The independence of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) has come under renewed public scrutiny amid reports that the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, is seeking to have the Corporation’s Board of Trustees withdraw its offer of appointment to media and communications professional James Tamba Lebbie.
Sources indicate that although the Minister has communicated his desire for the appointment to be reversed, no formal written instruction has been issued, nor has any legal or administrative justification been advanced to support such a request. This has prompted concern among media governance advocates and legal observers, who argue that any attempt to influence decisions lawfully taken by the Board raises important questions about the autonomy of Sierra Leone’s public service broadcaster.
The appointment was reportedly made by the Board in the exercise of its statutory authority under the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation Act, 2010. The legislation establishes the Board as the principal governing authority of the Corporation and, under Section 12, expressly provides that, in the discharge of its statutory responsibilities, the Corporation “shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.” Against this legal backdrop, observers are questioning whether ministerial intervention -particularly one unsupported by written communication or stated reasons – is compatible with both the letter and the spirit of the law.
The unfolding controversy is particularly striking given Minister Bah’s previous public position on the independence of the SLBC. During the Media Reform Coordinating Group’s (MRCG) national validation exercise on proposed reforms to the national broadcaster, the Minister assured stakeholders that the current administration had safeguarded the Corporation’s operational and editorial independence, presenting it as evidence of Government’s commitment to strengthening democratic governance and public service broadcasting.
For many within Sierra Leone’s media and governance sectors, the issue now extends well beyond a single appointment. Rather, it represents a defining test of whether the statutory independence guaranteed to the SLBC will be respected in practice, or whether executive influence will be allowed to override the authority vested in the Board by Parliament. The outcome, they argue, will serve as an important indicator of the Government’s commitment to the rule of law, institutional integrity, and the principles underpinning an independent public service broadcaster.
This emerging dispute is therefore likely to resonate far beyond the SLBC itself, with implications for public confidence in the Corporation’s governance, the credibility of ongoing media sector reforms, and the broader constitutional principle that independent public institutions must be allowed to function free from undue political interference.
