Sierra Leone

February 2024

Legal sources

Executive Summary

In July 2020, a liberal movement began in Sierra Leone marked by the repeal of restrictive media criminal laws on defamation and seditious libel. President Julius Maada Bio affirmed the government’s commitment “to allow the development of a free and robust media” in November of that year. The movement was further exemplified by the abolishment of the death penalty in 2021 and the government’s will to enact a law to protect human rights defenders.

Regrettably, Sierra Leone does not have a stand-alone law that sets out guidelines for whistleblowers and ensures their protections. Nevertheless, blowing the whistle is incentivized through a reward program outlined in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008.

Despite the government’s efforts, Sierra Leone remains “partly free”, as rated by Freedom House with a score of 65/100 in 2022.

Resources, Support, and Action Centres

People’s Power Movement (PPM) is an NGO that “participates in campaigns by systematically applying knowledge and skills in nonviolent actions for change. It seeks cooperation with other civil society organizations that focus on anti-corruption, good governance, and social justice issues, and with relevant government agencies such as the Anti-Corruption commission of Sierra Leone.”