A lawsuit has been brought against Ms. Yeama Thompson, Director of the Sierra Leone News Agency (SLENA) and also the Founder of Initiative for Media Development (IMdev) at the High Court of Sierra Leone.
According to the summon before the High Court by the solicitors of the Plaintiff Mrs. Millicent Kargbo the Executive President of the Sierra Leone Association of Women in Journalism (SLAWIJ), Ms. Thompson’s Media Advisory of 31st July 2023 labelled “Termination of Interim Executive for Breach of Corporate Governance Principles” in which she stated that Mrs. Kargbo and the executive have failed to maintain accurate and annual narrative and financial records including the dues paid by family members, non-disclosure of relevant donor funds to the Board of Directors, leading to a lack of transparency in financial matters, neglecting to adhere to internal financial controls and protocols, neglecting to produce annual audited reports since taking up of office, disregarding corporate governance principles including conflict of interest and non-compliance in convening a meeting to finalise discussions of an Annual General Meeting, and exhibiting behaviour that may damage the reputation and integrity of our organisation, were intended to damage the hard-earned reputation of the Mrs. Kargbo.
Similarly, on 10 August 2023, Ms. Thompson published another press statement titled “Debunking False Claims and Clarifying Recent Developments Regarding Sierra Leone Association of Women in Journalism” in which she stated that the Board of Directors of SLAWIJ has taken the decision to terminate the interim executive a decision based on identifying non-compliance with essential corporate governance requirements including reporting and auditing obligations, contrary to best practice their investigations reveal that the organisation has operated without a proper governance structure for the past three years under Millicent Kargbo’s administration, and urged that public to exercise caution and refrain from engaging with Millicent Kargbo and her self-proclaimed executive team until legitimate appointments were confirmed.
In the summon it was noted that the press release of 31st July was republished in leading newspapers in Sierra Leone with a strong online presence to further damage the character, image, and reputation of the Plaintiff.
The defamation matter between the Plaintiff Mrs. Millicent Kargbo the Executive President of the Sierra Leone Association of Women in Journalism (SLAWIJ) and Ms. Yeama Thompson emanated from a letter by the solicitors of the Defendant referencing to the press release of the organisation titled “Addressing Fraud Against SLAWIJ” of 10th August 2023.
Ms. Thompson is commanded to make an appearance before the High Court of Sierra Leone within 14 days of service of the suit of Mrs. Millicent Kargbo.
