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Development (NMJD), highlighted a number of social injustices prevalent in the country, as the report unveils.
Abu Brima, questioning whose prosperity does the “Agenda for Prosperity” caters, said that lecturers are still on
strike, as a result of delay in salary payment, thereby deterring academic progress in the country. He said that
no country can attain human development without making remarkable success in education, for which, he said,
the government should pay considerable attention on education.
Protestors killed at mine in Kono (December 2012)
Reports from Kono, Eastern province of Sierra Leone, state that four mine workers of OCTEA mining company,
formerly Koidu Holdings, were allegedly killed by officers of the Sierra Leone Police (OSD personnel), following a
protest for payment of bonuses and better conditions of service . Witnesses say it started on Saturday, 15
December, 2012 when hundreds of youths barricaded the entrance to the company and demanded that their
concerns be addressed by the company. It is reported that these aggrieved workers gathered at the Tankoro
Chiefdom, where the kimberlite mining company does its operations, and started pelting stones at the vehicles
belonging to the company. Sources revealed that the incident became worse, which forced the Police to quell
down the situation.
Carter Center statement on Sierra Leone elections (October 2012)
Sierra Leone’s upcoming presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections represent a critical test for the
country’s emerging democratic institutions 10 years after the end of the civil war. Carter Center observers
report that the campaign period has been generally peaceful, allowing political parties to assemble freely and to
convey their message to potential voters. The Carter Center calls on political parties to redouble their efforts to
promote women candidacies and leadership roles within their ranks, and encourages the All Political Parties
Women Association, the Campaign for Good Governance, and other civil society organizations to pursue their
advocacy work on behalf of aspiring women candidates and office holders.
Freedom of Information Bill willfully ignored (October 2012)
Outgoing members of parliament came under serious criticism from civil society for "willfully failing to pass
into law the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill", which has been in parliament for a very long time. In an
interview at his office in Freetown, chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society and Human Rights Activists in
Sierra Leone, Charles Mambu, expressed his coalition's disappointment at MPs "for deliberately failing to make
the FOI Bill become a law." He stated that MPs were busy passing other bills and agreements, some of which
they have no understanding about, but refused to ratify a bill he said is very essential to good governance and
democracy.
Civil Society monitoring groups trained (July 2012)
A training was held in Sierra Leone to provide monitors with the necessary skills in assessing the level of
compliance in the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (2011-2013). The Head of Public
Education Unit Ms. Koloneh Sankoh stated that the need for the monitors to live by the codes of conduct and
ethics of the job is paramount. She advised the civil society monitors to do their job with integrity and
confidentiality and to try to avoid the tendency of conflict of interest in the dispensation of their duties. The
monitoring exercise is expected to start in August this year.
New legal aid law in Sierra Leone embraces the role of paralegals (May 2012)
Sierra Leone’s parliament has enacted one of the most progressive legal aid laws in Africa—with an innovative
approach to providing access to justice for all that will reinforce the rule of law in a society still scarred by the
brutal civil war that ended in 2002.[...]The bill provides for a mixed model of criminal and civil legal aid, from
provision of legal information and mediation services through to representation in court, and supplied through
a public/private partnership of government, private sector and civil society.
Prosecutor Hollis applauds the people of Sierra Leone following Charles Taylor’s conviction (May 2012)
On a tour of five provinces throughout Sierra Leone, Prosecutor Brenda J. Hollis hailed the resilience and
determination of all Sierra Leoneans in demanding justice and accountability for the crimes committed against
them during the 11-year armed conflict. Village elders, youth leaders, women’s civil society representatives,
officers from the military, the police and the prison service, villagers and townspeople, gathered with the
Prosecutor to express relief and satisfaction with the conviction handed down by the judges.
Continued delay in Parliament vote on Freedom of Information bill (April 2012)
The legislation would allow members of the public to obtain access to information held by public bodies,
including information that was previously inaccessible, or that was considered sensitive such as government
contracts with multinational companies. The bill was introduced in the House of Parliament in September 2010,
and by October 2011 had gone through the first, second, third and committee stages, but a final vote is yet to
take place. The bill will provide a means by which people can know about their rights and entitlements, identify
when their rights are being violated and hold the government to account for its constitutional and international
human rights obligations.
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