By Albert David
In Sierra Leone today, truth has become a dangerous pursuit. The recent detention of Sahr Memphis, a respected blogger and CEO of Burn2Blog, by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is not just a troubling incident. It is a national alarm bell, a warning that the civic space is shrinking, dissent is being criminalized, and the state is increasingly hostile to accountability.
Memphis’s alleged crime? He dared to question Yakumba Bio the younger brother of President Julius Maada Bio, who also serves as Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority, about a missing container suspected to be linked to narcotics trafficking. In any functioning democracy, such a question would be considered a civic duty. In Sierra Leone, it has become grounds for incarceration.
This administration has cultivated a climate where asking questions is equated with subversion. Civic voices are harassed, journalists are bullied, and activists are silenced. The message is clear: do not challenge the state’s complicity in narcotics trafficking, or you will be branded an enemy of the republic.
This is not just unethical, it is deceptive, manipulative, and deeply troubling. The government’s posture suggests that it is not a crime to harbor internationally known drug traffickers, but it is a crime to expose them. Such double standards are not only uncivilized, they are a national and international disgrace.
The Sierra Leone Ports Authority, under the leadership of the President’s brother, has become a focal point of suspicion. Containers have reportedly gone missing. Narcotics seizures have raised alarms. Yet instead of transparency, we see intimidation. Instead of investigation, we see incarceration. Instead of reform, we see repression.
Memphis’s arrest is a textbook case of state-sponsored suppression. It is a betrayal of journalistic freedom, a violation of human rights, and a slap in the face to every citizen who believes in ethical governance.
The international community must not remain silent. Sierra Leone is a signatory to multiple human rights conventions. The detention of Sahr Memphis violates not only domestic law but also international norms. Civic space must be protected. Journalists must be free to investigate. Citizens must be allowed to question power without fear of retaliation.
Sahr Memphis’s courage must not be punished, it must be amplified. His detention is a test of Sierra Leone’s democratic integrity. Will we allow truth to be buried under intimidation? Or will we rise to defend the right to question, to challenge, and to expose?
The world is watching. And history will remember not just the silence of the oppressors, but the voices of those who dared to speak.
