Sewa News Stream

Ahead of Sierra Leone's flag day on April 27, social media commentators have expressed concerns that the next elections may be influenced well before 2028, following the widely discredited June 2023 elections.  Jeminatu Sesay shared an infographic highlighting the roles of institutions, funding, and narrative in shaping election outcomes before voting occurs.  She urged Sierra Leoneans to scrutinize the institutions overseeing the process, those setting the rules, the sources of political funding, and the individuals shaping public opinion.  Another analyst, Alfred Peter Conteh, noted that election laws were not upheld in 2023 . Edmond Alpha, chairman of the Elections Commission of Sierra Leone, who declined to publish the 2023 results as required by law, has indicated he does not plan to change his approach in 2028.  Last week, the embassies and high commissions of Germany, Ghana, Iceland, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom expressed support for the International Mora...

Recently, Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel, published a case study of Hezbollah by Dr. Eitan Azani, who is also in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and has operational, research, and academic experience in counter-terrorism in regional and international arenas. The ICT study at Reichman University dissects Hezbollah as a calculated “hybrid terrorist organization”—one that fuses political ambitions, social entrenchment, and military muscle. It scrutinizes its tactical evolution, financial engines, and its trademark strategy of skirting legal and ethical lines. Researchers drill into banking webs, global tentacles, and weapons of psychological manipulation, sourcing even The Calabash newspaper reports. On Saturday, I asked Amin Kef Sesay, managing editor of The Calabash Newspaper, a question on X (formerly Twitter). I asked why the Reichman University report had focused solely on the family of Hussein Fawaz—a Lebanese man in Sierra Leone shot in a bar fight with Jos Leijdekkers, a ...

Can Rapaport's vision of "Tikkun Olam" truly stand up against China's Belt and Road Initiative or the influence of a Dutch drug lord in Sierra Leone?  In 2017, artisanal miners from a small hamlet discovered a 709-carat diamond, later dubbed the Sierra Leone Peace Diamond. This village and the surrounding area lacked clean water, electricity, schools, health facilities, roads, or bridges. The Rapaport Group announced that for the first time, millions of dollars from the sale of the Peace Diamond will go toward providing vital infrastructure and improving the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. On March 12, 2025, the Rapaport Group announced its sixth trade mission to Sierra Leone . Serving more than 20,000 clients in over 121 countries, the Rapaport Group will lead an international delegation of diamond dealers, jewelers, and industry leaders on an immersive journey from May 4 to May 9, 2025. This trip aims to provide firsthand exposure to artisanal dia...

In January 2013, Tablet , an online magazine focused on Jewish news and culture, featured Sierra Leone's parliament, which was built with Israeli assistance. The article, with the headline "The Al-Aqsa of Africa," paid homage to the building, symbolizing the long-standing relationship between Israel and the African continent. Since Sierra Leone's Siaka Stevens severed diplomatic relations with Israel following the Yom Kippur War, Israel and Sierra Leone have gradually rebuilt their diplomatic ties, which date back to the 1960s. Over the years, 657 Sierra Leoneans have benefited from various programs in agriculture, women's empowerment, education, health, community sustainability, and renewable energy, among others. In 2017, this relationship deepened with the visit of then-president Ernest Bai Koroma, marking the first-ever visit of a Sierra Leonean president to Israel. During the Ebola virus epidemic, Israel was also the first country to deliver humanitarian aid ...