By Fatima Kpaka
On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the Sierra Leone Parliament passed the Counter Terrorism Act 2024 into law, aiming to minimize and eradicate all forms of terrorism in the country.
The bill initially faced criticism from many citizens, including members of the main opposition All People’s Congress Party (APC), who argued that some clauses needed urgent amendments to prevent the government and the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) from using it to silence opposition parties, particularly the APC. The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), a body pivotal in maintaining press freedom and safety for journalists, also called on the leadership of parliament to ensure that press freedom is not undermined by the government.
Before its passing, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on legislation, Hon. Marray Conteh, praised members of parliament for their tireless efforts in making the bill pass into law. He assured citizens that every clause and section identified as gray areas had been carefully rectified to meet international standards.
Hon. Conteh clarified that there was only one major contention, which was the inclusion of exemptions that precede the definition of terrorism in the act. “Let us get it clear that we only had one contention, which was the inclusion of the exemptions that precede the definition of terrorism in the act,” Hon. Conteh stated. “Today we have included those exemptions which were left out before now.”
Speaking about the power of the new Counter Terrorism Act, Hon. Conteh asserted that there is no need for panic as the act clearly defines who a terrorist is and what qualifies as an act of terrorism. He explained that the new act has clauses to deal with individuals involved in planning or executing acts of terrorism in the country. “The Counter Terrorism Act has provisions and penalties to deal with whosoever is planning or executing acts of terrorism in Sierra Leone,” Hon. Conteh stated.
Hon. Conteh further explained that the inclusion of these exemptions is timely because they guarantee that no one will be liable for an offense of terrorism when involved in advocacy, protests, and dissent. “It is not all kinds of protest that lead to an act of terrorism, so we have to know that clearly,” Hon. Conteh stated.
The chairman noted that they relied on the African model to draft the act together with its exceptions. “We used the African model, and you can see that terrorism is a global issue; this does not come from anyone’s head,” he said.
The opposition leader in parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, expressed delight in the bill’s process and said that the opposition is happy that most of their concerns were looked into and rectified. He mentioned that in the African model, the exemptions precede the definition of terrorism, but the first draft brought to the House of Representatives excluded those exemptions. “They brought the definition but left out the exemptions,” Hon. Kargbo said.
Hon. Kargbo noted that the proponents of the African model were deliberate in including those exemptions to avoid member states from drafting laws that target political opponents and parties. “The African model states that despite the definition of terrorism, any act involving advocacy, dissenting views, protests, and industrial actions shall not be considered acts of terrorism,” the opposition leader asserted.
He added that the African model sets the pace for every member state, and if any member state drafts laws on terrorism and leaves out those exemptions, then all those involved in advocacy, protests, industrial actions, and dissent in such a country will be doing so at their risk. This was why his party called for the inclusion of those exemptions.