PRESS RELEASE

Report from the Monitoring, Research and Projects Unit against Justice Radio FM 98.5 for a broadcast done on 10th October 2022 against the Independent Media Commission and four Commissioners

On the 11th October 2022, the Independent Media Commission (IMC) received a report from the Monitoring, Research and Projects Unit of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), against Justice Radio FM 98.5, in relation to its Justice Good morning breakfast show aired on Monday, 10th October 2022, between 7am-9am.

 

Two hearing sessions were conducted on this matter. Justice Radio was not in attendance at the first hearing held on Tuesday, 18th October 2022. At the second hearing held on Monday, 24th October 2022, both the General Manager Kelvin Lamin Lamdo and the Presenter of the programme, Justince Boima,

were in attendance.

 

The Chairman, Commissioner Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai enquired of them the reason for their absence at the first hearing, to which they replied that they did not receive any summon to appear before the Committee.  However, it was later confirmed by the Commission Process server, Babatunde Coker that he served them the summons before the scheduled hearing.

 

The Chairman informed them that the Radio Station will be fined the sum of NLe500.00 (Five Hundred New Leones) for their failure to attend that hearing.

 

Though they denied having received the summons to attend that hearing, the Committee was able to confirm to them with documentary evidence that indeed they received the summons for that hearing, but delebrately failed to attend the session.

 

The Chairman informed the General Manager of Justice Radio, Kelvin Lamin Lamdo that they were before the Committee to respond to the allegations they levied against the Commission and four Board in the persons of Commissioner Mustapha M K Sesay (Print Media Expert), Commissioner Ibrahim Barrie (Inter-Religious Council Representative), Commissioner Regina Pratt (Print Media Expert), and Commissioner Dr. Samba Sesay (Representative of the Engineering Department of the University of Sierra Leone). He noted that the Commission found itself in a difficult situation whereby four of its Commissioners were insulted; and

and when first listened to the audio, he felt very bad, especially for his colleagues for being insulted in that manner.

 

He further stated that the Commission was in a critical situation because they had to arbitrate a matter involving their own Board Members and Commissioners. He said in a normal situation, the Commission would have referred them to another panel, but unfortunately there is none.

 

The Complaints Committee Chairman maintained that the four Commissioners that were falsely branded and maligned have the rights to take the matter to court, but they had decided to bring it to the Commission because they trust the Commission.

 

The said programmed alleged the following:

 

1. That Commissioner Mustapha M K Sesay, Commissioner Regina Pratt, Commissioner Ibrahim Barrie, and Commissioner Dr. Samba Sesay were ‘APC Operatives planted at the Commission’.

 

1. That the IMC was not credible and that he will not comply with its summons to attend its hearing session

 

1. That the Independent Media Commission ‘is an APC Media Commission that has been politically infiltrated with puppets used by the APC’ to preside over matters

 

1. That he has been there for the IMC and that IMC should have looked at the said broadcast and decide not to conduct hearing on it, “but lacks the ‘balls’ to do that, but nurtured the ‘balls’ ” to call him.

 

 

1. That IMC is a kangaroo court

 

1. That the four Commissioners mentioned were puppets of the APC.

 

In response to the complaint, the General Manager of Justice Radio FM98.5, Kelvin Lamin Lamdo apologised profusely and stated that he felt deeply sorry what he described as ‘such venom to have been aired’ on their media outfit. He maintained that he is someone who does not like begging for forgiveness and crying over things, he rather like to fight; but that in this particular instance, there was nothing to fight about, but to shamelessly beg.

 

He said that he has been paralysed by the venom of the broadcast when he listened to the reply during the Complaints hearing session. He noted that Commissioner Mustapha M K Sesay was not only referred to by SLAJ members in their official interactive forums as ‘the Editors’ Editor’ or general editor of the entire media landscape in Sierra Leone, but such a friend and helper. He said likewise, all the other Commissioners mentioned in the broadcast were all credible people to have been described in such a manner.

 

He thanked the Government of Sierra Leone for establishing the Commission because he was convinced that if this matter was taken to the court of Law, it would not have been a pleasant experience.

 

He further stated that as a very influential trainer who train on media ethics all the time, he is dumbfounded. He apologised on behalf of the Radio Station.

 

Justince V. Boima, the Presenter of the said broadcast apologised on behalf of the Radio Station and on his own behalf. He said he really regret making all the statements in that broadcast on that day. He said he is a human being and to err was human. He said for a couple of months now, he had been under extreme pressure but that does not warrant the statement the statement he made. He said that by uttering such statements, he made a very serious mistake in his life and was asking for forgiveness. He said he was joining his boss, the Station Manager to apologise to the Commission and the Commissioners to temper justice with mercy.

 

Justince Boima said he was willing to do a retraction and an apology on the same platform as many times as the Commission may wish.

 

Dr. Victor Massaquoi, Chairman of the Independent Media Commission asked Justince V. Boima whether he really understood the level reputational damage his broadcast had caused to the Commission.

 

Commissioner Ibrahim Barrie, one of the Commissioners mentioned in the broadcast, said that he did not know Justince V. Boima and that that was the first time of meeting him and he wondered where Justince Boima knew him and where he got all those hurtful misinformation that he said about him.

 

He explained that contrary to what was said in the broadcast, he was nominated by the Inter Religious Council to represent them on the Board of the Commission, in line with the IMC Act 2020. He said two of them were nominated by the Council, and their names were sent to the President to select one of them and he was the one selected. He said therefore, he is neither an APC operative planted on the Commission, nor a puppet of the APC as alleged. He said they have a media Committee at the Inter Religious Council which he heads. He said he appreciate the Station Manager’s statement that he felt bad by the broadcast. He said he would like Justince Boima to broadcast a retraction as the radio is very popular in the East End of Freetown where Inter Religious Council has a lot of following.

 

Commissioner Regina Pratt in her own statement said she did not know Justince Boima personally and that she was only meeting with him for the first time at the hearing at the Commission. She explained that she was extremely embarrassed by the broadcast. She said she had worked for 32 years in the Journalism with n untainted record. She said she is the longest serving staff at Concord Times Newspaper and that she had never retracted a story throughout her journalism career. She said she shed tears for being maligned and described as an APC puppet.

 

Commissioner Mustapha M K Sesay stated that he was expecting Justice Radio to have appeared before the Committee with concrete evidence to support all the allegations they have made against him and his colleagues, and the Commission.

 

He said that was the first time that he had been branded as an APC. He said he had never been branded as a member of any political party because he is not a politician. He said he felt so aggrieved that he had consulted a Lawyer regarding the particular matter, but then he realised that he was a Commissioner of IMC and that they had been advocating that media matters should go to IMC or to SLAJ.

 

Committee’s Findings and Recommendations

 

Findings

 

During the deliberations, the Committee noted that the General Manager of Justice Radio, Kelvin Lamin Lamdo wasted no time to apologised and stated that their did not stand by the broadcast. He also showed remorse for such a broadcast to have been aired on his own media outfit, Justice Radio FM 98.5

 

The Committee further noted that Justince V. Boima also apologised and stated that he deeply regret making all the comments that he uttered in the broadcast and was willing to do retractions of the broadcast as many times as the Commission may request.

 

The Committee further noted that all the allegations made in the broadcast were inaccurate, baseless and false and lacked any substance, a fact that was admitted by the respondents.

 

Recommendations

 

The Board of the Independent Media Commission at its meeting held on Wednesday, 26^th October 2022, fully endorsed the recommendations of the Complaints Committee as follows:

 

• That a fine of NLe 1,000 (One Thousand New Leones) be levied on Justice Radio for breach of Principle 3 of the Media Code of Practice dealing with accuracy for each of the four Commissioners named in the broadcast, totalling NLe 4,000 (Four Thousand News Leones).

 

• That a fine of NLe 1,000 (One Thousand New Leones be levied on Justice Radio in line with Principle 3 of the Media Code of Practice dealing with accuracy  for maliciously describing the Independent Media Commission as a Kangaroo court.

 

• That a fine of NLe 1,000 (One Thousand New Leones) be imposed on Justice in line with Principle 3 of the Media Code of Practice dealing with accuracy for describing the IMC as not being a credible entity.

 

• That a fine of NLe500.00 (Five Hundred New Leones) be levied on Justice Radio for failure to attend the first hearing on this matter held on Tuesday, 18th October, 2022.

 

• That the grand total fine of NLe 6,000 (Six Thousand New Leones) imposed on Justice Radio in this ruling, be paid within two weeks from the receipt of this ruling

 

• That the Station do and broadcast a retraction of it baseless allegations against the Commission and its Commissioners on seven editions of their most popular programmes with equal prominence.

 

• That the radio station continues to suspend all live phone-in programmes until the IMC pays a monitoring visit and verify their capacity to manage such programmes professionally, in line with the recommendations of the IMC Complaints Ruling against Justice Radio on May 4, 2022.