The arrest and bail release of Thomas Dixon, Chairman of the Guild of Newspaper Editors (GoNE), has reignited fears that Sierra Leone’s Cyber Security and Crime Act of 2021 is being used to intimidate journalists and erode press freedom—despite earlier reforms celebrated as democratic gains.
Dixon, who also edits the New Age and Salone newspapers, was charged with cyberstalking and bullying after publishing reports on a legal dispute between Chinese-owned Leone Rock Metal Group and the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT). He was profiled by police and later released on NLe 100,000 bail.
Calling the summons “absurd,” Dixon revealed that Leone Rock had offered to drop its complaint if he agreed never to report on the company again—a condition he flatly rejected.
“I declined, knowing I have committed no crime,” he said.
The case remains before the Independent Media Commission (IMC), raising troubling questions about why the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) pursued criminal charges alongside media regulation. Dixon’s release reportedly came after Leone Rock instructed police to suspend their investigation on the condition that he sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) barring future publications on the case. His lawyer has vowed to draft an alternative MoU that protects Dixon’s interests.
Critics and rights activists argue that such tactics amount to technical censorship, stripping journalists of the ability to confront powerful institutions and creating a chilling precedent for the press.
On the same day, August 28, 2025, Shar Maturi, senior reporter at Standard Times Newspaper, was also detained at CID on allegations of cyberbullying and stalking. He was released after negotiations led by SLAJ and his editors. The back-to-back cases have intensified fears that the Cyber Security Act is being deployed to systematically silence critical reporting.
The law, adopted on November 17, 2021, was intended to regulate online transactions and communications. In one of its earliest applications, local artiste Alhaji Amadu Bah (LAJ) was arrested for issuing online threats against journalist Asmaa James of Radio Democracy after she reported on a case in which he was standing trial for public disorder. The arrest was widely seen as protecting victims of online abuse.
However, recent applications demonstrate the law’s potential for repression. On May 26, 2022, journalist Sorie Saio Sesay of Radio Okentuhun in Kamakwie, Northern Sierra Leone, was detained after forwarding a WhatsApp comment about alleged police misconduct. His phone was seized, and he spent six days in custody before being released on bail. These cases illustrate the dual character of the law—ostensibly protective, yet increasingly leveraged to silence journalists and civil society, setting a chilling precedent for freedom of expression.
Rights advocates warn the Act creates a climate of fear, discouraging journalists and civil society actors from publishing critical views. They highlight several dangers:
- Ambiguous provisions: Vague clauses such as Article 32(f), which criminalizes “false information,” could be applied arbitrarily against journalists reporting on matters of public interest.
- Conflict with constitutional rights: Some provisions appear to contradict guarantees of free expression under the 1991 Constitution.
- Threats to source protection: Article 4 empowers authorities to demand information from individuals or institutions, potentially undermining confidentiality between reporters and sources.
- Broad surveillance powers: Police can seize phones and computers with limited judicial oversight, raising alarms over privacy and press independence.
“You can’t repeal one repressive law only to replace it with another,” one senior editor said. “This undermines the gains Sierra Leone has made in protecting freedom of expression.”
The prosecution of Sorie Saio Sesay and politician Kemoh Sesay under the Cyber Security Act has further stoked concerns about the law being weaponized to silence critics, echoing the patterns of the repealed Public Order Act of 1965. In Kemoh Sesay’s case, the charges—false publication, insult, injury, and causing hatred, ill will or needless anxiety—mirror classic defamation elements. Observers note that Sesay made his statements publicly, yet authorities only acted after the content appeared digitally—suggesting that the medium, rather than the message, was the target.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemned the prosecutions.
“We urge authorities to avoid weaponizing the cybercrime law to muzzle freedom of expression and press freedom online,” the organization said.
The Guild of Newspaper Editors (GoNE) confirmed that Dixon underwent a lengthy CID interview in the presence of SLAJ’s Secretary General and his lawyer. In a statement, the Guild pledged to defend journalistic freedoms and monitor developments closely. Meanwhile, SLAJ Secretary General Edward Marrah said:
“While recognising the importance of due process, we are concerned about potential intimidation under the Cyber Security Act. Such pressures can have a chilling effect on free speech.”
The Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) has joined SLAJ in condemning the treatment of journalist Thomas Dixon, warning that using the Cyber Security and Crime Act against reporters sets a dangerous precedent. CHRDI, which monitored Dixon’s interrogation to safeguard his rights, stressed that press freedom is a fundamental right and cautioned that criminalizing disputes between journalists and private companies threatens both individual reporters and the media’s role in holding powerful institutions accountable.
Sierra Leone was celebrated in 2020 for repealing the 1965 Public Order Act, which criminalized libel and jailed journalists for decades. President Julius Maada Bio’s government earned praise for expanding civic space. But critics argue that the Cyber Security and Crime Act of 2021 is fast becoming its digital-age replacement.
Amnesty International has warned that Sierra Leone is weaponizing the Cyber Security Act, citing cases such as the January 2025 arrest of TV host Hawa Hunt, charged after allegedly insulting the president and first lady on social media.
“Offences such as libel and defamation should be decriminalized. Laws should not be used to silence journalists or curb freedom of expression,” Amnesty stated.
Regional media observers note a broader pattern of cyber laws being used across Africa to chill dissent and control information, raising alarm that Sierra Leone risks backsliding on democratic gains.
As Dixon awaits further proceedings, the cases of Dixon, Maturi, Sorie Saio Sesay, and Kemoh Sesay are widely seen as a litmus test for whether Sierra Leone can protect the democratic gains earned since 2020—or whether journalists will once again operate under the shadow of fear.
