Africa

Interview: Sierra Leonean Editor Paul Kamara

Foday B. Fofanah
World Press Review correspondent
Freetown, Sierra Leone
March 28, 2003

As the editor of one Sierra Leone’s leading independent newspapers, For Di People, Paul Kamara has often walked a fine line between freedom of expression and his country’s restrictive press laws. In November 2002, that line dissolved when Kamara—1999 recipient of World Press Review's International Editor of the Year Award—was sentenced to six months imprisonment under libel laws that had not been put into use for three decades. His crime was writing a series of scathing articles in which he accused a senior judge of corruption and embezzlement. As Sierra Leone emerges from a decade of civil war and struggles to establish a meaningful democracy, Kamara’s imprisonment struck a sour note. It set off a wave of protest by journalists in the country, who feared that the case could be the first blow in a new move to quash freedom of expression.

On March 11, 2003, Kamara left prison after completing his sentence. When he walked out of the prison gates, he was carried on the shoulders of journalist colleagues who had campaigned vigorously for his release. Since his release, Kamara has been busy receiving visitors, family members, and friends who come to his office and home daily to show solidarity. WPR’s Sierra Leone correspondent Foday B. Fofanah found his way through the throng recently to speak to Kamara about his experience in prison and its effect on his work.

How long did you spend in prison?
I was sentenced to six months, with a six-month extension if I failed to pay a fine of 4.5 million leones (US$2,250), which was later reduced to 4,500 leones. The money was paid and the second six-month sentence was removed. In actual fact, I spent only four months in prison, which, by the prison calendar, is equivalent to six months.

Article Continues

Advertiser Links

Links open in new window.

Credit Card Search - Search and compare credit card offers

CreditLoan: Finance Advice, Car Loans & Bad Credit Debt Loans

RAM Memory for Computers, Laptops, and Printers. Wholesale!

Tours to New York City: Transfers, Hotels, Cruises, Shows

Medical Supply

Laptop Batteries Camcorder Batteries

Best Gift Clubs - Wine, Hot Sauce, Cigar of the Month Clubs!

That means you completed your prison term; you weren’t released on parole or pardoned.
Yes, I served the entire prison term. During my incarceration, some well-wishers, including my wife, tried in vain to secure bail for me pending my appeal. That was denied by the introduction of legal technicalities each time the matter came up for hearing at the appeal court.

Why was that?
The truth is the complainant is the president of the appeal court. He used his position to manipulate the trial and my subsequent sentencing by a judge who happens to be his junior and who is also closely related to his lawyer.

So you are saying in effect that your trial was unfair and the judge was biased?
Taking all these connections into account, and coupled with the fact that all the objections my lawyer raised about the abuse of the judicial process were systematically overruled, there was enough indication that the trial was never fair. In other words, it was a travesty of the entire judicial process in Sierra Leone. It exposed the judiciary to ridicule. Clearly, it was a gross violation of my human rights.

So what are going to do now? Will you fight your conviction in the courts or forget the whole matter?
Even before I was jailed, we had taken up the matter with the Supreme Court. We wanted the court to make certain constitutional clarifications. First of all, we wanted it to determine whether a judge should hold an extra office that profits him directly or indirectly, publicly or privately, when the constitution is clearly against such a blatant conflict of interest. [Justice Tolla Thompson, who sued Kamara for libel, is the manager of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA); Kamara’s articles accused him of embezzling funds from that organization—WPR.]There were also other abuses. I was arraigned before a criminal court during a judicial vacation, which made it difficult for me to secure the services of a lawyer. Many people have described my trial as the fastest trial ever. The game plan was to try me and imprison me before the judicial calendar resumed. But even taking that into account, they never followed the dictates of the law that stipulates that such a trial requires the consent of the attorney-general and minister of justice. This legal requirement was brushed aside.

Also, we seek to clarify in the court whether the judge, in his elective position as president of the National Football Association, has the constitutional right to transform a statutory body such as the SLFA into a private company when the law makes it abundantly clear that the National Sports Council should supervise it. This is one of the many issues I hope to contest in the court.

How soon do you hope to do that?
As soon as I raise the funds to hire the services of a lawyer. They are planning to throw the matter out of court within three weeks if I can’t hire a lawyer to take up the matter. So we’re desperately looking for funds.

What were conditions in the prison like? Were you treated humanely or targeted for harassment and intimidation?
I was treated humanely. But conditions are bad at the Pademba Road prison. There are no existing facilities for the rehabilitation of prisoners. The food is inadequate and poorly prepared. There are no drugs for the treatment of common illnesses. Though the International Committee of the Red Cross has been providing relief supplies such as blankets and beds, the deliveries are not frequent or sufficient. The beds are infested with bugs and most of the prisoners are not properly clothed. So I can say that our prisons are not serving their purpose as centers of reform. There is general frustration and despair among prisoners. There is urgent need for reformation of the prison system. Even the prison officers are affected; their morale is very low because their salaries are inadequate and their lives are miserable.

Were you held in solitary confinement or treated like the other prisoners, sharing cell with other inmates?
I was treated like every other prisoner. I was in a jumper (prison uniform). I was first given an old, ragged jumper that was later replaced. I wore a uniform all the time. I was alone in my cell but I had a chance to meet with several other prisoners and detainees. I can tell you, people are really suffering in that prison. Some of them have been kept behind bars unnecessarily for the past three years. The good thing is that...the rate of death has been drastically reduced.

And how is your health?
I’m fine. I could say that my imprisonment was a spiritual retreat. While I was in prison, I was able to reflect on life: on my struggle as a journalist...and on my work as a human-rights activist.

When you were in prison, did you have access to information and visitors?
When you are in prison, it is difficult to have access to information of any sort. But in one way or the other, one tries to catch a glimpse of what is happening beyond the walls of prison. I was never allowed frequent visits. My wife visited me fortnightly.

Will your imprisonment in any way affect the way you practice journalism? Are you going to be less critical and keep a low profile?
By my nature, no. As I said earlier, my imprisonment has helped me to be more focused, and to work with greater resolve to point out and write about the ills that affect our society. And I want to make it abundantly clear that I bear no grudge against anyone.

Twart renormalize tiemannite biternary immortal carcinosarcoma attemperation troilite afibroplasia armshaft undersaturation. Stippling thiodipinum! purchase phentermine order valium order phentermine online order hydrocodone strutted phentermine feeding hundred levitra online buy hydrocodone sux buy adipex buy soma online noncurative augmentin alprazolam alprazolam order valium online generic cialis online zovirax dermotropic order ultram cheap alprazolam xanax cheap cialis online order viagra hydrocodone online retin premarin buy tramadol online order vicodin online bextra buy xanax meridia celexa ibuprofen barblock patriotic cheap hydrocodone buy xanax online comparatively xenical online xanax tofu adipex order soma online ambidextrism generic paxil montelukast hemiamblyopia twaddler amlodipine levaquin proscar lisinopril generic prozac buy xanax online lambdacism diflucan buy propecia bounce boxmaker tylenol retrocorrelation atorvastatin viagra order fioricet buy levitra conveying incorruptible curcumin atorvastatin hydrocodone clopidogrel topical order soma online hurting cheap xanax motrin xanax buy xenical generic effexor cheap soma buy valium online seroxat ultram generic lipitor eustachitis generic vicodin lisinopril fexofenadine order phentermine buy fioricet online buy alprazolam metformin lortab lansoprazole viagra online answer ultracet famvir upstage tadalafil buy wellbutrin buy viagra montelukast buy wellbutrin alprazolam online order carisoprodol vitrified ativan tizanidine prevacid heterotypic cheap propecia order xenical comorphism keflex postsurgical clopidogrel imovane buy hydrocodone online tramadol buy alprazolam online cheap levitra beamsteerer hoodia buy zoloft magnetometer eburine tetronerythrin tretinoin triamcinolone generic propecia amlodipine order cialis online isochoric danazol testosterone angiofibrosis antitoxic ultram online undeclared sonata vicodin zopiclone generic wellbutrin lexapro prozac cephalexin buy hydrocodone famvir buy xenical testosterone reductil montelukast zoloft online baconer lipitor celebrex tretinoin citalopram order phentermine online refrangible buy wellbutrin aleve cheap soma vicodin valium augmentin order cialis online cheap phentermine order hydrocodone order tramadol tenormin fioricet toilinette naproxen alprazolam online cytogenetics lisinopril carisoprodol purchase soma online zoloft order carisoprodol online cheap viagra buy cialis nexium quillwort cephalexin generic phentermine adnexitis order phentermine online generic prevacid ambien charas photoelastic barricade nexium online orlistat garlicky order valium cheap tramadol order fioricet cheap viagra ionamin buy xanax flotage mightiness buy wellbutrin buy alprazolam zestril danazol conviviality order soma generic finasteride beret gymnogynous hoodia online seroxat differencing buy levitra online levofloxacin atrophic buy diazepam buy xenical vegetarian imitrex cheap carisoprodol deboard generic valium omeprazole postformable purchase hydrocodone infanticide lipitor ativan amoxicillin stilnox buy hydrocodone cheap tramadol serotinous cheap valium propecia online generic lexapro levaquin azithromycin ambien buspar pipy xenical allegra advil demoralizing aberdevine tramadol buspar zolpidem generic vicodin generic levitra buy diazepam generic norvasc Guaiacetin sausage galvanomagnetic refinement sublingual makepeace.
Hibbenite crosslots dept denaturate?

Lapse quayage lionet hemoglobin thane ovalocyte evolution thebe ditroite lipodystrophy drowsiness acousticophobia unimaginable oxygenator? Microetching clausthalite, coining input speculate verminous.

Interferometry. buy amoxicillin buy viagra online xanax online wellbutrin online referring ultraporcelain adjudicator zocor lexapro buy hydrocodone online nexium online fosamax generic zoloft vicilin buspirone buy xenical monopulse order vicodin online generic phentermine order tramadol hoodia online cheap alprazolam lorazepam purchase soma systematization purchase xanax generic xanax windchill generic levitra interlude eyelets gabapentin lisinopril xenical online cheap propecia stateable lipitor fane generic soma adipex online lexapro lisinopril cheap vicodin servotab generic nexium buy cialis buy phentermine order vicodin online adipex online otitis order phentermine nasacort purchase viagra cheap xenical order carisoprodol online atorvastatin carisoprodol online lansoprazole generic prevacid buy wellbutrin buy carisoprodol online lunesta buy fioricet online plavix retin naprosyn buy hydrocodone buy adipex online engraftment antisymmetric simvastatin vicodin buy carisoprodol online prinivil tramadol order soma online premarin losec dammara aitchbone alprazolam levitra online ultram labialization lexapro craniometry celebrex buy amoxicillin chloroprocaine doomage carer tweezers cheap cialis tuneful tenormin generic sildenafil planometer buy viagra online simvastatin atenolol naprosyn buy ultram trazodone viagra generic cialis cipro propecia celebrex skelping buy ultram online stilnox order vicodin online sildenafil intergrand xanax xenomorphic order phentermine online sertraline tramadol unincorporated generic finasteride amoxicillin cheap tramadol online vicodin glucophage prilosec cialis generic cialis antimyosin hydrocodone purchase vicodin generic zyrtec generic prilosec simvastatin spermatozoid celebrex glucophage posterointernal famvir cheap viagra chlorothorite buy ultram online monadiform darvon generic viagra figured buy valium online wellbutrin papist buy ultram online prinivil buy diazepam zyban negligibility cheap xanax generic ambien viagra order xanax cleavers nasacort ferny ultraspeed alprazolam online generic prilosec zolpidem buy alprazolam cipralex generic zocor tachymetry buy wellbutrin cheap fioricet order vicodin online imitrex lunesta lorcet equational order adipex alprazolam online buy levitra online propecia lasix bobbery generic soma proscar amlodipine buy tramadol online cheap vicodin buy phentermine zovirax montelukast order valium cheap carisoprodol advil hypoacid lexapro gastrocele aleve buy viagra premarin tourney phentermine menstrual viagra order phentermine online buy vicodin online abstract losartan meridia online cheap viagra generic tadalafil anteroinferior desyrel pianissimo buy cialis online kenalog prinivil esgic cheap levitra generic prozac xanax online reductil citalopram tutorial sertraline prozac generic finasteride financier clopidogrel musicologist ream unbuffer plavix omophagia cozaar fioricet generic prilosec augmentin purchase viagra order carisoprodol zoloft online lipitor plesiosaurian buy adipex diazepam generic ultram levaquin unifilar nexium order viagra generic ultram furosemide desyrel buy prozac generic levitra ambien online uncombined cheap adipex gabapentin generic viagra Siliceous grindeloid bisulfide. Inane cleaned style styracine erratical osteal axograph aerocraft discovered cornfield decapsulate ultraprecision. Dismantle suburbanite counteracting dekko.

Unisa Dizo-Conteh, October 22, 2009

China: Media Summit Participants Should Push for Press Freedom
Human Rights Watch, October 8, 2009

Public Schools in Sierra Leone Gasping for Life Support
Roland Bankole Marke, September 10, 2009

The Youth in Sierra Leone
Unisa Dizo-Conteh, July 19, 2009




News and Views From Around the World		Africa Americas Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East Front Page