AYV News, August 19, 2025
The newly elected Executive of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), led by immediate past President Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, has paid a courtesy call on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), William Fayia Sellu, at Police Headquarters in Kingtom, Freetown.
The high-level engagement served to formally introduce the new SLAJ leadership and to present an Award of Appreciation to the IGP for his role in strengthening ties between the media and the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) over the past six years.
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, who led the delegation, recalled that before his tenure, SLAJ’s relationship with the police was strained, often marked by clashes over press freedom and journalist safety. However, he noted that the 2021 signing of a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had dramatically reshaped the partnership, ushering in a period of cooperation and mutual respect.
“Before the MoU, journalists often saw the police as the main perpetrators of assault and harassment against the Press. That agreement changed the narrative and promoted joint trainings to help both professions understand each other’s roles in our democracy,” Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said.
Introducing the new Executive, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, presented SLAJ President. Alhaji Manika Kamara, Vice President, Richard L. Gevao, Secretary General Edward Marrah, Assistant Secretary General Theophilus Egbenda, Financial Secretary Mohamed Konneh, and Organizing Secretary Alice Turay. He also commended the SLP’s Media Team, noting that senior officers ACP Brima Kamara and Deputy ASP Mohamed B. Senu are themselves SLAJ members.
In his remarks, President Alhaji Manika Kamara, expressed appreciation for the IGP’s open-door leadership and reaffirmed SLAJ’s commitment to deepening collaboration. He called for a review and expansion of the 2021 MoU, particularly through joint training sessions for journalists and police officers ahead of the 2028 elections.
“These trainings will help reduce tensions by ensuring journalists and police alike understand their roles, journalists seeking to report the news while police focus on protection,” Alhaji Manika Kamara explained. He further appealed for media professionals to be included in police training curricula to enhance mutual understanding.
Responding, IGP William Fayia Sellu praised the cordiality achieved during Ahmed Sahid Nasrallah’s tenure and welcomed the new leadership’s proposals. He endorsed joint training initiatives and committed to involving SLAJ in shaping the police training curriculum, including inviting journalists to lecture recruits at the police academy.
“We are partners, the police make the news and the journalists report it. It doesn’t make sense to be at war with each other,” the IGP stressed. He assured SLAJ that his office would remain open and receptive to dialogue.
The meeting ended with the presentation of an Award of Appreciation to IGP William Fayia Sellu for his contribution to fostering media-police relations.
The 2021 MoU between SLAJ and the Sierra Leone Police is widely regarded as a landmark achievement, transforming what was once a strained relationship into a model of cooperation that supports press freedom, law enforcement and democratic governance.
