Counting few more months to the country’s general elections, the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and the Office of National Security (ONS); the Sierra Leone Police (SLP); the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF); the Central Intelligence and Security Unit (CISU), Correctional Services (SLCS) and the National Fire Force (NFF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to end impunity for crimes against Journalists.

The signing of the MoU climaxed a Roundtable Dailogue between SLAJ and the Security Sector marking the International Day to end impunity for crimes against Journalists.

The MoU commits both parties to maintain law and order and ensure the safety and security of journalists at all times.

SLAJ President, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, said: “This is the start of constructive engagement with the Security Sector in a bid to address the perennial problem of assault of journalists by security officials during political and presidential functions. This dialogue gives us an opportunity to understand, respect, support, and strengthen each other’s role in the functioning of our democracy.”

All security sector heads present at the roundtable dialogue welcomed and applauded the initiative and urged journalists to equally respect the role of the security sector in the maintenance of law and order without which the work of the media will be impossible.

The Inspector General of Police, Ambrose Sovula said: “This is history making and I want to commend SLAJ for initiating this kind of engagement with the security sector. We are all partners and there is need for us to complement each other’s role. We urge journalists to be professional. I pledge the SLP’s commitment to this MoU and I will ensure every police commander across the country receives a copy of this MoU to inform the police officers under their command.”