Sewa News Stream

Nigerian pastor Ajasafe at the center of this week's controversy Andrew Keili comments on faith, culture, society, and politics in Sierra Leone. This week a Nigerian-born pastor was arrested after recordings of a sermon targeting Muslims went viral sparking  condemnation by both Muslim and Christian Sierra Leoneans.  Ajasafe to Mufti Menk: "Let Your Gate Be Closed"  "Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell..................but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing....

A fire and brimstone sermon by Victor Ajisafe has landed him in hot water with the government of Sierra Leone. Ajisafe, a native of Nigeria, and the founder and pastor in charge of the Christ Revival Evangelistic Ministries located off Kingharman Road in Freetown was today issued a temporary suspension of the registration of his Sanctuary Praise Church by Sierra Leone's Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs. In an open letter from the social welfare ministry dated 26th September 2017, chief social services officer, Joseph S. Sinnah, said the action was taken “following the dissemination of a video/audio recording attributed to” Ajisafe. In the audio , Ajisafe condemned the recent visit of Zimbabwean Grand Mufti Menk at Sierra Leone's State House to meet President Ernest Koroma, while on an inspirational tour to the post-war country, which suffered devastating floods and mudslides in August. “This recording which is deemed as promoting religio...

Coming a week after Freetown buried almost 500 people, the news that its city cemeteries have become playgrounds for criminals couldn't be worse. In October 2014, the first group of more than 10,000 dead Sierra Leoneans, who succumbed to Ebola-related symptoms, were buried in Pa Loko village, Waterloo. At the height of the Ebola outbreak, the 12-person burial teams managed by an Irish humanitarian organization buried up to 85 bodies per day. When the Ministry of Health and Sanitation ran out of burial plots (Sierra Leoneans frown on cremation) the Government of Sierra Leone purchased land about 20 miles east of downtown for an undisclosed sum. The Ebola cemetery at Waterloo is reportedly spread over ten thousand acres. Once the Irish charity left, The Western Area Rural District Council acquired management of one of the largest cemeteries in the country. In 2016, the Ebola cemetery authorities found that their funds could not meet the costs of long-term maintenance. So they...

 Sierra Leone's State House has proclaimed a seven-day National Mourning period, as the nation begins to come to terms with devastating floods and mud slides that have left hundreds of people dead and entire communities buried under mud.  The week of mourning event has been organized around rescue and clean-up efforts, shored up by Army personnel activated by President Ernest Koroma in response to the humanitarian crisis. Red Cross officials estimate that 600 people are still missing after heavy rains and flash flooding led to landslides in the west African nation of Sierra Leone on Monday. More than 300 people are dead and local residents say they expect the death toll to continue to rise. According to weather.com meteorologists,  the area has seen nearly 20 inches more rain than average over the last 30 days.  UN in Sierra Leone‏ @UNSierraLeone  tweeted: Private sector and #UN working together to map disaster area and predict risk of new landslides. ...

President Ernest Koroma addressed his crisis-stricken nation on Monday in a moving speech acknowledging the devastation but urging calm after a day of flooding and landslides in Sierra Leone's capital. Here's a transcript of what he said followed by a raw video after the jump.  Fellow Sierra Leoneans, our nation has once again been gripped by grief. Many of our compatriots have lost their lives, many more have been gravely injured and billions of Leones worth of property destroyed in the flooding and landslides that swept across some parts of our city. I am very disturbed by this national tragedy and with a heavy heart, let me extend profound condolences to the bereaved families. This is not a tragedy for you alone; it is a tragedy for every Sierra Leonean because the people who have perished in this disaster are our compatriots. Every single family, every single ethnic group, every single region is either directly or indirectly affected by this disaster. Fellow Si...

The Auditor General of Sierra Leone released a list Monday naming government agencies and institutions that have failed to submit their financial statement for the purpose of auditing. The list includes the University of Sierra Leone, national stock exchange, and 10 bodies, including  the Small Arms Commission, which haven't submitted financial statements since their formation. "Having failed to submit their financial statements for auditing, these institutions should therefore collectively account for billions of Leones of public money they received as budgetary allocations/subventions," the press release said.  AUDIT SERVICE SIERRA LEONE            PUBLIC NOTICE FAILURE TO SUBMIT FINANCIAL STATEMENT TO THE AUDITOR GENERAL FOR AUDITING  Freetown, Sierra Leone- 7th August 2017- Section 119(2) of the 1991 Constitution mandates the Auditor General to audit the          Public Accounts of S...

Kama Dumbuya, a former Sierra Leone center forward who spent time with East End Lions, Blackpool, and Freetown United, football clubs, died Friday, June 16, 2017, the Sierra Leone Football Association announced. Kama, whose flashy style, rugged looks, and charismatic personality left an indelible mark on west African football, passed away at Freetown's Connaught Hospital. Reports say he was in his 70's. The cause of death is unknown. Considered the king of soccer in his heyday, Kama “made a whole pavilion lean at Brook fields Stadium,” wrote veteran sports writer Kabs Kanu . He was “one of Africa’s greatest footballers –the legendary Sierra Leone center forward of the 1960s and 70s,” Kanu added. In this undated photograph taken May 2017 in Freetown, former soccer administr ator Mr. Crispin Webber embraces veteran football star Kama Dumbuya. “ If Kama Dumbuya [were] young in this age when European and American soccer thrive on the back of contributions fro...