, is Denyse Mutatsimpundu, a beach volleyball player from Rwanda…
Julius Maada Bio, the opposition candidate of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), has won the country’s presidential election runoff with 51.8 percent of the votes, the National Election Commission (NEC) announced late Wednesday. Maada Bio received 1,319,406 votes, narrowly defeating All People’s Congress (APC) candidate Samura Kamara, who took 48.2 percent…
Sierra Leone has resumed the tally of presidential election runoff votes, after an agreement was reached between the country’s National Election Commission (NEC) and the two candidates, the NEC said Monday. The agreement followed a dispute over how the votes were being counted, leading to a delay in the results….
Officials in Sierra Leone will hold the runoff presidential election originally planned for today on Saturday, following a last-minute High Court ruling that allows the voting to proceed. While a decision was welcome news to the National Election Commission, it also meant a delay because of the logistics required, said…
Sierra Leone will hold a runoff election between the top two presidential contenders on March 27, now that last week’s results are tallied and it’s clear that neither leading candidate picked up the necessary 55 percent of the vote. Mohamed Conteh, chairman of the National Election Commission, announced the results…
Election officials in Sierra Leone said that with 75 percent of the results counted, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio hold a slim edge with 43.3 percent or a total of 848,438 votes. The All People’s Congress (APC) candidate Samura Kamara was trailing with 42.6…
The vote count remains under way in Sierra Leone, where election officials report a relatively smooth process – but there’s no results so far, and at least some disputes over just how well the election went. “Because we value accuracy above speed, there may be times when the tally takes…