Author: gleanernewspaper

Cocaine smugglers have long been sending the drug to Europe from South America via West Africa, including through Sierra Leone (AC Vol 48 No 13). In July 2008, then Transport Minister Ibrahim Kemoh Sesay was suspended and later sacked during an investigation into the arrival of 700 kilograms of cocaine in a twin-engined aircraft that landed at Lungi airport. He denied any wrongdoing and was not prosecuted for any criminal offence. Fast forward to October 2023, when authorities in Antwerp intercepted a shipment of 7.7 tonnes of cocaine hidden between soya beans exported from Sierra Leone – the first in a series of similar…

Prince Andrew, Duke of York speaks to Aliko Dangote during the London Global African Investment Summit at St James’ Palace on December 1, 2015 in London, England [Anthony Devlin-WPA Pool/Getty Images] By-Tafi Mhaka On July 9, 2025, I was overwhelmed by a profound sense of despair and disappointment upon reading a report from Oxfam International, a globally recognised NGO, revealing that just four of Africa’s richest billionaires hold a combined wealth of $57.4bn. According to Oxfam, this figure exceeds the total wealth of approximately 750 million Africans, roughly half of the continent’s population. Moreover, the top 5 percent of Africans now control nearly…

Hon. Justice Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves, President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, and his delegation visited His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio at State House in Freetown. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Sierra Leone, Mr. Alpha Sesay, stated that the delegation, led by the President of the Court, was in the country to congratulate President Bio on his recent election as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government. He also stated that the visit’s goal was to assist the Attorney General’s Office by providing state counsels with training and capacity-building opportunities.…

His Excellency Moussa Saleh Batraki, Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), paid a courtesy visit to His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio at State House, where the two leaders discussed the importance of strengthened collaboration among member states to reinforce the organization’s mission and relevance. Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Musa Timothy Kabba, led the discussion and expressed gratitude to President Bio for granting the audience. He stated that the Secretary-General was in Sierra Leone to provide an update on the organization’s activities and to formally introduce himself to…

In a spirited display of corporate sportsmanship and national pride, Africell Sierra Leone has reaffirmed its commitment to youth sports by sponsoring the national under-18 volleyball team for the upcoming CAVB U18 Beach Volleyball Continental Cup. The official signing ceremony took place on Friday, July 25, at Africell’s headquarters on Pivot Street in Wilberforce, Freetown. The Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) organises the Continental Cup, a qualification tournament for the FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships that showcases the continent’s top emerging talent. Sierra Leone’s participation reflects both the country’s growing volleyball profile and the results of years of strategic…

His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio presided over Mr. Alex Pat Labib Saffa’s official swearing-in ceremony as the newly appointed Electoral Commissioner for the Eastern Region, which was unanimously approved by Parliament. The ceremony, held at State House, formalised Mr. Saffa’s appointment by Section 32(6) of Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution, which requires Electoral Commissioners to take and subscribe an oath of office before beginning their duties. Leading the proceedings, Secretary to the President Mr. Barba Brima Fortune stated that Mr. Saffa had completed a thorough due diligence process and received full support from Members of Parliament. Commissioner Saffa took…

The atmosphere at the Bo Women Skills Training Centre was charged with joy, gratitude, and hope as the LANYI Foundation proudly hosted its first graduation ceremony for vulnerable women and girls. This significant event marked the successful completion of a 12-month intensive training program focusing on tailoring and producing eco-friendly sanitary pads, which was generously funded by the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. Under the inspiring theme of “Empowerment Through Skills,” the ceremony brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including partners, community leaders, beneficiaries, and supporters, all united in commemorating a transformative journey that is already reshaping lives. The graduation…

Illustration by Joanna Andreasson for New Lines Magazine. (Photo credit: Erik Cleves Kristensen Creative commons. By-Oliver Dunn By-Josef Skrdlik It was just after 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day, 2023, when Hussein Fawaz joined the growing line outside Scarlet, an exclusive nightclub at a seaside resort in Freetown. The evening air was warm and humid, and the crowd at the entrance was growing thick. Fawaz, the nephew of one of Sierra Leone’s Lebanese tycoons, was tipsy after several rounds of toasts at a family party. When an athletic-looking white man in his early 30s began edging past the queue with…

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has welcomed a high-level delegation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other agricultural partners who paid a courtesy visit to discuss expanding collaboration in Sierra Leone’s agricultural transformation efforts. The delegation included Donald Brown, Associate Vice President of IFAD; Enoch Chikava, Director of Agriculture Delivery Systems at the Gates Foundation; and representatives from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and McKinsey’s Africa Agriculture Transformation Initiative (AATI). During the visit, Mr. Chikava praised President Bio’s strong support for food security through the Feed…

Sierra Leone and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) are intensifying efforts to strengthen natural resource governance and combat the estimated $90 billion Africa loses annually to illicit financial flows (IFFs). A four-day high-level seminar, which concluded last week, yielded concrete recommendations aimed at tackling this critical economic challenge. Over 70 stakeholders, including representatives from the government, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations, convened at The Place Resort in Tokeh. The seminar, themed “Harnessing Africa’s Wealth: Curbing Illicit Financial Flows for Resilient Growth and Development,” underscored the urgency of addressing IFFs as one of the continent’s most pressing…