The President of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, is optimistic that Part 5 of the Public Order Act of 1965 would be expunged by members of the Sierra Leone Parliament.
His comment came in a virtual meeting on Friday to commemorate the Association’s 49th anniversary in the wake of Parliament’s recent withdrawal of the bill seeking for its repeal by invoking Standing Order 59, which states that a bill should not be tabled in parliament if it has exceeded three months.
Part Five of Sierra Leone’s Public Order Act of 1965 criminalizes any publication that is deemed defamatory or seditious. This law has been used to unduly target and imprison media practitioners and silence dissenting views. The Bill entitled: “The Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2019,” was tabled in the well of Parliament on November 14, 2019, for the first time in the 54-year fight to repeal the infamous Criminal Libel Law in Sierra Leone. But unfortunately, parliament has withdrawn the bill by evoking Standing Order (SO) 59.
It could be recalled that following the presentation of the aforementioned Bill in the well of Parliament by the Minister of Information and Communications, Parliament deferred the debate due to Parliamentary recess. Since its deferment, the Ministry and its partners have engaged various stakeholders including Parliamentary Oversight Committees, the Law Officers Department, the Independent Media Commission, SLAJ and its constituent bodies, and also the general public on the repeal process.
As part of his campaign promise, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, during the State Opening of the Third Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone at Tower Hill in Freetown, reaffirmed his commitment to repealing the Criminal Libel law.
But five days after President Bio’s expressed his commitment to repealing the Act, the new Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Hon Mathew Nyuma on Tuesday June 2, 2020 by evoking Parliamentary Standing Order 59, which states that a bill should not be tabled in parliament if it has exceeded three months.
President Nasralla said, “This is just a pothole along the way. We have no reason to be pessimistic when we consider how far we have come and how near we are now to the finish line.”
He said that to strengthen their advocacy and engagement, they are in the process of forming a SLAJ Criminal Libel Repeal Lobbying Group to engage key personalities in the Legislature to get their support. “This group will consist mainly of members who have access to the corridors of power, so they also will use their influence to build support for the repeal. We also continue to admonish all of us to practice strictly by the rules,” he added.
The Ministry of Information and Communications has on Thursday June 4, 2020, reassured the public that the Bill entitled “The Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2019” would soon be tabled before Parliament in the Third Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.
The Ministry said in a statement that the withdrawal of the bill was only made known to the Ministry through the media by the Leader of Government Business and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment and Public Service during a radio interview.
The Ministry reiterated government’s firm commitment to repealing Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965 as reaffirmed by His Excellency the President during the State Opening of the Third Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone on May 28, 2020.
Hon. Nyuma said during Radio Democracy “Good Morning Salone” programme that, the removal of the bill was due to parliamentary proceedings. He explained that according to Standing Order (SO) 59, when there is a bill that has exceeded three months in Parliament, it must be reviewed, but that the withdrawal of the bill seeking for amendment didn’t mean that Parliament is entirely throwing it away.
By Stephen V. Lansana
9/6/2020. ISSUE NO.: 7841