Sewa News Stream

Last week, several newspapers reported that a district court in the Netherlands had ordered convicted drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers to pay over 96 million euros to the Dutch state. This ruling followed a confiscation procedure that initially sought a record 221 million euros in criminal assets. Prosecutors believe that Leijdekkers, a central figure in international cocaine smuggling, is receiving high-level protection in Sierra Leone. This week, the Gleaner newspaper reported that Abu Bakarr Naorie, also known as Buba NaOrie, has been identified as the mastermind behind a suspicious boat believed to be involved in cocaine transportation in Freetown. Naorie is the owner of a fishing company and is currently under scrutiny due to the recent discovery of a vessel suspected of transporting illegal substances. The fishing company has been accused of using its fishing harbor and cold storage facilities as fronts for drug smuggling operations. According to allegations, Naorie oversaw these ...

Jason Kindrachuk, PhD, an associate professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Manitoba, has been discussing emerging viruses and Ebola on social media. This weekend, he shared his insights with over 20,000 followers regarding the Mpox outbreak in Sierra Leone, emphasizing the urgent need for vaccines as the situation worsens. Mpox is a dreadful and preventable disease, and the call for vaccines is critical as cases continue to rise.  Deutsche Welle Africa has reported that Sierra Leone has confirmed 3,011 Mpox cases and 14 deaths since the beginning of 2025, reflecting a 50% increase in just 10 days. The outbreak now spans all regions of the country. In response, authorities have converted a police training center in Freetown into a 400-bed treatment facility. Mpox, a viral disease related to smallpox, has been spreading increasingly in Africa since 2022, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency in 2024. Other African countrie...

Physicians from Médecins sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) have recently reported that Sierra Leone is experiencing an outbreak of monkeypox, or MPox, with an average of 120 new cases recorded daily since April 25, 2025.  MSF has rehabilitated an infectious isolation ward in the nation's capital to support the response to the outbreak. They have also donated infection prevention and control materials and installed a chlorine production unit. Furthermore, MSF donated a pickup truck and four motorbikes to the district health management team in Kenema District , located in eastern Sierra Leone, to enhance surveillance and contact tracing for MPox and Lassa Fever. With a population of 8.3 million, Sierra Leone's health system had already been struggling, as highlighted by the Ebola virus epidemic.  A 2022 study revealed that all vaccine doses came from abroad.  On April 23, 2025, Saidu Bah reported that Sierra Leone became the 14th member state of the African ...

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...

Jos Leijdekkers, a.k.a. Boll Jos, remains in the headlines of Sierra Leone's newspapers despite the president's denial that he knows the wanted Dutch criminal Bolle Jos, reportedly his daughter's boyfriend or husband.  Recently, videos surfaced showing Bolle Jos celebrating with high-ranking officials in Sierra Leone, prompting the government to announce that it has launched a search for the Dutch fugitive.  Meanwhile, a Dutch journalist covering the Bolle Jos case was detained in Sierra Leone. Shaken by her experience, journalist Sophie Van Leeuw left Sierra Leone and shared her observations about the oppressive methods used by the Maada Bio administration to silence dissent and restrict press freedom.  This week, further reports emerged revealing that the Sierra Leone government is bribing and threatening local journalists to prevent them from reporting on the wanted Dutch drug trafficker, Jos Leijdekkers. According to De Telegraaf, several reporters in hiding have disc...

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 ...

Thursday's newspapers from Sierra Leone report that Maada Bio's daughter is the hidden force behind the wall of steel protecting Jos Liejdekkers, a Dutch fugitive described as a drug baron who is wreaking havoc on the country. According to Kamarainba Mansaray, who reportedly met with Dutch journalists, Liejdekkers allegedly used bribery to entice government officials, ensuring his security even after the Dutch government requested that Sierra Leone extradite him. The newspaper confirms that there is no extradition treaty between the two countries. Mansaray also asserted that Liejdekkers has significant financial interests in both Sierra Leone and the United States.

  A vehicle traveling from Sierra Leone to Monrovia through Lofa County was intercepted this week by the Joint Security of Foya District, led by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA). Acting on a tip-off, the LDEA-led team stopped the vehicle and escorted it to the Foya Police Station for a detailed inspection. The street value of the significant drug shipment is estimated at $77,200. According to FrontPage Africa , on the night of March 17 at around 10:45 PM, the Joint Security team received information about a black pickup truck with a Liberian license plate transporting narcotics. Upon interception, the driver initially claimed to be transporting clothes and slippers for sale. However, a thorough search revealed 772 plates of high-grade marijuana, valued at approximately $77,200 (14,668,000 Liberian dollars), as well as eight boxes of Tramadol worth an additional 160,000 Liberian dollars. The driver was immediately arrested and is currently under investigation. He is expect...

On March 6, Dutch Minister of Justice David van Weel announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he had a conversation with his colleague, Alpha Sesay, Sierra Leone's Attorney General and Minister of Justice. A significant topic of discussion was the Dutch extradition request for Jos Leijdekkers , who is wanted for serious crimes. Van Weel noted strong indications that Leijdekkers is currently in Sierra Leone. He emphasized that discussions like these are vital for combating transnational organized crime. Thomas Dixon , a Sierra Leonean journalist, reported that Maada Bio has relieved Alusine Kanneh of his position as head of the immigration service after a video surfaced showing Kanneh partying with Leijdekkers, who is known as Omar Sherriff in Sierra Leone. A bulletin from Emmanuel Gaima, secretary to the president in Sierra Leone, announced that Moses Tiffa Baio has been appointed as the new Chief Immigration Officer, effective March 7. An article on FTM published on March 7...

  Last week, Thomas Dixon, a journalist from Sierra Leone with  17,500 followers on X (formerly known as Twitter), reported that the police in Sierra Leone confiscated a secure digital (SD) card from Dutch journalist Sophie van Leeuwen after deleting everything on her personal computer and mobile phone. Unnamed sources familiar with the police's actions claimed that the SD card was held for security reasons. Dixon stated that human rights activists demanded the return of the SD card and a public apology for the journalist's harassment.  In a post  on X (formerly known as Twitter), Sophie shared a photo of herself looking distraught, peering out of a ferry window as it made its way across the lagoon. " My work has been destroyed, and my colleague Joseph Turay fears for his life, " she wrote, adding that there was no press freedom in Sierra Leone. On Facebook, Sophie is listed as a freelance journalist and RTL Nieuws's African correspondent, with ties to BNR Nieu...

West Africa has a rich rice cultivation history, making it an excellent region for growing this crop. Yet, experts point out that the increasing dependency on rice imports stems from a need for more significant agricultural investment, rapid population growth, and low-cost rice availability from Asia.  European colonialists once referred to parts of West Africa as the Rice Coast (Sierra Leone) and the Gold Coast (Ghana). Today, however, these regions are often called  cocaine coasts, particularly in countries like Colombia. Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated during a live government meeting that cocaine is viewed as "no worse than whiskey" and is only considered illegal because it originates from Latin America.  Colombia is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocaine, primarily supplying the United States and Europe. The country has spent decades battling drug trafficking. During the war in Sierra Leone, abducted kids were often supplied with drugs. Marijua...

  In the aftermath of Sierra Leone's highly contentious June elections, the government and the opposition All People's Congress (APC) inked an agreement on October 18th, presenting it as a solution to the nation's political divisions.  At first glance, it may seem like a step towards reconciliation and unity following post-election crises, but upon closer inspection, it becomes abundantly clear that this agreement is profoundly flawed and riddled with ambiguity and concerns that have grave implications for Sierra Leone's democratic future. Commentary by Basita Michael @MichaelBasita Ignores Electoral Irregularities and Lack of Transparency Remarkably, the agreement fails to acknowledge the numerous irregularities and the lack of transparency that marred the June elections despite these issues being meticulously documented in the European Union Election Observation Missions (EUEOM) Sierra Leone 2023 elections report.  The blatant disregard for the "statistical incon...

"Fund the emergency response for Ebola," urges one headline last week. In the op-ed, Koma Gandy Fischbein, a former U.S. Navy officer now a fellow with the Truman National Security Project, made the case why Congress should provide an "additional $6.18 billion in emergency funding to support domestic preparedness and international efforts to combat Ebola. Writing for The Hill newspaper’s Congress Blog, a forum for American lawmakers and policy professionals, Fischbein argued that the United States has the opportunity to lead the way, and support the effort to contain and stop the ugly march of Ebola at its source. “Though there are signs of progress in the most affected countries, continued coordination and support from the international community is required to sustain this progress, transfer knowledge, and support health care infrastructure put in place to reverse the progress of this disease," Fischbein wrote, adding, “Congress must set aside partisan pol...

Since the Ebola epidemic exploded into Sierra Leone in May 2014, the disease has claimed more than 1,250 lives and the virus continues to outpace efforts to contain it. In October, Save the Children warned that a rate of five new Ebola cases an hour in Sierra Leone means healthcare demands are far outstripping supply. According to the World Health Organization, 24 percent of the total number of 6,000 Ebola cases in Sierra Leone have been reported in the past three weeks. Although doctors and nurses in Sierra Leone are laboring to combat the Ebola outbreak, which is putting enormous strain on the limited healthcare facilities, and emergency medicine volunteers have flown in from various countries to help in the fight, Sierra Leone remains a country with widespread transmission. In response, a new medical organization plans to tap Sierra Leonean born doctors, nurses, and public health professionals around the world to fill the gap. For more information on the US-Sierra Leone Healt...

Sierra Leone's capital Freetown has tripled the number of safe burials of Ebola victims in the past week and the challenge now is to expand that coordination across the country, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told Reuters on Monday. Power is visiting to see how the world is failing in its response to the epidemic, Reuters said, "Seeing them turn a 30 percent safe burial rate in Freetown into a 98 percent safe burial rate is a tribute to a combination of top down presidential leadership, finally the kind of coordination that's been needed throughout and a willingness on the part of Sierra Leoneans, notwithstanding the stigma, to step forward and be part of burial teams," Power told Reuters. According to the report, Britain has so far committed several hundred million dollars, some of which is being used to build treatment beds, community care centers, train health care workers and burial teams. About £10 million ($18.2m) of the latest £80m ...

From Charge d'Affaires Kathleen FitzGibbon Dated: September 21, 2014 The House-to-House Ebola Talk campaign continues throughout the country and is an amazing show of national unity. Sierra Leoneans have embraced the effort and are welcoming the dialogue. The radio stations are playing Ebola-related songs, public service announcements, and discussions with experts. The people I have spoken to feel that something needed to be done to bring information about Ebola to arm each household for the ongoing battle. Operationally, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the World Health Organization, World Food Program, United Nations Population Fund, UNICEF, MSF, and other international non-governmental organizations are working around-the-clock to get those seeking treatment into centers and testing and providing proper burials to corpses being found. This has not been an easy task and we will have a better idea of what the challenges countrywide are after the districts have an o...